Instagram has enabled brands to set themselves aside from the regular crowd by placing a blue tick next to their usernames.
Traditionally, famous public figures and organizations could apply for account verification. However, the new feature allows anyone to apply for account verification.
But it doesn’t mean that you’ll get verified. Nonetheless, if you’ve applied for it, it’s only natural you’ll be wondering how long it takes for Instagram to respond.
Instagram verification involves various aspects, from when you apply for verification to when you get approved. Let’s discuss them in detail.
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From the sea of fake accounts, fan pages, and blank profiles on Instagram, a verification badge is one shield to make an account official.
However, only popular accounts, like public figures or brands, with a substantial number of followers mostly get verified.
If you’re a well-known personality and want to apply for that glorious Instagram verification badge, follow these steps to get verified:
The verification form consists of three steps. Let’s discuss them below.
You must fill out your full name and provide proof of identity there.
Your full name should be in accordance with your ID proof.
After entering the full name, you must choose the document type and upload the document. Proofs accepted by Instagram are driver’s license, passport, national identification card, tax filing, recent utility bill, and articles of incorporation.
This section must prove that the public figure or brand the account represents is in the public interest. In the “Category” field, select your account’s niche, e.g., News/Media, Sports, etc.
Following that, you should select your country/region. There are two optional fields, “Audience” and “Also known as.” Describe your followers in the “Audience” section and list all your famous aliases in the “Also known as” field.
In the “Links” section, you can fill out the details and links to your other social media and websites.
Although this section is optional, it plays a huge role in Instagram verification and increases your chances of getting positive feedback upon your application.
Once you’ve followed these steps diligently, you must wait until they get back to you.
Applying for the verification badge is just the first part. Instagram does the rest by considering all the information you’ve provided and checking if you meet their criteria.
If you meet the criteria and are quite a prominent figure or brand, your approval shouldn’t take long. You could be verified within an hour, a week, or a month.
However, the duration depends entirely on Instagram’s verification procedure, and nothing you can do after that will speed up the process.
The standard time you should hear from Instagram, whether approved or not, is 30 days. However, there have been instances when users have also heard from Instagram in more than a month.
The safety of the batch is one of the most inquired things regarding the Instagram verification procedure. Are you safe once you are approved for your verified badge? Can Instagram take away your verified badge?
The answer is yes, sometimes Instagram takes away verification batches. It would help if you operated in various parameters to stay relevant for the verified badge.
Not following the terms or breaking the parameters will give Instagram enough reason to remove your badge and disable your account.
It would be best if you abode by the following parameters:
There is no official statement from Instagram that tells you how to verify your account, though you can follow these widely accepted points:
Instagram is a platform where you will find various kinds of accounts, and not all will be authentic. A verified badge sets apart the official accounts from the fake ones.
To get the verified badge, follow the steps mentioned in the article, and within 30 days, you will hear from Instagram.
To get verified on Instagram is one of the most prestigious honors a brand can receive. Fortunately, Instagram has made it a bit easier to get that blue tick as it lets absolutely anyone apply for Instagram verification.
But there's a twist in the tail here. Unless you are a public figure or a global brand, it's pretty hard to get an Instagram verification badge. That's why we have broken down all you need to know to get verified on Instagram in this post. Let's get started!
You can directly jump to a section of your choice or keep scrolling.
Simply put, Instagram verification means you have a blue tick next to your username, either on your personal page or your brand page. This blue checkmark shows the Instagram audience that the platform essentially confirms that they have verified who you are & that you are who you say you are.
Image Source: Grammarly Instagram
Many people see getting that blue tick next to their Instagram username as a symbol of status. As if the Instagram verification badge is something that will tell other users that you have "made it."
If Instagram verifies a particular account, it means they took the time to ensure that the account owner is who they assert to be. Instagram verification badge also helps other users to inquire about the original user account they are trying to find rather than a fan or fake account. Apart from these, here are some added benefits to get verified on Instagram:
Once you get verified on Instagram, you will also get a touch of unique treatment from Instagram.
