Why Getting Verified on Twitter and Facebook Matters (and How to Do It)

That nifty little checkmark may seem like a status symbol reserved for the likes of celebrities and politicians, but did you know that your business can get verified too? There are lots of benefits to getting verified on Twitter and Facebook aside from the little ego boost.

Verification lets people visiting your page for the first time that know you’re serious about what you do and a legitimate contender in your industry. It gives your current customers confidence in your brand, and with Facebook, it helps your page rank higher in searches.

Something so great must be difficult and exclusive to obtain, right? On the contrary! Just follow a few easy steps and you’ll be on your way to verification.

For Facebook:

1. Log in to your page and choose Settings
2. In General, scroll until you reach Page Verification
3. Select Edit
4. Now you have the choice to Verify by Phone or Documentation
   

• For Verify by Phone:

1. Enter your business phone number, your location, and your language preference
2. Choose Call Me Now. Shortly, you’ll be contacted on the number you provided with a verification code
3. Once you have the 4-digit code, enter it when prompted and Continue
4. Enjoy your grey checkmark and congratulations on being verified!
   

• For Documentation:

1. You’ll need either: Business utility or phone bill, business license, business tax file, certification of formation or articles of incorporation
2. Upload your chosen document so that the name and address of your business is visible
3. Once Facebook verifies your documents, you’ll receive either a notification or an email about your status within a few days
   
   

For Twitter:

1. You’ll have to fill out a form while logged in to the account you’d like to have verified
2. Twitter will request the following information on the form:

• A verified phone number
• A confirmed email address
  Note: If the account is a company or organization account, the email address associated with the account should be a company or organization email address.
• A bio
• A profile photo
• A header photo
• A birthday (for accounts that are not company, brand, or organization accounts)
• A website
• Tweets set as public in Tweet privacy settings

3. There are some best practices to bear in mind when seeking Twitter verification. Make sure the name of the account/profile and/or header all reflect the name of your company, that the bio lets people know your company’s expertise or what services/product you offer, and that the account is active (Tweets, Re-Tweets, DMs)
4. To help them decide whether to fulfill your request, Twitter will ask why they should verify the account. This is a good opportunity to let them know about your company’s core mission, relevance in the field and newsworthiness.
5. Don’t fret if you get a Direct Message denying verification. Twitter will either ask for edits on your request form, or let you try again in 30 days.
   
   

Image: prykhodov