Instagram Official Accounts
How We Got Verified on Instagram (With Less Than 400 Followers)
There is one elusive social media status symbol that remains unpurchasable, and therefore highly coveted and immensely valuable: The verified badge.
This badge is usually found nestled next to the handles of celebrities or well-known global brands like Nike and Lululemon.
Since these badges are handed out on a case-by-case basis by moderators at Instagram, it is impossible to pay for one or fool an algorithm into thinking you are worthy of verifying.
Instagram’s own page on verified badges reaffirms the assumed impossibility of those without Kardashian for their last name getting verified:
A verified badge is a check that appears next to an Instagram account’s name in search and on the profile. It means that Instagram has confirmed that this is the authentic account for the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents.
So, given these facts, what would you say are the chances that our own account, with less than 400 followers could get verified?
Well, on Tuesday, November 29, 2016, we (@stockroom_shopify and @janelee16) woke up to a shiny blue star of verification next to our Instagram names.
At the time of verification, our account had roughly 311 followers and 8 posts. What’s even more shocking, is that the most recent post was from July 2016—making the account inactive for almost 5 months!
4 Steps to Get Your Own Account Verified on Instagram
There are hundreds of articles written online attempting to demystify the verification process, giving step by step instructions on how to get your account verified. All of these guides reinforce three points of relevance that Instagram looks for—having a huge following, being active and representing a celebrity— all of which were untrue for us, and we still got verified.
Based on our experience I can tell you that a lot of what is written online about getting verified is mostly speculation and not grounded in truth or experience. Having been verified, we have a unique lens into the experience and can tell you what we believe Instagram—and other platforms like Twitter and Facebook—look for when choosing who to verify.
Here are the four key factors we’ve identified as reasons why we were verified. If you follow these three steps we believe you can have a way higher shot at getting verified without being a celebrity, based on our own experience.
1. Don’t get big on Instagram first
This also applies to whatever platform you are trying to get verified on, be it Twitter, Facebook or Youtube. Apparently, even Tinder has verified users now, too! Whichever platform is your goal, you need to work on building your presence somewhere else. We believe that Jane’s YouTube videos—although only amassing between 1, 000-15, 000 views each—was what led to us being verified on Instagram.
There is a reasoning behind this. If you build your brand on Instagram, collecting thousands of followers over a long period of time, this is where people will know you from. You can be easily found on that platform and it is unlikely someone with a similar name could be mistaken for you. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a high priority for Instagram to verify you. After all, Instagram even explains that verification is part of their process of improving the user experience:
We want to make sure that people in the Instagram community can easily find the authentic people and brands they want to follow.
If you don’t have thousands of followers, and your account is not the main place your brand lives, verification would be a good way Instagram can help people find you.
2. Gain notoriety on parallel platforms
What are parallel platforms? Social media marketers will recognize that there are unspoken associations between users on certain platforms that breed the same kind of users with similar demographics and content styles.
For instance, Twitter is heavily associated with news and politics, so you are more likely to see verified accounts from journalists, media commentators, and people involved in news stories. A great example of this is Ken Bone, who got verified on Twitter after his appearance at the 2016 presidential debate went viral.
Similar lines exist between Instagram and YouTube, and Musically and Vine. Once Jane’s videos reached a certain number of views on YouTube (remember—it was only 10k average views, not something unachievable by the average person), it was in Instagram’s best interest to verify our accounts, since users who spend time on YouTube will likely be searching for the Instagram accounts of the personalities they watch.
3. Position yourself at risk of getting impersonated
This tip is taken straight from Instagram’s own declaration of how to get verified. They stress over and over that verification is done not only to make the user experience better, but also to stop people from impersonating others:
Accounts representing well-known figures and brands are verified because they have a high likelihood of being impersonated.
A verified badge means Instagram knows you are who you say you are and wants to help its users build the trust that they are in fact are following the real @shopify_stockroom, not some imitator who could end up spamming you with illegitimate content you weren’t looking for.
Your Instagram page should still list your name, email address and a link to your website so that Instagram can verify it is you, but you don’t necessarily need to be the first profile that shows up when users search for your name on Instagram. In fact, it may even be beneficial to have a low profile, and therefore be at risk of getting impersonated in order to get verified.