Users with the blue tick are often the primary ones to undertake and test new features before they are extended to the remaining Instagram users.
With more than 150 million fake accounts on the platform, anyone can copy your exact strategy & steal your brand name. This can lead to confusion among your fans and customers about which one is the original brand's account.
Along with giving a real competitive edge & strengthening your brand power, the Instagram verification badge also helps distinguish your account from a pool of fake & spam accounts.
It's not easy to get an Instagram verification badge. So the accounts that get verified on Instagram belong to an exclusive group. Not being able to acquire it easily makes the blue tick more valuable to any account that receives it.
When users see an account with an Instagram verification badge, they automatically trust the content posted on the account as an original one.
Even if other accounts have put out the same kind of content without providing credits, yours is considered to be the primary source of that piece of information.
On top of that, you are also sure to see a rise in followers & engagement on your account once you get verified on Instagram.
Accounts with Instagram verification badges show up higher in search results and on explore pages. So when somebody's searching on Instagram, and your account matches the search criteria, it will appear at the very top, leaving other duplicate and fan accounts lower on the list.
You might have also observed that the recommended pages by Instagram are often the ones that are verified. A high indication here is that the Instagram algorithm also likes and favors accounts with blue tick.
Most prominent brands use Instagram as their central marketing channel. And as a verified account yourself, you are likely to drive better partnership offers from big brands (that are already Instagram verified) looking to collaborate with other well-known brands.
Instagram takes a number of factors into consideration when evaluating if an account meets the verification criteria. Apart from following Instagram's Terms of Use & Community Guidelines, your account should have the following characteristics to get Instagram blue checkmark:
Authenticity: Your account should represent a real person or registered business.
Uniqueness: A person or a brand should hold only one account since the platform can confirm the authenticity of only one account corresponding to an individual or brand. The exception does exist for multilingual accounts. The entity should also represent the same person, business, or brand that dominates most of the account posts. Accounts with general interests are refused.
Completeness: Your account should be a public one and not a private one that contains a bio and profile photo.
You should also maintain an active account while applying to get verified on Instagram.
Notability: Your account should represent a public figure or brand that is well known to the audience and is highly searched. Instagram uses popular news websites to see if your name/brand name has been featured and does not consider any paid or sponsored media content as sources for review.
It is important to note that all the information you provide during the Instagram verification process should be truthful. Otherwise, it will leave you without a blue tick and might also lead to your account deletion in the worst cases.
Another important point here is that possessing a blue checkmark on Facebook does not guarantee your Instagram account approval automatically. It is necessary to start the process from the very beginning again on IG and enhance your account to be the one with a high likelihood of being impersonated.
Instagram does not give a minimum number of followers requirement to get the blue tick.
The follower count does not play any role, and there is no requirement that users should collect a certain follower number to get verified on Instagram.
However, once an Instagram account has obtained the blue tick, it does have high chances of growing its following quickly enough and beating the threshold of the millions in a much lesser time. And that is the reason why everyone wants to get Instagram verified. Even the newly registered users with a minimum number of followers are not an exception to obtaining the Instagram verification badge.
There is no criteria on the number of followers to get verified on Instagram.
Unlike several other services, Instagram does not offer the blue tick to any users till they do not claim this checkmark themselves. Everyone who wishes to get an Instagram verification badge should request it by filling out an application form. When you complete this process, your application gets delivered to the Instagram verification team.
Its representatives can then review your application and either approve or deny it. Here are the steps to apply for your blue tick on Instagram:
Step 1: Make sure you're logged in to the account you're requesting a verification badge for.
Step 2: Go to your profile & tap Settings -> Account -> Request Verification.
Step 3: Enter your full name & provide the required form for Instagram identification. Once done, hit Send.
Image Source: Instagram
After you have sent your request, Instagram will review your request. You will receive a notification in the "Activity" section of your account up to 30 days after applying to let you know if your account has been verified or not.
You might receive a similar kind of notification if your accounts get verified.
Image Source: Alex Tooby
The notification you might receive if your accounts do not get verified.
