- Getting the verified badge beside your name
is the Holy Grail of Instagram.
It's a priceless status symbol
that makes it easy to be spotted in search results
and conveys authority.
The truth is
you don't need to be a celebrity with millions of followers
to get verified.
You don't need insider connections at Facebook either.
Anyone can claim theirs.
In fact, the process for Instagram verification has changed,
and in my opinion,
these updates have made it so much easier
to get an Instagram verified badge.
In this video,
I'm gonna take you through all the steps
that you need to know to get verified by Instagram,
as well as some tips to maximize your chances
of getting that coveted blue check mark next to your name.
Most commonly seen with celebrities and major brands,
a verified badge lets profile visitors know
that Instagram's verification team has vetted your profile
and that you are legit.
Since the verification badge cannot be bought,
this inspires confidence and conveys prestige,
so any service claiming they can get you verified for a fee
is definitely a scam.
There are a few key reasons for you to try and get verified.
For one, it stops impersonation.
Whether you're an e-commerce brand or an influencer,
letting your profile visitors know
that you are the real deal
is the main reason to apply for the badge.
Second is credibility.
The blue tick has become a subconscious anchor
of trustworthiness for Instagram users.
This makes your profile a natural leader in your space,
increasing your engagement and, of course, sales.
Third is all about continued growth.
Verified accounts appear higher up in search
when people type things into the search bar
that align with your content category.
This helps increase brand awareness,
audience growth and conversions too.
So let's take a look at the four requirements
to get verified.
One is to be authentic.
You're a real human or a real brand,
and you'll need to be prepared
to have documentation to prove it.
Two is to be a unique profile,
which means you can't have multiple accounts
for the same person or business,
unless they're multiple language accounts.
Uniqueness also has to do with original content,
meaning even if you have tens of millions of followers
but you're a meme account or a fan account,
verification won't be approved.
Three is to have a complete profile.
This means at the very least
you've got to have a public profile,
a profile picture,
a written bio and be an active user.
One thing Instagram doesn't clearly define
is what being an active user entails,
but we can confidently assume
that it means that you've gotta post,
share and comment on content regularly,
say at least once a week on average.
Now, these first three requirements
are pretty simple to achieve,
so why is getting verified so elusive?
It's because of the fourth requirement,
which is to be notable.
Being notable isn't clearly defined,
but as a guideline,
Instagram defines it as your profile representing
a well known or highly searched for person or brand.
The actual process of applying for verification
is tremendously easy.
It's all done directly in app.
From your profile,
tap the menu button on the top right,
which brings up the menu.
Tap settings up top,
then account near the bottom of the following menu.
Then request verification.
Step one is to fill out your information.
You've gotta put your real full name
and then upload a document like a driver's license.
If you're requesting verification of a business,
you can put the full legal name of a business
and then upload your articles of incorporation
or LLC registering paperwork instead.
Step two is to confirm your notability.
First, you'll select your category from a list.
Next, you'll choose your country or region from a list.
And after that,
there are two optional fields,
one called audience where Instagram instructs you
to optionally describe the people who follow your account,
what they're interested in and why they follow you.
The other optional field is the also known as field
where you can list the other names
of the person or business your account represents
is publicly known as,
like stage names or names in other languages.
The next section, although optional,
is where most of us will definitely wanna take the time
to fill out,
and those are links that help with verification.
I'm talking news articles,
social media accounts you're already verified on,
and other relevant links that show your account is notable.
So if you are applying for your business,
definitely include your business's website as well.
You'll see there's an add link button
at the bottom of a list of three,
and at least at the time of recording this video,
it allows you to add an additional two
for a total of five links,
and I definitely recommend you use them all
if you're not already very obviously famous globally
or at least nationally.
Once you've added those links,
you hit submit and that's it.
You have successfully submitted you or your business
for verification.
Within 30 days,
Instagram will notify you through your activity feed
whether or not your application was successful.
If it was,
you'll get that blue check mark right away.
Now, one of the most important steps to becoming notable
is to of course grow your social media presence.
So if you want to learn how to create magnetic content
and explode your Instagram following,
I recommend you download this free social media plan.
I'll link it in the top corner of this video
and down in the description below.
That last requirement of being notable
is the toughest requirement to hit.
We know now that of course you want to have a profile photo
and a completed bio
that succinctly shares who you are
or what your brand is all about.
We know that buying followers is bad for so many reasons,
but in the case of getting verified,
it is a sure shot way to get denied
since Instagram will find out
while they perform the verifications.
After all, no one suddenly gets 10,000 subscribers
over the course of two days
but only gets one or two every day before and after.
We know the importance
of following Instagram's community guidelines
and terms of use,
and Instagram summarizes that point
pretty succinctly themselves where they write,
"Post only your own photos and videos
and always follow the law.
Respect everyone in Instagram.
Don't spam people or post nudity."
Pretty clear cut guidelines.