4. Request to be verified
The final step is to make the request to get verified on Instagram. You can do this in the mobile app.
Simply go to Settings > Account > Request Verification and fill out the necessary information:
Your full name
What you are commonly “Known as” (i. e. your brand name)
Your “Category” or account type (ranges from Blogger/Influencer to Business/Brand)
A photo of your government-issued ID.
Keep in mind that this submits your account for consideration, and does not necessarily guarantee that you will be approved. However, if you follow the above steps, you can increase your chances.
Getting verified on Instagram
One important factor to consider in our story is our relationship to Shopify. The @Shopify account is a verified Instagram handle, and their YouTube following is in the +70k range. We cannot discount this as a factor in the verification process.
However, it still remains unlikely that this alone was the reason for verifying Jane and The Stockroom’s accounts. It was most likely a combination of a lot of factors a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work and planning.
The most important takeaway from this experience is that verification is not reserved for celebrities and other big names. It is possible to get verified with only a moderate following, and our experience is a great example of the lesser-known factors that can help get you verified on Instagram.
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How to Get Verified on Instagram – Influencer Marketing Hub
In many ways, the blue verification tick you see besides an influencer’s name is a sign of status. Only the most popular and influential Instagrammers will ever see it. In fact, it can be incredibly difficult to get verified on Instagram.
Most of the other social networks have comparable verification or status symbols. It should be no surprise that Facebook, Instagram’s owner, operates a similar verification scheme, also using a white tick on a blue background as its symbol. Twitter has run its Profile Verification system since 2009. Pinterest likewise signposts verified celebrity and influencer accounts.
Even TikTok provides a status symbol for its highest performers – a crown.
It is important to remember what these symbols mean. The social networks have not designed them to represent status. They created them to signify authenticity. The term “verified” indicates that Instagram (or another social network) has made an effort to ensure that you are who you say you are.
Verification on Instagram ensures that people can find the correct account when they search for a particular celebrity or influencer. A verified account belongs to “the real deal. ” It is not a fan account, a tribute account, or a fake account.
However, Instagram only wants to verify people whom they deem important enough for somebody to want to set up fake accounts or imitate. If you are a “normal” person, there is no reason for somebody to impersonate you. So, from Instagram’s point of view, there is no reason to verify you.
Below is a fun tool to estimate your chances of getting verified on Instagram – this is in no way endorsed by Instagram and merely a fun way to check whether you are on the right track. We have analyzed 1000 social profiles and considered social factors that may play a part in Instagram verification.
Instagram Handle
Verification on another Social Network
Contributor on another website
Is this username / brand trademarked
Is your Instagram account verified
How to Get Verified on Instagram:
Official Instagram StatementsSpecific Requirements from Instagram’s Terms of Use and Community GuidelinesWhat Can You do to Help Yourself Get Verified on Instagram? Losing Your Verification Badge
Official Instagram Statements
Instagram makes its views on verification clear in its help files. It says that a verified badge means “that Instagram has confirmed that this is the authentic account for the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents. ”
“To request a verified badge, you must be a public figure, celebrity or brand and meet certain account and eligibility requirements. ”
You can request a verified badge. To do this, follow these steps:
Make sure you’re logged in to the account you’re seeking a verified badge for
Go to your profile and tap the “hamburger” icon (three horizontal bars)
Tap the gear-lever Settings icon, followed by account> Account Verification
Enter your full name and provide the required form of identification (for example, a government-issued photo ID).
Instagram makes it clear that it is up to them to decide who qualifies as a public figure, celebrity, or global brand. You cannot just apply and expect to become verified automatically.
Specific Requirements from Instagram’s Terms of Use and Community Guidelines
Instagram specifies four general requirements for an account to become verified:
Authentic: Your account must represent a real person, registered business, or entity.
Unique: Your account must be the unique presence of the person or business it represents. Only one account per person or business may be verified, with exceptions for language-specific accounts. Instagram doesn’t verify general interest accounts (example: @puppymemes).
