Are Paid Verifications on Social Media a Good Thing?

Following Twitter’s roll out of a paid verification feature, Meta announced the launch of a similar paid verification package: for lower than USD 15 a month, users can now get a blue check on their Facebook and Instagram accounts. The program, called ‘Meta Verified’, is now available in the United States.

About Meta Verified

Meta Verified is designed to allow users to sport a blue verification badge on their Facebook and Instagram accounts, as an added benefit, users who opt for this program get access to live customer support as they need it besides other advantages. The program has variations, Meta Verified can cost $12 a month if accessed via the web, $15 per month if accessed through iOS or Android.

There’s a catch though: once a user is verified, profile names or photo, username, or date of birth changes get restricted and users cannot change these details without going through another verification process again.

On the other hand, Twitter Blue’s program allows its users to pay to have a blue tick near their profile, Meta Verified differs in the sense that it requires its users to provide a government allocated ID to verify profile details and get it verified.

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A Few Benefits of Verification Programs on Social Sites like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

The recent launch of the Paid Verification programs across these social sites points to a growing focus on security and privacy norms. Meta Verified will help increase security and transparency on the platforms.

For the platforms itself, since these programs are going to be chargeable services, it boosts the brand’s revenue streams.

The paid verification programs can also benefit new business users or start-ups who wan’t to boost their online growth and presence with authenticity at the core. While the program isn’t available to business as yet, this might open up in the near future.

The paid verification program can enhance the user base quality across these platforms and also help reduce the number of bots and fake accounts.

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Will Paid Verification Become a Social Media Trend?

A verification badge can actually have its share of advantages for brands and influencers as well. Users who monetize their incomes through these channels can establish themselves as an authentic, trusted profile.

The roll out of Twitter Blue’s verification program last year works like a subscription service and has already garnered over 180,000 users.

As social media becomes more crucial for brands and takes up more space in a marketing strategy, marketers and advertisers will have to find different ways to scale and grow their audience strength and content reach.

Being a high value influencer without a verification badge may actually start dissuading people or brands from working with these profiles which will eventually lead to sporting a verification tag as a trend over time.