You can now pay to be Meta verified. But is it worth it?

In life we always want what we can’t have, especially when it comes to being verified. Gaining the elusive blue tick on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram has become increasingly popular among celebrities, influencers and successful entrepreneurs, with many doing whatever it may take in an attempt to get the tick of approval. After all, having a verified account gives you added street cred, a level of trustworthiness, and clout. 

With Twitter announcing last year that its blue tick is now up for sale to its users who are willing to pay, it was somewhat unsurprising when Mark Zuckerberg announced to the world on Monday morning, from his verified Facebook account, of course, that you too can bolster your profile with a blue badge by switching your account to be “Meta Verified”.

Australia and New Zealand are the first countries to be offered this much anticipated service, with Zuckerberg revealing the service will cost from $19.99 per month on web or $24.99/month on iOS.

Up until now, the verification process was a challenging one. Part of the online application, along with providing proof of your identity, required you to provide at least five links to earned, unpaid, new stories that you were featured in to verify you or your brand are a searchable, public personality. 

But starting this week, it will be as easy as uploading a form of government ID, e.g. driver’s license which also proves that you’re over 18.

So, with nearly $300 Aussie dollars at stake annually for a year subscription for the iOS option, is it actually worth it?

The benefits of paying to get Meta verified

1. With an increase in cyber crime and social media hackings becoming a daily occurrence, we have all heard the horror stories where you know of someone who has had their beloved Facebook or Instagram account taken over. Years of family photos and memes, lost in a flash, not to mention an influencer’s income. Paying to be verified, provides access to customer service support at Meta — something that many mere members haven’t had access to — until now. This means you could now potentially be able to reach out to someone if your page was taken ransom or hacked — something that many may not be able to put a price on.
2. Ability to remove any imposter accounts. Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed in his post that if you decide to pay to play the verification game with Meta, essentially “they know the real you”, so it’s a lot easier to have removed any imposter accounts. This is another feature that will come in handy as I have often heard from clients that “fake” accounts are set up by people and then they are sent messages, posing as them.
3. An increase of a greater social presence on Facebook and Instagram. In an official media release, Meta have confirmed that by paying to be Meta Verified, it will offer “increased visibility and reach with prominence in some areas of the platform — like search, comments and recommendations.” This could be a game changer for many people who rely on their social media accounts to leverage their personal brand. With the algorithms and reach of these social  platforms forever changing, any competitive advantage that you have over someone that isn’t Meta Verified could make a difference for your personal brand, especially if you’re the face of your business.
4. Special features. Meta has also announced that for those who opt in, there will be “exclusive features” that will allow you to “express yourself in unique ways”. Sounds very Madonna!

Why you shouldn’t pay to get verified

1. The paid Meta Verified program isn’t currently available to businesses, just personal accounts. Therefore if you are still wanting to get your brand or business verified you’ll need to resort to the initial approval process. 
2. If you have an account that doesn’t match the official name on your government ID. Meta will “only support your real name on your profile. Once your profile is verified, you can’t change the profile name, username, date of birth, or photo on your profile without going through the Meta Verified subscription and verification application process again.” 
3. You want to make an impression. Unfortunately the blue tick will lose its exclusiveness, with the feature now being available to everyone in Australia and NZ and soon internationally. The more users that pay, the more common the tick will be and in no time at all that will make it lose its lustre. 

With Meta following Musk’s Twitter Blue strategy, I am sure it’s only a matter of time before LinkedIn is next to jump on the blue badge bandwagon.

Adrian Falk is the founder and director of Believe Advertising & PR.