#TechTuesday: How to get verified on Facebook

With the ongoing pandemic, everyone is shifting their businesses online—and with more people working from home, it’s more important than ever for brands and businesses to build credibility with their online audience.

Besides providing relevant and updated content, one marketing strategy to increase user confidence is to get verified on social media accounts, particularly Facebook, the most popular social network worldwide. 

Having that blue checkmark next to your name gives a clear distinction between an authentic Page and a Page created by fans or imposters. 

What does being verified mean?

Getting verified on Facebook is important for Pages and profiles that are well-known, highly searched or may be susceptible to being replicated. This includes celebrities, public figures, popular brands, and large companies, to name a few.

The verified badge appears next to a Facebook Page or account’s name in search and on the profile. This means that Facebook has confirmed that an account is the authentic presence of the public figure, celebrity, or global brand it represents.

Facebook prioritizes verified profiles and Pages in its search results. Therefore, Facebook verification could ensure that your Page prominently shows up at the top of relevant searches, which could further improve your audience reach and engagement.

What are the requirements to apply for a verified badge?

Facebook looks at a number of factors when evaluating accounts to determine if they're in the public interest and meet their verification criteria. In addition to following Facebook’s terms of service, the account also needs to be:

• Authentic: The account must represent a real person, registered business or entity.

• Unique: The account must represent the unique presence of the person or business. Facebook only verifies one account per person or business, with exceptions of language-specific accounts. Facebook does not verify general interest accounts. 

• Complete: The account must be active and have an “About” section, profile photo and at least one post.
• Notable: The person, entity or business the account represents should be well-known and get plenty of searches. Facebook is more likely to approve accounts that are featured in multiple news sources. They don't consider paid or promotional content as sources for review.

How to get verified badge on Facebook

Anyone can submit a request to get verified. Here’s the step-by-step process:

Step 1: Click on the contact form

Fill out the contact form to subit a verification request.

Step 2: Choose your verification type 

You can choose either Page or Profiles.

Step 3: Select which Page or Profile to verify

Select the Page you want to verify if you need Facebook page verification. In case of profile verification, you’ll need to provide your profile URL instead.

Step 4: Select a Category for the Page or Profile

Possible categories include News/Media, Sports, Government & Politics, Music, Fashion, Entertainment, Digital Creator/Blogger/Influencer,  Gamer, Global Busines Brand/Organization and Other.

Step 5: Indicate what country the entity is from

Select the country from which the company, entity or individual originates.

Step 6: Upload supporting documents

Facebook requires at least one of the following official documents in order to review the request.

If the account represents a person, you’ll need to upload a government-issued photo ID that shows your name and date of birth (i.e. driver's license or passport)

If your account represents an entity other than a person, you’ll need to provide a document with an official seal/watermark of your organization, such as your organization's phone or utility bill, a certificate of formation, articles of incorporation or tax or tax exemption documents belonging to your organization.

Step 7: Explain why you, the page, needs to be verified

In the form, you need to provide an explanation why the Page or Profile should receive the verified badge. Pages of public interest, those that risk losing credibility due to imposters or have a significant number of followers have a higher chance of getting verified. You can provide relevant URLs that help illustrate the account's notability such as links to features or mentions on reputable news publications. An added option allows users to also list other social media presence accounts.

Step 8: Submit the form 

After filling out all the details in the contact form, click on the “Send” button at the bottom of the page. This completes the application process.

How long does it take to get verified on Facebook?

The time taken to get verified on Facebook differs from account to account. Although Facebook doesn’t specify the average timeframe, users could get a response as soon as 48 hours or wait up to 45 days. Users will receive a notification once Facebook reviews their verification request. Users who get requests that are denied or rejected may submit a new request after 30 days.

Can I buy a verified badge?

Never engage with anyone offering to sell you a verified badge. Facebook does not sell verified badges, and any accounts found doing so will have their badges removed. Facebook also reserves the right to remove the verified badge from accounts at their discretion.

Take note that not all public figures, celebrities and global brands on Facebook have a verified account. If your account doesn't meet the criteria for a verified badge, there are other ways to let people know it's authentic. For instance, you can link to it from an official website, Instagram profile or Twitter account.

(Image from Facebook Media)