Meta Expands Its Paid Verification Program to Business Accounts
Meta Verified, originally announced back in February, has received plenty of criticism over the last few months. The idea of verification now being a paid for feature created quite the stir amongst marketers and creators alike.
16/10/2023
3 min read
Introducing Meta Verified for business!
Meta Verified, originally announced back in February 2023, has received plenty of criticism over the last few months. The idea of verification now being a paid for feature created quite the stir amongst marketers and creators alike, with people arguing it takes away the reputational value originally associated with that little blue tick. That being said, both X (with X premium) and Meta are clearly generating enough interest in their paid verification packages to keep expanding them, with Meta also looking to sell business verification at a slightly higher price point.
The current Meta Verified for Creators currently costs $US11.99 (£9.99) per month for the web service and $US14.99 (£11.99) per month for use on iOS and Android phones. Business subscriptions will cost $21.99 USD/month per Facebook page or Instagram account, or $34.99 USD/month for both. The question is… is it worth it?
Here is what Meta have said on the subject: ‘We’re starting with subscription features that help small businesses achieve what they want most on the platform: to establish their brand and be discovered by new customers. As we learn from initial testing, we’ll continue to evolve our business offerings to add more value for businesses of all sizes, such as more tools for people to easily discover and engage with verified businesses on our apps.’
What the Package Offers
In the initial Meta Verified package for Creators, Meta had included an offer of “increased reach” for verified accounts, but then it quickly removed it after early testing. Meta hasn’t explained why it got rid of this element (note: X Premium gives subscribers additional exposure benefits), but this new addition for businesses sounds somewhat similar, though there’s no further detail as to exactly what it means yet, and how verified businesses will get this additional exposure in each app.
Added credibility will no doubt help small businesses, though again, we have to question whether the increasing sign-ups will take away the value of the blue checkmark, especially as users begin to understand that anyone can buy one. Selling verification checks seems like a flawed strategy, in that it effectively reduces its own value over time. There has, however, always been demand for these in-app markers, so we can see why both X and Meta are going with it as a means to increase revenue.
On the other hand, perhaps Elon Musk was right, eventually we’ll all be paying to subscribe to social apps, and this is just the beginning. It will depend on the number of businesses taking the leap to pay for verification. We may reach a tipping point where more businesses are verified than those that aren’t, which will mean it’ll become a more critical offering for all brands.
It could go either way, but we are about to find out, as Meta’s verified for business packages are coming sometime soon.
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