Wondering how on earth you’re supposed to get verified on Instagram? You’re not the only one.
People are going crazy over the blue Instagram checkmark, and the competition is hotter than ever. We believe that having the blue verification symbol is our way of being validated online.
So, why is everyone obsessed with the blue Instagram tick and what makes it so special? More importantly – how can you get one of your very own?
Read on to find out the answers to all of these questions.
Article Contents
Instagram Verified: What Does This Mean?
Most social media websites these days have their own way of verifying people, and Instagram is obviously included. However, for some reason, the blue Instagram tick is by far the most sought-after. In fact, you can look at the stats and see that marketers spend more time working out how to get their very own blue badge than any other social media verification.
Maybe it’s because Instagram is the one social media platform that appeals most to millennials – i.e., the audience that now has the most spending power. Perhaps it’s because everyone just wants to be as well known on Instagram as the Kardashians. There’s no way of knowing for sure.
Whichever reason you want to pick, it’s important to remember what the blue checkmark actually represents. Surprisingly, Instagram didn’t create it for pedestal or status reasons. It created it so that you could verify that you are, well, YOU.
Instagram comes in third when it comes to popular social media platforms with a whopping one billion monthly users, coming in just underneath Facebook and YouTube. With such a vast audience, it’s important that people like Tom Cruise can verify it’s really them so that fans can make sure they’re not just talking to a random fan with a fan page.
Of course, just because we know the true definition of the blue badge doesn’t mean that the majority of Instagram users see it this way. While major influencers and marketers are pretty grounded in the meaning and purpose of the blue tick, to many others out there, it represents trust, social status, popularity, and authenticity.
These types of symbols hold a lot of power. The perception which the general public take can actually turn into real jobs for those who have it. These benefits include sales, click-through rates, social shares, increased reach and a higher level of engagement on posts.
In a world where figuring out exactly how to earn that blue tick is frustratingly difficult, it’s actually become a way of us feeling like we’re better than the people we’re competing against. It’s also a great way to stand out in a now incredibly saturated market. As more and more people join Instagram and try to make something of it, who wouldn’t want to find a way to stand out from the crowd?
Getting Verified: Official Statements from IG
So, if you’re looking to get verified, why not look to the source of it all: Instagram itself?
It doesn’t take too long to start reading about the process of receiving a verification badge from Instagram. If you go to the ‘help’ page, you can see what Instagram has to say about it.
Like we said, a verification badge is how Instagram is able to correctly identify a genuine account for a big brand, a celebrity or a public figure. The accounts that have a high chance of being copied and replicated are given the verification badge for their security and protection.
Simply put, Instagram wants to make sure that you are exactly who you say you are and your followers are there for you – i.e., they’re following you for you, not because they think you’re someone else.
So, one could conclude from this that in order to be considered a good candidate for the blue badge, you’ve got to be someone who Instagram considers a legitimate target for impersonation.
If this is still a hard concept to grasp, basically you need to become famous enough that people out there are going to want to impersonate you. Your first goal is to convince Instagram itself that you’re not just another generic user, but instead, someone who is popular enough that your followers could mistake other users for you. So, in saying all of this, what’s the most straightforward way to achieving this, then?
Step One: Grow Your Presence Online
You would be forgiven for thinking that you need a large Instagram following so that you can get verified. I mean, look at big brands who have millions of followers – they didn’t have any trouble getting the blue tick.
This is where it gets a bit confusing. In fact, you don’t actually need a large following to get noticed by Instagram and approved. You just need to have a digital presence, whether it’s on Instagram or another social media platform. Stay with me here: the fewer followers you have when you start out, the more Instagram will consider you at risk of being impersonated. Yes, I know it sounds backward, but it’s true.
Building up your identity on another social media platform begins by finding your audience and niche. There are plenty of YouTubers out there like Emma Chamberlain who began their success on YouTube before she even got to Instagram. Now she is verified on Instagram and has millions of followers.
While you can build up your digital presence wherever you want, it’s worth considering doing it on a platform that’s going to link up nicely to Instagram. For example, because Instagram and Facebook are linked together, it’s going to be easy for you to translate your Facebook following over to your Instagram.
Step Two: Emphasis Your Risk of Impersonation
Remember, Instagram is only going to verify accounts that are at risk of being imitated.
For example, Instagram fans want to know that they’re following the real Beyonce. Because she has a verified blue tick, fans know that it’s really her and they have peace of mind about following her.
When thinking about the risk of someone copying your account, it’s important to fill out your profile both completely and correctly. Be as unique and specific with your content as you can, so that you start to create an original brand or persona that can be differentiated from others out there.
Step Three: Stay Personal and Stay Active
You may have noticed that most public figures spend a lot of time on their Instagram – you’re constantly getting updates from them and new content. If your Instagram is dead, or there’s nothing original about it, then you’re going to have a hard time giving Instagram a reason to verify you.
A boring, impersonal and cold account doesn’t provide any value to Instagram followers. If you want to stand out and be noticed, then you have to add a bit of life and personality to your posts. Here are a couple of tips for making your content exciting and appealing:
- Connect: mention people in your content, engage with your followers and like comments that people leave.
- Collaborate: give your content a boost by working with influencers so that you can show Instagram you have authority.
- Make the Most of Instagram Insights: turn your Instagram into a business page so that you can build up your community and create content that’s going to appeal to the right audience.
- Post Original Content: work out precisely what it is that your followers like, and then fill their Instagram feed with this type of content.
Step Four: Be Visible
When it comes to all social media strategy, being visible is one of the most integral parts.
It’s a surprisingly simple formula: you need to have an excellent social presence if you want to be verified by Instagram.
The great news is that there are a number of tools you can use to do this. One of these is making the most of your hashtags. You need to use a combination of branded, new hashtags, as well as popular ones. Let’s take a look at some other ways that you can improve your visibility on Instagram, too:
- Team Up with Influencers: if you can’t beat them, join them. Using shoutouts and mentions, you can team up with an influencer to help get your name out there.
- Building up Media: you can give free press releases to online publications on your Instagram. If you’ve been noticed a lot by Google, then Instagram will consider you worthy of verification.
- Link Up Your Accounts: plug your Instagram anywhere and everywhere, including emails, other social media websites, and blog posts.
Step Five: Ask Instagram
Perhaps one of the simplest ways to get verified on Instagram is to just ask them for it. I mean, what’s the harm?
You used to be turned away laughing for asking this, but recently Instagram has implemented a request form within the Instagram app. While this form isn’t available everywhere just yet, it soon will be.
Believe it or not, there’s actually a black market for that blue verification badge out there, where some companies offer to verify your Instagram account for as much as $15,000. Of course, this is just a scam, and you shouldn’t trust it at all.
One of the biggest reasons why Instagram has released a verification form is to try and eliminate scams like this.
Top Tools for Instagram Growth & Engagement
| Rank | Tool | Type | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seek Socially | Growth Service | Visit |
| 2 | Nitreo | Growth Service | Visit |
Final Thoughts
Even though Instagram now have a verification form that you can fill out, it’s still not easy to get verified through them.
You’ll still need to work hard to build up your online presence so that you can prove to them that you’re worth the badge. Remember, being verified by Instagram is a powerful thing, which can definitely help your online presence and exposure.
As the competition continues to heat up, being verified by Instagram is becoming more and more appealing. Do you think you have what it takes to be verified?