Image Source: Alex Tooby
If your request gets denied, you can submit a new request again in 30 days. But note that applying for an Instagram verification badge multiple times before receiving a decision will cancel your application.
A few things to keep in mind after submitting your request to get verified on Instagram are:
In case you find any of these happening with you, consider it as a case of falsehood.
There is no exact period of time for how long does it take to get verified on Instagram.
Sometimes accounts get the blue tick in a couple of days only, but experts recommend that you start checking your IG notifications 3 to 4 days after sending a request.
If your request gets denied, don't get disheartened because this was not your one and only chance. You can send your application again in the next 30 days. But the next time you apply to get verified on Instagram, make sure you have worked on your account thoroughly to meet the requirements as accurately as possible.
Also, remember that Instagram can remove your blue tick at any time & may take away your Instagram verification badge or even disable your account if you do the following after you get verified on Instagram:
There are a lot of myths and rumors with the verification process since many myths, or a part of them might have appeared to be true sometimes due to certain exceptions. The most ambiguous of them look like the following:
It might seem suspicious that the blue tick usually appears next to profiles of public & prosperous people. That leads several people to suppose that these users could have purchased it for hefty real money.
However, it remains a common truth that IG does not charge a single dollar for the verification process. It is an absolutely free procedure that everyone and anyone can apply.
Naturally, representatives of the black market or digital agencies charge just for getting your account verified on Instagram.
But the platform does not have an option to apply for verification for a different account. The field of username is uneditable. Hence only an account holder can apply to get verified on Instagram from their account and provide all the necessary confirmations to pass through it.
The truth is even if you are a true influencer, you are not guaranteed a blue tick.
It has been observed that Instagram seems to lean towards approving people who have a robust web presence than just the Instagram presence itself. Some major Instagram influencers have remained un-verified. On the other hand, lawyer and media blogger Rachel Sklar, who only has a few thousand followers (at the time of writing), is verified.
Image Source: Rachel Sklar Instagram
While Sklar does not have an influencer style following on Instagram, she is very Google-able and has been featured in countless national publications. She ranks high on overall internet notability. Not to forget, Rachel Sklar is Twitter verified & has been followed by prominent figures such as Barack Obama on Twitter.
Some people have a viewpoint that Instagram verification does not provide any benefit apart from a small blue checkmark. However, users develop a number of pros for themselves and their brand (knowingly or unknowingly) apart from getting the Instagram verification badge:
While there exists no perfect strategy for acquiring the Instagram verification badge, there are a couple of tips and tricks which will improve your chances of getting Instagram verified.
Your profile should be in excellent shape if you wish to get verified on Instagram. Here's a checklist you can refer to for the same:
Have a link in your bio that sends users to a shoppable gallery or your official website.
If you use your verified Facebook or Twitter link on your bio link, remove it, as this might not help get you verified.
Have at least one phone number or email address publicly published on your website, which would provide a way for your audience to contact you other than Instagram itself.
Your bio should explain who you are and what you do.
Take time to get your profile and bio in prime shape before applying.
Know more about 300+ Instagram Bio Ideas: How To Write A Killer Instagram Bio
Image Source: H&M Instagram
Try to distinguish your content from what other accounts of similar interest post. This will add more personality to your account. It will also help to personalize your brand & make it more relatable for other users.
Image Source: Oreo Instagram
While making the perfect content for Instagram, don't forget about consistency. A content calendar can help you here to maintain consistency and look at the quality of posts all at once. If you are an SMB, Statusbrew's Planner is one such calendar that will let you compose & schedule posts for several accounts from one dashboard.
Now, you know that the number of followers you have does not play any role in your Instagram verification process. One thing to know here is that your follower count never equals your posts' engagement. Hence focus on building such a quality following that is interested in your post & you are sure to receive a good amount of engagement with whatever follower you have.
Image Source: Starbucks Instagram
One foolproof method to increase engagement on Instagram is to use popular hashtags. You can also take it one step further & build a hashtag for your brand. The more you get people to use your brand hashtag, the more visibility you will get on Instagram. If your brand hashtag has got a good amount of posts & following, you can include it in your bio as well.