But what we may not all know
is how to be recognized as notable,
and I'd love to share the best way
to methodically work towards that notoriety,
and it all has to do with those links
that you submit as supporting evidence for verification.
In the application page,
there is a line under the links header
that says paid or promotional content won't be considered,
and what this means is that you can't link a paid article,
oftentimes referred to as advertorials,
and expect those to count towards your verification.
The absolute best types of links are real editorial mentions
like from traditional news sites
or other traditional publications
like big name magazines or, say, academic journals.
The second best types of links
are those of other social media platforms
that you are already verified on,
like the similar blue check mark on Twitter
or the gray check mark on YouTube.
But how can you get real editorial coverage
from traditional news media and major publications?
Well, of course, you can do notable things
and get actual coverage,
or you can take a page out of author Ryan Holiday's book
called "Trust Me, I'm Lying."
What his book reveals
is that news outlets are incentivized by money, obviously,
and their money comes from page views
to generate advertising revenue.
How do they get those page views?
By churning out a constant stream of content
to drive eyes and attention to any page of their websites.
So when nothing huge and newsworthy is happening,
they are still putting tons of pressure on their staff
to keep churning out stories.
But without obvious stories to tell,
where do the writers of national publications go?
Well, they go down to state,
provincial or city level news sites
to find new content ideas to publish.
But those smaller local news sites
suffer from the same pressure and the same incentives,
so where do they go when there's nothing to tell?
They go to even smaller publications
like individual blogs or ultra niche blogs and forums.
But what about those individual bloggers?
I mean, even they're incentivized by the exact same things,
to publish more content to get more eyes
to earn more advertising revenue.
And that's where your opportunity comes in.
Reach out to as many individual bloggers and even writers
at your local or neighborhood newspapers and news sites.
Share your story.
Talk about something
you or your business is passionate about
and what you are doing about it.
When you go low enough down the food chain,
you will find people who will engage and want to publish you
because, again, they're starved for new content
to constantly push out.
For example, maybe you started a hot sauce company,
but you are passionate about helping homeless shelters
to keep a warm place for those without a place to call home
to sleep at night.
Maybe you donate a percentage of your sales
to shelters or homeless services organizations.
Maybe you donate your sauces to community food kitchens
to add some extra heat to the meals that they prepare.
Reaching out consistently
to hyper-local newspapers and local bloggers
will lead to them writing a story about you,
not necessarily because they even like you,
but because because their income is incentivized
by always pumping out new stories.
You do this consistently enough and enough times,
and at some point,
a writer from a bigger city, state or provincial newspaper
will siphon their content research efforts
into that local blogger who wrote about you
and perhaps just as the filler piece
reach out to you for comment
and publish that story in their paper.
As long as you understand
that every writer at every major publication
is constantly pressured for content,
you are armed with the knowledge to set yourself up
to gain traditional media coverage.
Give writers what they want,
something new to write about.
After getting your name published in a few articles,
you'll have proof that you're notable.
And by the way,
if you do have deeper pockets
and really want to expedite the process,
you can hire a PR agency.
If you decide to go this route,
be sure to clarify before hiring them
that they are an agency
that has access to something
called the Facebook Media Support Tools Portal
where they can submit a verification request on your behalf
through their access.
But again, this is if you have deep pockets.
I spoke with a friend who has a big YouTube channel
who was quoted $40,000 by one such agency,
and there wasn't even a guarantee of getting verified
since at the end of the day,
ultimately it's up to Instagram's verification team.
By the way, if you are active on Instagram
and are growing your following
and also have merch or products to sell,
did you know that Shopify
has an incredibly powerful integration with Instagram
that lets people buy your products
directly from your posts inside of the Instagram app
without ever needing to leave?
If you are ready to take your business or personal brand
to the next level by selling products,
I welcome you to claim your 100% free trial to Shopify
where you can set up your store, add products,
integrate with Instagram
and make your first sale all well before your trial ends.
You can access your free trial
by clicking the link right up here
or in the link down in the description below.
To quickly summarize verification though,
make sure your profile is complete with a profile pic,
a complete bio,
a link like your personal or business' website,
and not one that directs to another social media site.
Be sure to post content at least weekly
and engage with both those who comment on your posts,
as well as liking and commenting
on other accounts' posts too.
Continue posting engaging and relevant content
to your target audience
to organically grow your following.
Most of all, if you want to get verified
as a non-celebrity or non-international brand,
start reaching out to news and magazine writers
to share a part of your story
that you feel is most worth writing about.
When you are ready to apply for verification,
add your business' website or personal website
as your first link.
Add any other social media profiles
that have a large following,
or better yet have already been verified
as your second link.
And for the third, fourth and fifth links,
add those news stories.
You do this,
and you will get your Instagram verified in no time at all.
If you want more tips to grow an online business
and step up your social media game,
subscribe right here to Learn With Shopify.
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