Can I Get Verified?: Verification Guidelines for Social Media

Getting verified on social media is one way brands build trust with their customers. However, each social media platform has different requirements. Keeping track of them all is confusing, so we’ve created a handy guide on how to verify your account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest.

Facebook

Facebook offers a blue and a gray verification badge. The blue verification badge is what most Facebook users are familiar with because it is given to “eligible brands, media organizations, and public figures.” Eligible public figures include actors, athletes, and musicians as well as profiles that simply say “public figure.”

To be eligible for the coveted blue checkmark, a Page or profile must comply with Facebook’s terms of service and be complete. Any Pages or profiles without a cover photo, a profile photo, a name that follows Facebook’s guidelines, and content will not be granted a blue verification badge. Profiles must also have “Follow” enabled.

If you would like to receive a blue verification badge, Facebook requires a photo ID, an explanation as to why you should be verified, and relevant URLs that prove people are interested in your content.

Gray verification badges are easier to obtain. To verify your Page, you go to your page Settings. You will find Page Verification under General. Once you click Page Verification, you will see Verify this Page. Click Verify this Page and then get started.

Once you start the process, Facebook will ask for a publically listed phone number for your business. Press Call Me Now to allow Facebook to call you with a 4-digit verification code, which you will enter and click Continue. If you do not want to verify by phone number, you can click Verify Page with documents instead, which will ask for a business document, such as a phone bill.

Twitter

The Twitter verification program was paused in November 2017 amid controversy over what Twitter verification means.

Currently, there is no way to request a blue verified checkmark badge on Twitter.

Instagram

It is extremely difficult to get verified on Instagram because the company focuses on verifying accounts that have a high probability of being impersonated and does not take requests. However, it is not impossible.

Because Instagram’s focus is on preventing impersonation, amassing a huge number of followers is not guaranteed to earn an account a blue checkmark.

Instagram suggests that those after verification prove their account is real in other ways, such as linking to an official website or a verified account on Facebook or Twitter. This is not a foolproof method but can help you position your brand as one that could be at risk of impersonation.

Snapchat

Your dreams of Snapchat verification may need to be put on hold. Right now, the only Snapchat accounts that are verified belong to celebrities like Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian. However, Mashable reported in October that the company might expand the program. Since that report, no new developments have been released.

Pinterest

Like Instagram, Pinterest has not opened its verification program up to everyone. To appear trustworthy, Pinterest recommends that brands claim their websites and add their logo to their accounts.

While this is the current information for verifying accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, each social media platform changes their requirements anytime a new issue with the old system is discovered. If you are unsure about where a platform stands on verification, check its help center for up to date information.

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