Know more about 300+ Best Hashtags For Instagram In 2021
One of the significant similarities you can observe among accounts that get verified on Instagram is that the accounts are highly active. Not only do they post consistently, but they also engage with their followers actively. You would observe that each of their posts is quite power-packed.
Hence Instagram also takes the side of active users while giving the blue tick because there are more chances that the audience believes in this account holder. Therefore, it is best to start adding content frequently and put effort into engaging and interacting with your followers more actively if you want to get verified on Instagram.
If you don't find time to open your Instagram very frequently & still wish to maintain an active profile, take the help of Statusbrew's unified inbox that collates all your conversation in one dashboard.
As an SMB, this will save a lot of your time by avoiding the hassle of checking your account every now and then to see if you received any comments & you can simply reply from Statusbrew's dashboard as well.
Statusbrew's Engage allows you to build a dependable response system effectively.
When you manage your Instagram account with a team, Statusbrew makes team collaboration much simpler & more manageable with it’s detailed features such as slack integration.
Integrate Statusbrew with Slack to receive instant notifications for configured activities performed in Publish and Engage Section.
As your following increases on Instagram, you would also notice a proportional increase in the spam, trolls, and bot comments under your post. It would be hard for you to keep a check on comments of all the posts & remove each spammy comment manually.
While you can always turn off comments on Instagram, this would also prevent your genuine followers from engaging with you.
But you can't let the spammy comments stay in your comments section as they work very quickly to destroy your brand's reputation online & might even prevent you to get verified on Instagram.
Hence, it would be best to have a tool that can automatically ban spam, bots & trolls. Statusbrew helps you increase the impact of your post by moderating comments on your social profiles. You can auto-hide comments, disable comments altogether, or create customized automation rules.
Try Statusbrew
You are more likely to get an Instagram verification badge if you already have a longtime presence or an enormous following on another platform, such as your blog or other social media site. Getting verified on other platforms does not guarantee your Instagram blue checkmark, but it does increase your likelihood.
This is because one of the Instagram verification requirements is being mentioned in the media & news. Instagram will certainly check on the internet for any content associated with your brand. And having a Facebook or Twitter account verified for the same brand name confirms your authenticity & uniqueness to Instagram during the review process.
Image Source: Everlane Instagram
If you have ever searched for a big brand or famous figures such as Nike, you will likely have noticed an awful lot of duplicate accounts. People also make "fan" accounts with the same brand name but it isn't a replacement of the original brand's account. A meme page or a fan account usually (in most cases) does not get verified by Instagram.
To increase the visibility of your account both for Instagram & for your fans, report any accounts that claim to be authentic and pretend to be you or try to copy-paste your content without giving credits.
This doesn't mean you should report everyone with the same brand name as there can be overlap. That is where your profile pic, which contains your brand's logo, would distinguish you. This will help prevent confusion when you apply to get verified on Instagram.
To get verified on Instagram the correct way, you need to grow your account, simply put. Savvy brands use Instagram analytics to reach new fans and grow their audience base faster than ever before.
Understanding your account analytics and knowing which metrics to track is vital to growing your followers and post engagement. Statusbrew offers a full analytics suite that is much more customizable & detailed than the basic offerings from Instagram Insights. With several ready to use templates, you can optimize the best times and days to schedule your Instagram posts so that it goes out at the right time.
Want to discuss more? Snag a free trial today!
Try Statusbrew
Statusbrew is an all in one social media management tool that supports Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, and even Google My Business.
We bet you have seen a blue tick next to the name on the accounts of celebrities, popular bloggers and brands more than once? We understand why it is needed, what benefits it gives and how to get it.
Blue check marks on Instagram are official verified accounts. It confirms that this page is not fake, but really belongs to the individual or brand.
It looks like this:
1. Identity or project verification
Accounts of actors, bands, athletes, brands, media, websites, government agencies, and even official pages of cities can receive verification.
2. Increasing the credibility of the page
And preventing fake twin accounts that scammers can use.