Complete: Your account must be public and have a bio, profile photo, and at least one post. Your profile can’t contain “add me” links to other social media services.
Notable: Your account must represent a well-known, highly searched for person, brand, or entity. Instagram reviews accounts that feature in multiple news sources, and they don’t consider paid or promotional content as sources for review.
Instagram also stresses that although Facebook owns it, it uses separate procedures to determine who should have an Instagram verified symbol on their profile. The followers of somebody on Facebook and Instagram are entirely different. Someone famous on one of the networks, may not be considered a celebrity on the other.
Ultimately, Instagram sums up its policy with the following statement. “Currently, only Instagram accounts that have a high likelihood of being impersonated have verified badges. ” If people can find your Instagram account easily enough, then Instagram is unlikely to verify you.
Of course, despite Instagram not considering the verification tick to be a status symbol, that is how many of its users see it. Instagrammers who have it display it proudly, and those who lack it often feel that Instagram has denied them “authenticity power. ”
What Can You do to Help Yourself Get Verified on Instagram?
If you want to have that little tick beside your name, then you need to turn yourself into a “public figure, celebrity, or global brand. ” In other words, you need to become a real influencer.
There is some evidence, however, that you first need to do this on a platform other than Instagram. This makes sense. If you have many genuine followers on Instagram, then people can obviously find you quickly enough. They are unlikely to be confused by whether your account is your own (unless you share your name with another influencer).
Hence you should first apply the suggestions here to another social network and build an influencer status there before you use them on Instagram. If you build up a following on Instagram too quickly, before you find fame elsewhere, you may never become verified.
Build Your Followers and Engagement
Clearly, the key to being famous online is to become an authentic influencer. This means that you need plenty of people wanting to follow you. However, more importantly, you want followers who will interact with you and engage with your posts and statuses. There is no point in having irrelevant followers, just to boost your numbers.
We have previously covered how to become Instagram famous. Although this focuses on making the most of Instagram’s graphic nature, you can still use many of those tips to build your influencer status on another platform first.
An essential requirement is to define your niche. While it might seem that you would gain more followers by trying to appeal to everybody, you are unlikely to increase your engagement that way. This is one area where the old saying, “Jack of all trades, and master of none” applies. You need to build up recognition for your expertise in your preferred topic area.
For instance, Zoe Sugg first built her online reputation with her personal beauty and lifestyle blog – Zoella. She began her social media life with a YouTube channel, where she developed a reputation as a fashion and beauty guru. That channel now has more than 12 million dedicated followers.
Having built her reputation on YouTube, Zoe was able to make a successful transition to other social networks, including Instagram. She has now developed a sizeable audience there that matches her YouTube following. Other people have opened similarly named Instagram accounts, so Instagram verified Zoe’s account to avoid confusion.
Any engagement must be meaningful. There is no point in making a series of “Nice picture”-type comments on peoples’ images/posts. Such meaningless comments do nothing to enhance your credibility as a thought leader.
Use Popular Hashtags to Help Make Yourself More Visible
One way you can help your posts reach a wider audience is to use popular hashtags. Both Instagram and Twitter suggest popular hashtags. There are also independent apps to assist with ideas, such as Hashtagify or TagBlender. We also have our Ultimate Guide to Using Instagram Hashtags to Grow your Followers, which should give you invaluable assistance in the use of Instagram hashtags.
Unfortunately, the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal has meant that Facebook and Instagram have tightened up on the quantity of useful data they make available. However, you can still find general trends for popular hashtags. Similarly, if you try to build your first influencer reputation on Twitter, there is still much information shared on that platform.
Shortstack lists 158 popular hashtags for Instagram marketing, Instagram contests/promotions, restaurants, boutiques/retailers, and musicians. They also include the 100 most popular hashtags. According to this list, Instagram’s ten most popular hashtags are:
#love, #instagood, #photooftheday, #tbt, #beautiful, #cute, #me, #happy, #fashion, #followme
It is important that you only use hashtags that are relevant to your niche, however. You are never going to be accepted as an influencer if you create posts that are irrelevant to your niche and followers so that you can use a trending hashtag.
One common practice is to create a hashtag for your personal brand and to encourage your followers to use it regularly.
