How to Get Verified on Instagram

Getting verified on Instagram has major perks. Despite personal validation — and let’s be real, we all love it — you also get to solidify your position as a valuable, influential, and legitimate industry leader thus gaining more interest in your brand story.

How do you get verified on Instagram?

Luckily, the process is easier than ever before. You can request verification from right inside the app!

• Step #1: Go to your Instagram profile.

• Step #2: Click on the menu.

• Step #3: Click on settings

• Step #4: Click ‘Request Verification’

• Step #5: Fill out the form.

• Step #6: Viola! Wait and see.

What does Instagram look for?

If getting verified on Instagram is your goal, your profile should adhere to guidelines that will give you the best shot.

Granted, there is no exact playbook to getting verified. It’s not as simple as follower account; there are news anchors with 1,000 followers who are verified on Instagram. And it's not as simple as industry; for example, there are major fitness influencers who are verified, and those who are not. As with many things that lie in the Insta algorithm, there is no definitive guide. However, here are characteristics and situational traits that can absolutely contribute to your chances of verification:

• 1. How much do you have to lose?

  Let’s go back to the news anchor example. You may think that's a boring and “irrelevant” public figure to be verified on Instagram. But in this day and age, so much of breaking news happens on social media. Therefore, journalists have a duty to ensure factual accuracy, and people impersonating them could cause public unrest.

  And of course, we all know about celebrities. Justin Bieber’s Instagram posts are erratic enough as it is; we don’t need any impersonators contributing to the cause. All jokes aside, celebrities do have reputations to protect, and verification assists with doing so. After that, if they sabotage themselves, that's on them.

• 2. Adhere to 4 core guidelines

  As we previously mentioned, Instagram doesn't make it exactly clear why some people make the cut and why some do not. However, the 4 guidelines that all accounts must follow to even be considered are as follows:

  Authenticity: AKA, you’re representing a real person, business or entity.

  Uniqueness: Only one account per person or business can be verified. And although meme accounts are cute and fun, they’re not eligible for verification.

  Complete: Only public accounts with a bio, profile photo, and at least one post may be considered. No links or mentions of other social media profiles are allowed on your profile.

  Notability: Only accounts that represent well-known and/or highly searched for entities and people are allowed. Instagram checks for notability with press and news sources - but paid promos and placements don’t count.

What are the benefits of verification?

For both brands and influencers, getting verified on Instagram takes things to the next level. Instead of blending in with the crowd, you’ll stand out in your industry. You may already have a ton of followers that provide you with social proof, but Instagram verification makes it known that you’re worth following. After all, people like to follow who and what other people are following. If your profile is attractive and legitimate, new followers will be flocking to your page.

However, growing your brand is not all about getting followers via social proof. More importantly, it’s about earning followers. Verified profiles get access to new features before they’re available to the general public, making it easier to step up their game on the ‘gram. For example, verified profiles received access to the “swipe up” feature that allows users to link websites from their Instagram stories. This feature is highly coveted by profiles that aren't verified (or haven’t crossed the 10,000 follower mark — which is the other way to gain access). Essentially, thanks to features you’ll gain access to first, you can perfect them before anyone else can... and use them to create A+ content.

Another benefit, particularly for influencers, is that no one can imitate you. Well, they could — but it would be clear that profiles other than yours are fake. Whether you’re a journalist or a model, having phony profiles posing as you can do some major damage. Not only does Instagram verification place a pretty blue checkmark next to your username on your profile, but it also appears next to your username on any comments you make. This means that, wherever you are in the app, people can be certain that you are who you say you are.

With Instagram verification, you can make it clear that you’re the one behind the screen and that all other profiles are imposters. All in all, getting verified on Instagram is no easy feat. If it was, we’d all be verified. But once you’ve scored the holy grail on Insta success, the sky is the limit.