3. Monetization
Verified accounts that host ads can charge higher prices for ads. But this is more about a personal brand than business accounts of companies.
| Remember that the blue checkmark does not mean increased priority for displaying posts in the user's feed, access to technical support, additional account protection from hacking, or other privileges. |
First of all, the page should not violate the rules of using Instagram and comply with the user agreement.
The chances of getting verified increase if your account is:
- Authentic
Represents a real person, company or organization.
- Unique
The only exception applies to accounts of the same brand in different languages.
- Full
With all the necessary information in the profile, as well as previously posted publications.
- Noticeable
Users should be interested in your profile, and your company should also be mentioned in several different news sources besides Instagram itself.
Not all accounts can become "Favorites". Instagram considers each application separately and decides whether to reward the profile with a blue tick or not.
A few important points in the end or how to manage Instagram so as not to be denied verification:
1. Link pages to Instagram in other social networks.
This will help confirm the authenticity of the account and the active presence of the brand on the Internet.
2. Do not use cheat services.
During verification, the account is carefully checked. If he was previously convicted of unfair promotion, then the blue checkmark does not shine for you.
3. Post a variety of content regularly.
The more and more actively your account develops, the more favorable Instagram will be.
A profile with multiple photos will definitely be denied verification.
4. Clean up spam.
Even if you promoted your account according to all the rules, sometimes you need to clean it from spam comments and dubious followers. When considering an application for verification, Instagram looks not only at the quality of the content, but also at the subscribers.
5. Grow an active audience.
The more your account will be mentioned in posts, stories, write adequate comments or drive in the search, the more likely that Instagram will approve verification.
Submitting a request for verification of your Instagram account is easy. Especially for large companies. All the main work is for the brand before the application is submitted.
This is a confirmation of the authenticity of the account. The verification badge looks like a white check mark on a blue round background on the profile next to the username.
It is also visible in all posts and is displayed next to the nickname in the search.
Everyone. Both companies and famous personalities.
It will protect against the creation of fake accounts, give visibility and significantly increase the trust of users. Verified accounts can post external links in Stories even if they have less than 10,000 followers.
Send a formal request to Facebook and wait for a decision.
The account must represent a real company or person. It should be an active Instagram account, visible in the media space, with high activity and regular posting. Check out our tips for getting verified.
There is no official minimum number of subscribers. However, the more active your account and coverage, the higher the probability of getting a verification badge.
Directly on Instagram in the "Settings" section. Detailed guide in this article.
Yes. Always and for everyone.
Facebook usually considers the application for several days.
Don't get discouraged and try to apply again. This is possible after 30 days after the refusal.
Yes, if you violate the terms of use or misuse your account.
Only advice. The final decision on awarding the verification checkmark remains with Instagram.
Many influencers, athletes, musicians and various media personalities, as well as brands, are trying to get a tick on Instagram, but not everyone succeeds and often not the first time. In the article, we analyze what the blue tick on Instagram means, to whom it is given and what needs to be done for this. We share tips on how to increase the chances of verification.
Some Instagram profiles are marked with a checkmark badge. This means that the account belongs to a famous person or brand, and the owner has confirmed its authenticity.
An example of a verified account There is an opinion that verification on Instagram increases reach and reduces the likelihood of a ban.
There is no evidence for this, however, a tick in the profile still provides some advantages.
People who have achieved a certain popularity sooner or later have fans and imitators. When trying to find an account of a famous person through the search bar, there will be many "left" pages. If the profile is ticked, the target audience will immediately understand who to follow. The same goes for brands.
A verified account is immediately highlighted.Another plus is that the checkmark reduces reputational risks. As your fame grows, you may encounter a common problem: scammers create fake pages and deceive gullible people on your behalf. For example, they offer to buy merch or an information product, invest in a “reliable project”, and the like.
It is much more difficult to do this with a verified profile. When searching, users will first of all pay attention to an account with a check mark. In the header, you can indicate that this is the only genuine page, and all others are fakes.
If you are in sales, having a badge will increase the confidence of potential buyers.