Cross Promote Your Social Media Accounts
One way you can build your following on Instagram, or any other network is to promote all of your social network accounts. That way, your Instagram followers may choose to follow you on YouTube, your Twitter followers may sign up to your Facebook page, your Facebook followers may join you on Instagram, etc.
By establishing popularity across a range of sites, you come across as being more of an internet celebrity, and more likely to be considered somebody worthy of Instagram verification.
You want your entire online presence to come across as a single outlet for you (or your brand’s) personality. Therefore you want your blog, YouTube page, and all of your social media sites to link together seamlessly. Combined, they represent you. If you desire to be an influencer, you need a wide-ranging and varied online platform. Instagram should be just one part of your overall online social stage.
Personalize Your Posts
Do not forget that the reason that Instagram verifies selected accounts is to guarantee that they are official accounts belonging to actual public figures, celebrities, or global brands. Therefore, you need to ensure that your account differs in some way from anyone else who might choose to use your name or something very similar.
If you operate a cold, impersonal account, then there is no advantage to somebody if they follow you. They might as well support a generic copycat if you do not provide them with anything better.
You need to add personality to your postings. If you merely post pictures of buildings or landscapes, you are not adding value. Indeed you are not influential in any way. If you are portraying yourself as a fashion influencer, there is little point in just posting pictures of clothing. You will do far better by posting a picture of people wearing the attire in attractive settings, or you modeling it.
Zoe Sugg, for instance, would not have gained her success (or Instagram verification tick) If she had restricted her posts to showing pictures of different shades of lipstick in their tubes.
We have looked at 10 Instagram Fitness Models That Will Inspire You to Get Into Shape. The reason that these people have had success on Instagram is that they share photos showing how they keep fit, along with comments about their progress and suggestions on how other people can also train to be fit. They usually pick eye-catching, visually-pleasing photos, often taken in stunning locations.
Make Your Posts at the Best Times for Your Target Social Network
To encourage maximum engagement, you will want as many people as possible to see your posts. That means you should post at the times when most of your followers are checking their social media accounts.
Yes, you will have to compete with more posts from others at those times, but if you can prove you are influential, you should be able to stand out from lower-quality posters.
Remember that the best way to get verified on Instagram is to build a following on another platform first. So you will need to follow the best practices for the initial platform you choose to target.
CoSchedule has looked at this in detail, and they have analyzed 25 studies to find the best times to post on social media. They split their recommendations up by industry, and we have reported their recommendations for B2C businesses here. If you are a B2B business, or in the software services, healthcare, media, or higher education sectors, we suggest you refer to the original CoSchedule article for your optimal posting times.
Their suggestions for the optimal posting times for B2C businesses for each social network are as follows:
Facebook
Best Times: 9 am to 10 am, 12 pm – 1 pm, 4 pm to 5 pm.
Best Days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Twitter
Best Times: 8 am-10 am, Noon, 7 pm-9 pm
Best Day: Saturday, Sunday
LinkedIn
Best Time: Noon
Best Day: Wednesday
CoSchedule does not list any statistics for YouTube, possibly because YouTube does not rely on a disappearing feed, unlike the other networks.
Finally, once you have built yourself a name elsewhere and are ready to boost your Instagram clout, CoSchedule has the following recommendations for the best time to post your Instagram images and videos to ensure ultimate engagement.
Instagram
Best Times: 8 am, 1 pm, and 9 pm.
Best Day: Friday
Try and be Newsworthy
You have to be a “somebody” to become verified on Instagram. Just having lots of followers isn’t enough. Therefore make sure that you do things that multiple news sources report.
Consider releasing a press release whenever you have something newsworthy to say. If you’ve done something in your local area reach out to your local news organizations and try and drum up press coverage,
We all know lousy press coverage now lies forever on the internet. Well, so does good news – so take advantage of that whenever you get the opportunity.
Do remember, however, that Instagram disregards paid or promotional content. So your news reports must be genuine and organic, although you can use press releases to give them a helping hand.
