In the past, Instagram wasn’t clear on who got the blue verified check status on their account. It seemed that many celebrities and popular accounts got it but others didn’t and no one seemed to know why. Prior to August 28th, 2018, users were not able to request verification directly from Instagram.
Though
you can now apply for verified status on Instagram, simply applying for it does
not guarantee you will achieve it. Here are 10 tips to help you get verified on
the social media platform.
1. Build a Following and
Engagement
To reach influencer status and warrant
becoming verified on Instagram, you should have a strong following with high
engagement. You must have a clearly defined niche because even though it seems
like you would gain more followers by trying to appeal to everyone, you’re not
likely to increase your engagement that way. You must establish trust in
recognition for your expertise in a particular topic area. While this is a long
term strategy, you can also buy Instagram followers
to get a boost and create social proof.
If you’ve built a reputation on another social media platform such as Facebook or YouTube, it can also make it easier to build your Instagram following and engagement. For best results, that engagement must be genuine and meaningful rather than a bunch of nice picture comments on various posts. Those meaningless comments don’t do anything to improve your credibility as a thought leader in your industry. You will need to find your best site to buy Instagram followers and likes from and you should also look for a good source of likes and views for natural improvements.
2. Cross-Promote Your Other
Social Media Accounts
One of the best and easiest ways to build your
following on Instagram or any other social media platform is to promote all of
your social media networks. This way, your Instagram followers may choose to
follow you on YouTube or like your Facebook page. Your Twitter followers may
choose to follow you on Instagram and your Facebook followers may also join you
on Instagram.
Establishing popularity across a range of
social media websites indicates that you are more of an Internet celebrity and
therefore more likely to be considered for Instagram verification.
Your entire online presence needs to come
across as a single outlet for your brand’s personality. As such, you want your
blog, social media websites and YouTube page to link together seamlessly to
represent you. If you want to be an influencer, you need a varied online
platform that reaches far and wide. Instagram needs to be just one piece of the
puzzle.
3. Avoid Poor Social Media
Practices
Instagram, like other major internet
platforms, can easily spot attempts to gain the system. Avoid taking shut
shortcuts such as buying followers or making spammy comments in an attempt to
grow your audience and engagement faster than usual.
Always be sure your posts meet Instagram’s
Community guidelines and that you are consistently following the rules. If
Instagram finds any reason to ban you, you will have wasted all of the time and
effort you put into building your online presence and brand and will be removed
from the network rather than verified.
4. Increase Your Visibility with
Popular Hashtags
If you
want to help your post reach a bigger audience, use popular hashtags. You can
use third-party flat forms such as Hashtagify or Tagblender to help you get
ideas and ensure you are not working with a list of banned hashtags. You can
get general trends for popular hashtags.
It’s important however you only use hashtags
that are relevant to your Niche. You will never be accepted as an influencer if
you create posts that are not relevant to your followers just for the purpose
of using a trending hashtag and extending your reach.
It’s a
good idea to create a hashtag for your brand and encourage your followers to
use it often.
5. Remain Active on Your Account
If you’re not actively using the platform,
you’ll never be Instagram verified. When the advance can buy to see if you’re
worth verification, they’ll be looking for regular activity.
Beyond actively posting great photos, I take
advantage of your Instagram insights and use those analytics to plan content
that resonates with your followers. Pay attention to posting times a name to
post new content when your followers are the most active.
Take time to engage with your audience by
responding to comments, liking posts and exploring relevant hashtags.
6. Boost Earned Media
If you want Instagram to give you their seal
of approval, you need to show them that you’re worth it. Take a second to
Google yourself to see what comes up. If nothing comes up, you need to fix that
because if your brand is not widely recognized, there isn’t anything to verify.
An algorithm is not deciding who should get
the verification badge on their account. Real people are reviewing every
request manually and they are likely to use search engines to see what comes up
for outside credibility.
7. Request Verification
Go to your Instagram profile and tap on the
menu icon in the top-right corner of your profile. From there, select the settings
icon on the bottom right of your screen and then select “Account” from the
settings menu.
Scroll down until you see request verification
and tap it. A form appears with your account name pre-filled. Add your full
name. For businesses, and the full name of whoever manages your Instagram.
Tap “Choose file” to attach a copy of your
photo ID. A driver’s license, passport, or national identification card will
work for people. For businesses, you must use any official business documents
such as Articles of Incorporation, a utility bill, or tax filing.
You can either open your camera and take an
in-focus photo of your ID or loading image of your ID from your phone.
Tap the send button at the bottom of the
screen to submit your verification request.
Your request will then go to an individual
moderator at Instagram who will review your account and decide whether or not
to approve you for the badge. The process could take several weeks, so it’s not
a bad sign if you don’t hear anything right away.
Once Instagram has made its decision from you
will receive an in-app notification telling you whether or not you are
Instagram verified. If the request is denied, you can submit a new one after 30
days.
8. Make Sure You’re a Public
Account
Private accounts will not be eligible to
become Instagram verified.
9. Don’t Request Verification for
Multiple Accounts
According to Instagram, your account must be
the unique presence of a person or business that it represents. You cannot have
multiple verified accounts for yourself for your brand. There is an exception
for language-specific accounts such as McDonald’s Italy versus McDonald’s China
for instance.
10. Be Honest
If you provide any misleading or false
information when applying for verification, your verified badge will be removed and you may even face suspension
from Instagram or worse a permanent ban
Getting verified on Instagram helps you
prevent imposters and copycats, shows that you are newsworthy, and does a great
deal for Instagram SEO.
SME Paid Under