Select the desired segments among subscribers: by age, interests, gender.
Instagram profile can be verified by public figures who are something of themselves and have reached a certain level of media: actors, athletes, models, politicians, musicians, various representatives of the arts, and so on . There are verified accounts of various areas - makeup artists, lawyers, authors of information products and much more.
Brands that have gained some recognition and fame, at least locally, can also get a tick on Instagram.
There are a number of criteria that a profile must meet in order to receive a badge:
Of course, the account must comply with Instagram's terms and conditions of use.
The official position of Instagram management: accounts that meet all the requirements are verified for free. Any attempt to get a tick around the rules is considered fraud. If the fact of this is revealed, the page will be blocked.
However, there are people who offer to buy a tick, and the demand for this service is quite high. It is safer to cooperate with agencies that work under a contract with a guarantee against deletion and take payment only after verification. However, you need to understand that you agree at your own peril and risk and may lose your profile if something goes wrong. In addition, the cost of the service reaches several thousand dollars, so weigh the pros and cons.
Go to settings, click "Account" and select "Request Verification".
Select the desired item in the settings An application form for verifying an Instagram account will open.
First step: you need to add an official document proving your identity or company registration. Options:
A nickname will be automatically loaded in the "Username" line, and below you need to specify the full name.
How to get a blue tick on Instagram: fill out the verification applicationHow to get a blue tick on Instagram: fill out a verification application
Second step: confirm that the person or brand you represent is of public interest. Choose a category that characterizes the direction of your profile: media, sports, music, digital content creator, and so on. Indicate the country or region in which you are most popular.
How to get a tick on Instagram: provide as much information as possible You can also describe your audience: who these people are, what their interests are and why they follow you.
Next, list the names or titles by which the person or brand is known. Both items are optional, but we recommend that you complete them to increase your chances of getting a check mark.
Add links to publications in the media, accounts in other social networks and other sources that prove that you are interesting to people and have a certain media weight. All information is carefully analyzed, so custom articles and other paid content can harm your reputation.
Check the specified data and send a request for verification. Within 30 days you will receive a response with approval or refusal. In the latter case, read the reasons and try again after a month.
Even if your account is 100% compliant with the requirements above, there is no guarantee that you will receive a verification badge. It is useful to take a number of actions that will increase the chances of success.
Accounts with more followers are more likely to get ticked.
This is not a mandatory requirement, but there is such an observation. We have articles on how to increase reach and gain an audience on Instagram.
Develop accounts on YouTube, Telegram, TikTok and other social networks. Gain followers so that Instagram staff sees interest in you across platforms. It’s great if you can confirm profiles on other sites - this contributes to a positive decision on verification on Instagram.
Try to increase the number of mentions of yourself in the media. Participate in events, express an expert opinion on the topics you specialize in, write articles, agree to interviews - perhaps you yourself will be able to propose your candidacy.
We advise you to read:
A full account creates a positive impression of the owner.
It is advisable to post content at least a couple of times a week, while its uniqueness is important. At this stage, it is better not to duplicate photos and videos from other social networks on Instagram, especially those with a TikTok watermark.
Recommended reading:
All social networks compete with each other, so you should not invite subscribers to YouTube or TikTok in posts, headers and pinned stories - at least until you get a tick. Show that you are primarily interested in growing your Instagram account.
Alternatively, you can place a multilink and specify all links there.
SendPulse has a block constructor for quickly creating websites and multilinks. You can add buttons for messengers and social networks, buttons to go to the site and chat bots, a gallery with pictures and videos, multi-channel subscription forms, and also accept payments through popular payment systems. Internal statistics and integration with Google Analytics are available. You can place a Facebook pixel and add a custom code.
Creating a multilink in the SendPulse constructorIf you want to verify your identity, it is better to take a photo of documents next to your face so that Instagram employees have no doubts about authenticity.
It is also desirable that the usernames on Instagram and other social networks to which you provide links are the same or as similar as possible.
Monitor the internet for fake accounts with your name and content. If you find such pages, file a complaint immediately.
