Meta Verified for Facebook + Instagram: Cost & Benefits

22 Apr Meta Verified for Facebook + Instagram: Cost & Benefits

Businesses on Facebook and Instagram now have the option to become Meta Verified. But what does that mean? Aside from a neat blue checkmark—the now-ubiquitous badge communicating you are “verified and authentic” on the internet—what does being Meta Verified do for you on Meta Business Suite?

Let’s break down the Meta Verified Badge: what it confers, what it costs, who qualifies for it, and why you might consider it for your business on Facebook and Instagram. 

What are the benefits of Meta Verified?

Being Meta Verified on Facebook and Instagram bestows many benefits to business profiles. Bear in mind, Meta is still adjusting the service; for example, in the future Meta Verification will extend to Whatsapp and related Whatsapp services. 

Verified Badge

The first benefit is the verified badge—that coveted blue checkmark signifying your business profile is real and represents your business (and not some scammer!). 

This may seem like a trivial thing, but if you’ve spent any time cleaning spam messages out of your Messenger inbox you already know spammers have proliferated across the Metaverse. We’ve heard horror stories of look-alike accounts popping up and messaging the real followers of the accounts they’re impersonating. Having that little blue checkmark can mean the difference between your customers being scammed by a look-alike account and knowing when they’re communicating with you. 

The blue checkmark follows your name across the platform. Visitors to your page will see it next to your name (as shown above), next to comments you make, in direct messages, next to your name in searches, and in Reels, Stories, the Feed, and Facebook Watch. 

Impersonation Protection

Meta Verification also involves “proactive impersonation monitoring.” Meta is not transparent about what this actually involves. Presumably, it means Meta actively scans its own system for the above mentioned look-alike accounts. 

The word “proactive” provides a possible clue: Meta is likely using AI systems to monitor for fake accounts. Their Transparency Center says: “We balance machine learning with a trained team of experts who review and take action on violating content.”

Account Support

If you’ve ever been locked out of your Facebook business account or had any issue with Facebook, you know the abysmal state of their support system. Reaching a real, live person on Meta is impossible. With Meta Verification, businesses gain access to a live support system with a real person on the other end. 

When you sign up for verification, Meta adds a new Meta Verified category under “Settings” in Meta Business Suite. Click “Contact Support” to open a live chat with a support system operator. The support system also includes the ability to speak to a Meta agent over the phone.

Of all the benefits included in Meta Verification, live account support might top our list. Operating Facebook and Instagram via Meta Business Suite is all fine and good if everything is operating correctly, you haven’t been hacked, and you can still access your business page. But if any of the above goes awry, it can take months or even never to fix things. We have had clients lose access to their Facebook business pages forever. That is not an exaggeration; clients have completely lost their business pages and never gained access again.

Improved Discovery

Supposedly, a Meta Badge confers a greater rate of discovery for verified business pages. Meta says it features Meta Verified businesses “at or near the top of comments and search results when people type your business name, or … as a recommended business to follow in Feed.”

It sounds like Meta Verification translates to increased reach for your business, but again, we have yet to see proof of this. In fact, anecdotally, some creators have reported no visible difference in reach and engagement after verification. Meta Verification rolled out to creators before businesses, so this may be a feature still in the tweaking phase. 

In the Meta Verified for Business Terms of Service it states, “Increased visibility may vary depending on a number of factors, including the Business Asset’s existing audience size and the topic of their posts. Business Assets with a smaller following may see a more noticeable impact to their reach since their audiences are smaller.” 

What does it cost to be Meta Verified?

Meta Verification costs vary, depending on how you register. But overall, guaranteeing and promoting your brand’s authenticity is not cheap.

Mobile App Registrations

If registering via the mobile app, a Meta Verified Badge costs $27.99 a month per Instagram Business Account, Facebook Business Page, and Whatsapp phone number. Right now, if you purchase on the mobile app, you can only choose one business asset for verification (Instagram, Facebook, OR Whatsapp). 

Desktop Registrations

If registering via a desktop computer, a Meta Verified Badge costs $21.99 a month per Instagram Business Account, Facebook Business Page, and Whatsapp phone number. 

What are the requirements for a Meta Verified Badge?

Meta does not make it overly simple to become verified. It is a 3-day (or more) process of authenticating your account and identity, and the nascent program has not been released everywhere. 

To become Meta Verified, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Be in a country where Meta Verified is available
• Have two-factor authentication turned on for your personal account
• Have an existing Business Portfolio within Meta Business Suite
• Have full control (ownership access) of your Meta Business Portfolio
• Meet minimum account tenure requirements (business account must be at least 3 months old)
• Not exceed threshold account change activity, such as a name change, within a certain time period (If you’ve changed your business account name a certain number of times, this may preclude you from authentication
• (Instagram) Be a professional account
• Be a complete profile, including (Instagram) profile picture and category; (Facebook) profile picture, cover photo, and category
• Meet minimum account activity requirements, such as prior posting history and follower count

Once you begin verification, you will only have a set number of days to complete the process. Meta requires confirmation of your business contact information, which includes your business name, address, phone number, website, tax ID (if required), and owner name. You may be asked to upload business documents or government ID as part of verification. 

Is a Meta Verified Badge worth it?

Shelling out $27.99 or $21.99 a month PER business asset is a lot of money. So, deciding whether Meta Verification is worth it is definitely a tough decision. The authenticity and credibility it communicates for your brand is undeniable. And, we love the idea of a live support system with real people—especially as an alternative to the Kafkaesque robo-support system Meta currently offers everyone. 

Search for “Is Meta Verification worth it?” and you’ll see a lot of results from creators and small businesses who have tried the system… and then canceled it. Make of that what you will. 

If you’re very nervous about hackers and potentially losing access to your account, the live support system might be worth it to you. If you have a small business with few followers and you’re desperate to grow, that increased visibility perk may look enticing. You can certainly try it out for 6 months and set a SMART goal to see how it performed for you down the line.

Let’s consider the support system benefit, which tops our list of reasons. As a business owner, you should be very afraid of weak points in your online security, scammers, and hackers. One (free!) way to avoid needing that Meta support system in the first place is to set up two factor authentication. If you don’t have 2FA turned on, do it now! The process is simple and will take you less than 5 minutes. 

Want more help optimizing your presence on Meta? Stitchcraft Marketing is a marketing agency of crafting experts. We customize every program to showcase your brand, engage your customer base, and generate sales in a way that is nothing less than magical. If you’d like to work with us, contact us today to get started!