Avoid Bad Social Practices
Just like Google, Facebook, and the other major internet companies, Instagram is skilled at spotting any attempts to game its system. You need to avoid taking any shortcuts as you attempt to build enough of a reputation as an influencer to gain the coveted verification tick.
Never buy followers. Quite apart from the fact that Instagram will probably spot it, it will lead to you having an “unbalanced” account, i. e., a significant following with little engagement. People you buy as followers, if they exist at all, will have no interest in you, will never see your posts, and certainly will never meaningfully engage with you.
Don’t make spammy comments. Neither Instagram nor its users will consider you an influencer if they associate you with pointless “nice picture”-type comments, that are no different from those created by automatic bots.
Finally, make sure that your posts meet Instagram’s community guidelines. You do not want to be the guy banned by Instagram for posting pictures of nudes or your latest drug paraphernalia.
If you use Instagram the way they want you to, and you build your reputation as an influencer somewhere else first, then the day may come when you open your account to find that Instagram has awarded you their verification tick.
It is hard to get verified on Instagram – but not impossible.
Losing Your Verification Badge
Of course, Instagram reserves the right to remove any verification badges that it may grant. They explicitly state that they can take away your badge or disable your account if you:
Advertise, transfer, or sell your verified badge.
Use your profile picture, bio, or name section to promote other services (so be careful with your influencer marketing in these places).
Attempt to verify your account through a third party.
Therefore, if you do receive a verified badge, treat it as a well-earned privilege, and make sure that you don’t ever give Instagram grounds for taking it away.
How to Get Verified on Instagram in 6 Simple Steps
If you want to know how to get verified on Instagram, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll tell you how to apply for Instagram verification (that’s the easy part) and provide some tips to help you qualify (that’s the hard part).
Don’t have time to read? Check out the video for our top tips to help you get that coveted blue Instagram verification badge.
Bonus: 14 Time-Saving Hacks for Instagram Power Users. Get the list of secret shortcuts Hootsuite’s own social media team uses to create thumb-stopping content.
What does Instagram verification mean?
Instagram verification is how you prove that your Instagram account is the authentic presence of a notable public figure, celebrity or global brand.
You’ve probably seen plenty of verification badges around. As with Twitter, Facebook and, yes, Tinder, the little blue checkmarks are meant to indicate that the platform has confirmed the account in question is trustworthy, or at least they are who they say they are.
These badges are designed to make the real accounts stand out, so that Instagram users can be sure they’re following the right person or brand. They’re easy to spot in search results and on profiles, and they convey authority.
Source: @creators
It’s easy to see why verification badges are also a coveted status symbol. They’re rare, and exclusivity lends a certain amount of prestige—which may or may not translate to better engagement.
That said, Instagram is clear that verified accounts (just like business accounts) don’t get special treatment from the Instagram algorithm. In other words: if it is true that verified accounts earn higher engagement on average, it’s because they’re posting great content that resonates with their audience.
Who can get verified on Instagram?
Anyone can request a verified badge on Instagram. However, Instagram is notoriously picky (and in many ways mysterious) about who actually gets verified. So, if you’re running an account that’s right on the cusp of “notable, ” how do you know if you meet the criteria?
Just because you have a blue checkmark on Twitter or Facebook, for instance, doesn’t guarantee you’ll get one on Instagram.
Instagram is blunt, saying that “Only some public figures, celebrities, and brands have verified badges on Instagram. ” In other words: “only accounts with a high likelihood of being impersonated. ”
Here is what we do know about eligibility.
First, you must adhere to the network’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. On top of that, your account must meet each of these criteria:
Authentic: does your account represent a real person, registered business, or brand? You cannot be a meme page or a fan account.
Unique: only one account per person or business can get Instagram verified, with exceptions for language-specific accounts.
Public: private Instagram accounts do not qualify for verification.
Complete: do you have a complete bio, profile photo, and at least one post?
Notable: this is where things get subjective, but Instagram defines a notable name as one that is “well-known” and “highly searched for. ”
If you’re relatively confident you meet these criteria, or you just feel like rolling the dice, it’s time to go ahead and verify your Instagram account.
Can you get an Instagram verification badge without being famous?
The good news is: You can!
