Have you heard the news that Meta is going to be testing a $12 per month Meta Verified badge? It’s been quite the controversial topic in the social media world.
In his recent Instagram update, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that this new subscription service rolled out first to Australia and New Zealand, and just recently launched in the U.S. Although the U.S. is being rolled out slowly, users can join a waitlist to test the program.
If this sounds like deja vu, you’re not wrong! This isn’t the first verified subscription to launch this year on social media. It follows the Twitter Verified Badges that rolled out earlier this year (with a rather rocky rollout). Hopefully, Zuckerberg learned a thing or two and the Meta platforms will be much smoother.
Meta Verified will include a verified badge, increased visibility on the platforms, prioritized customer support, and more. Users who already have the verification badge on Instagram or Facebook won’t have to pay for their verification.
Users will have to verify their account with a government ID, which is meant to increase authenticity and security. Additionally, Meta Verified users will get access to exclusive stickers for Stories and Reels, and 100 free stars per month, which is the digital currency you can use to support other Creators.
This news is exciting for some users who have been waiting for improved security measures on Meta accounts. We all seem to know someone who has gotten their accounts hacked and locked out for good.
However, this news is leaving others’ heads scratching, wondering why we would need to pay for customer service or security, which is something the apps should already offer free of charge. What does this mean for those who choose not to get verified?
As we’ve seen with the Twitter Verified rollout, brand impersonation is a real, damaging implication. In fact, we wrote a whole blog post on brand identity theft . If anyone can add a verified badge to their profile, users could think they are interacting with a real brand, which in some cases could be a fake profile.
Hopefully there will be stricter checks on company verification, which Twitter eventually adopted.
An important question here is what the “increased visibility” means with the verification service? If it’s a boost to the algorithm for being verified, it’s certainly something brands should consider. But so far, Meta hasn’t released more details behind this.
As we saw with the Twitter rollout, there may be some bumps in the road when this launches—especially considering that this is the first paid service Meta has offered across their platforms.
A safe bet is keeping a close eye on the process and seeing which of your competitors choose to adopt the service. As with any new update, be sure to ask yourself these 3 questions before adopting a social media trend.
It could be a promising way to protect security and increase visibility of your company’s page, so it’s certainly a big update to pay attention to in coming weeks.
Will ‘Meta Verified’ take off like Twitter Blue earlier this year? Let us know what you think in the comments below!