Meta Verified: Can the Paid Subscription Service Elevate Your Social Media Presence?

Meta (formerly known as Facebook) has announced the testing stages of the newest innovation to the Facebook and Instagram platforms: Meta Verified, a paid subscription bundle offering account verification and increased security protections for creators on Facebook and Instagram.

The service, which is beginning gradual tests in Australia and New Zealand, aims to “help up-and-coming creators grow their presence and build community faster,” Meta announced. With prices set at $11.99 per month on the web and $14.99 per month on iOS and Android, the subscription bundle allows for exclusive features on the platforms as well as the coveted blue checkmark on a subscriber’s profile. Additional features include proactive protection against imposter accounts, access to account support, and increased visibility and reach in areas of the platform like search, comments, and recommendations.

With Meta Verified being announced shortly after Twitter’s own paid subscription service Twitter Blue, social media users were quick to draw comparisons between the two. Twitter users saw firsthand how damaging imposter accounts could be during the launch of Twitter Blue — giving anyone the power to send deceitful messages posing as verified businesses, organizations, and public figures. It seems that Meta has learned from Twitter’s mistakes, requiring a government-issued ID to become verified and removing the ability to change one’s profile name, username, photo, or date of birth once verified. Unlike Twitter Blue, Meta Verified ultimately protects brands and public figures from fake accounts and falsified statements — two things that can result in a public relations disaster.

So what other benefits does Meta Verified bring to business pages and brand accounts on Facebook and Instagram? On the surface level, not too many. Currently, Meta Verified is only available for personal accounts, with brands and businesses not eligible to apply. If you want to verify your brand or business page, you will need to resort to the original verification process that Meta has had in place. That’s not to say that Meta Verified won’t be offered to business accounts in the future, as Meta announced that it wants to “build a subscription offering that’s valuable for everyone, including creators, businesses, and our community at large.” But for now, the service is reserved for creators and influencers looking to increase their presence on the platforms.

While businesses may not be able to jump in on Meta Verification quite yet, that doesn’t mean they can’t still reap some of the benefits. Brands that partner with creators who have paid for Meta Verified may see results in terms of engagement and impression increases, especially those who collaborate on posts with verified creators. With Meta Verification allowing for increased visibility in searches, greater reach across the platform, and prioritized comments and positioning, creators that are Meta Verified become more desirable for brands and easier to find for audiences — a winning combination. 

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