As long as you are able to check off all of the criteria listed above and provide proof of “notability” (i. e. show that person, brand, organization, publication or pet your account represents is in the public interest), you can get verified on Instagram. Technically, follower count is not a criterion when it comes to Instagram verification.
Source: Instagram
How to apply to get verified on Instagram: 6 steps
The verification process on Instagram is actually quite simple:
Go to your profile and tap the hamburger icon in the top right corner
Tap Settings
Tap Account
Tap Request Verification
Fill in the application form.
Your legal name
Your “known as” or working name (if applicable)
Select your category or industry (for example: blogger/influencer, sports, news/media, business/brand/organization, etc. )
You also need to submit a photo of your official government ID. For individuals, that could be a driver’s license or passport. For businesses, a utility bill, an official business document, or tax filings will do.
Tap Send.
According to Instagram, after their team reviews your application, you’ll receive a response in your notifications tab. Because of historical and ongoing issues with scammers, Instagram is very clear that they will never email you, ask for money, or otherwise reach out.
Within a few days or a week, you’ll receive a direct yes or no. No feedback or explanation.
This is what a no looks like:
And here’s a yes, break out the bubbly:
Tips to get verified on Instagram
So, yes, anyone can apply for verification on Instagram. But actually getting approved is a lot tougher.
We’ve gone ahead and compiled all the best practices that will maximize your chances of success as you move forward with your quest to prove your brand’s noteworthiness.
Don’t try to buy a verification badge
We’ll get this one out of the way first: that guy in your comments who says his friend works for Instagram? Please do not give him money.
Same goes for any third-party app or random account that offers “full refunds. ”
Same goes for an account that DMs you because they want to sell you their badge because they “don’t need it anymore. ”
Instagram scammers know that people and businesses feel outsized emotions about the blue check, and some are pretty effective at appearing legit, so stay on your guard. And remember that Instagram will never request payment, and will never contact you.
Tl;dr: The only way to get verified is through the official form, unless you are Jennifer Aniston (in which case, scroll down to Tip #7: Work with an agency or publicist, or maybe stop reading this article entirely because you’re doing great! ). Bonus: 14 Time-Saving Hacks for Instagram Power Users. Get the list of secret shortcuts Hootsuite’s own social media team uses to create thumb-stopping content.
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Monitor for impostor accounts
If you’re struggling with persistent unauthorized, fake, or fan accounts impersonating your brand, then we have good news for you. You’re a prime candidate for verification on Instagram. After all, distinguishing real accounts from fake ones is verification’s stated purpose.
Your annual social media audit should make it clear whether impostor accounts are a problem for you. You’ll want to monitor and document these accounts using a social media monitoring tool like Zerofox’s Hootsuite integration.
Here’s a quick tutorial on how to use Zerofox to get automatically notified about impostor accounts (and other scammy activity):
Get more (real) followers
Look, we don’t have the numbers but it honestly feels sometimes like you need a ridiculous number of followers in order to get verified. There is absolutely no evidence that this is a real rule, but—it can’t hurt? Or maybe correlation does not imply causation after all?
Actually, what is more likely is that as people or brands get more noteworthy on and off Instagram, follower counts rise alongside.
If you want to hedge your bets and play it both ways—chicken and egg—here’s some inspiration for how to get more Instagram followers.
Pro Tip: Just don’t try to take a shortcut and buy your Instagram followers. (Plus, breaking the Community Guidelines and then asking Instagram to examine your account is a very effective way to get your account shut down. )
Delete any cross-platform links in your bio
In what some might call a slightly petty move (we would never dare), Instagram insists that verified accounts can’t have so-called “add me” links to other social media services in their Instagram profiles. You can include links to your website, landing pages, or other online properties, just definitely don’t link to your YouTube or Twitter account.
On the other hand, if you have a blue checkmark on your Facebook profile but not on your Instagram account, Instagram does explicitly encourage you to link to your Instagram account from your Facebook page to help prove your authenticity.
Be highly-searched for
Social media is all about serendipitous, organic discovery (this is what the Instagram Explore page is for, anyway—and making it big there can have a real impact on your engagement and follower count).
But when it comes to verification, Instagram wants to know if people care about you enough to tear themselves away from the seductions of the feed and spontaneously type your name into the search bar.
While Instagram doesn’t provide analytics on this data, we’d put money on the fact that Instagram’s verification team does have access, and will check up on how often users are searching for you. Which leads us to our next point…
Apply when your name is in the news
Google yourself. Has your brand been featured in multiple news sources? Did a recent press release or white paper get picked up? Do you have a sound bite or a profile in a major international publication? Paid or promotional content definitely does not count.
If PR hasn’t been a priority for your brand thus far, you might have a more difficult time proving how “notable” you are. Especially because there’s no place to submit your proof: Instagram does its own research, so it’s up to you to make sure your news is above the fold and impossible to ignore.
If you’ve recently experienced a windfall of attention, or you’re planning a big announcement, think about capitalizing on it and applying for that checkmark while your name is hot.
Work with an agency or publicist
If you have the budget and the ambition, hire a reputable digital agency that has access to Facebook’s Media Partner Support tools. Your publicist or agent will be able to submit requests to claim usernames, merge accounts, and get accounts verified through their industry-only portal.
Is verification guaranteed? Of course not. But a request from an industry professional through the Media Partner Support panel carries more weight and distinguishes you from the crowd.
Be honest
This tip should be a no-brainer, but because the consequences are dire we feel compelled to highlight it. In your application to be verified, you have to be truthful above all else.
Use your real name. Choose an appropriate category. Definitely don’t falsify any government documents.
If you stretch the truth anywhere in your application, Instagram says that it will not only deny your request, but it may delete your account as well.
Make sure you profile and bio are complete and effective
Instagram’s listed requirements for verification (a bio, a profile pic and one post? really? ) are a low bar. You don’t just want to meet it. You want to hurtle over it.
Optimizing your Instagram bio will not just impress the verification team when they come to check you out, but can pay ongoing dividends in the form of new followers and conversions.
If you’re turned down the first time, try again
If, after all your hard work, Instagram comes back with a rejection, embrace the opportunity to zero in on your goals and redouble your efforts.
Hone your Instagram strategy, build a dedicated following, and earn buzz off the platform as well.
And then, whether you wait the 30 required days or spend a few fiscal quarters hitting your KPIs, you can apply again.
How to stay verified on Instagram
Once you’ve earned your badge, how do you keep it? It’s pretty simple. Instagram verification seems to be awarded in perpetuity, even if you’re no longer doing the thing that made you “notable. ” But here are the hard and fast rules.
Keep your account public
A public, unlocked account is necessary to apply for verification, and necessary to stay verified.
Play by the rules
Flouting Instagram’s Terms of Use and Community Guidelines will get any account disabled or deleted, but with great power comes great responsibility. Verified accounts don’t get a free pass on being ethical, authentic and upstanding members of the community.
Getting verified is just the start
The rules require an absolute bare minimum of activity to keep your Instagram verification badge: a profile picture and one post. We don’t recommend doing less than that. We recommend doing way, way more.
Take advantage of your new blue seal of authority, nail your Instagram strategy, and get posting engaging content for your audience. Brands don’t live and die by the checkmark alone.
Save time managing your Instagram presence by using Hootsuite to schedule and publish posts, grow your audience, and track success with easy-to-use analytics—all from the same dashboard that you run your other social media profiles on. Try it free today.
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Frequently Asked Questions about instagram official accounts
What is Instagram official account?
A verified badge is a check that appears next to an Instagram account’s name in search and on the profile. It means that Instagram has confirmed that this is the authentic account for the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents.May 28, 2020
Does Instagram have an official account?
It says that a verified badge means “that Instagram has confirmed that this is the authentic account for the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents.” “To request a verified badge, you must be a public figure, celebrity or brand and meet certain account and eligibility requirements.”Sep 24, 2021
How do you get an official account on Instagram?
How to apply to get verified on Instagram: 6 stepsGo to your profile and tap the hamburger icon in the top right corner.Tap Settings.Tap Account.Tap Request Verification.Fill in the application form. Your legal name. Your “known as” or working name (if applicable) … Tap Send.Sep 13, 2021
