Unless you’re George Clooney suddenly deciding to break your social media lull, there’s usually a good amount of work to be done before you can moonwalk your way to the blue badge. So I have included 5 tips to help you boost your chances of getting that mark that signifies you are verified on Instagram
Don’t apply before you’re ready
Don’t just apply for verification when you have 30 followers and five random posts on your account.
The badge itself isn’t automatically going to turn you into a successful Instagram influencer.
Just because technically you could apply (you only need one post) doesn’t mean you should.
Yes, an Instagram verification badge greatly improves the legitimacy of your profile or brand. You want it ASAP.
But before you apply, you should do everything you can to make sure it’s as worthy of verification as possible:
- Build your Instagram followers
- Write an engaging Instagram bio – Make sure you represent yourself or your company well. And give people a reason to want to click that follow button.
- Use a professional picture or easily identifiable company logo. (It should be easy for potential followers to connect the dots. Literally, in Mastercard’s case).
See Also: Easy Steps to Get Verified on Instagram
Build your following on other platforms too
If romantic comedies have taught us anything, it’s that romantic interests only care about you when someone else starts showing interest.
A big following and notoriety on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, for example, can only reflect well on you when Instagram reviews your case.
Here are some ways that you can stand out a bit on those platforms and build a following.
- Shape your online personality: Some people and brands try to make an impact with a wide approach hoping to get as many clicks and follows as possible. But it’s much easier to make a connection if you show your unique self online. Adopt and deliver a consistent voice and some reliable themes.
- Post early and often: The more active you are, the more likely you are to get people to follow in on the fun. They might even feel like they’re missing out if they don’t.
- Develop amazing content: It really doesn’t get much simpler than that. Just like you’d post great pictures on the ‘Gram, your other social media profiles should seek to adhere to your followers’ needs and wants.
Earn coverage in the media
Barstool Sports has never been afraid of controversy, and their recent power ranking of the best female singers of all time was no different.
Now, there are a lot of things to argue about on this list. For example: what makes Barstool Sports any kind of authority on female singers? And, uh, Mariah ahead of Whitney?? JoJo ahead of Aretha and Beyonce??
But that’s exactly why it has 19,000 Quote Tweets on Twitter. And one of the more interesting (and debatable) calls is at number 10.
In that spot, Barstool anointed social media star Addison Rae one of the top 10 singers of all time. They put her in the same conversation as Beyonce and Whitney Houston. So it’s not a surprise that her inclusion on the list garnered plenty of media attention.
No doubt that this type of slightly controversial exposure introduced many people to Addison Rae who hadn’t previously heard of her.
Maximize the potential of your posts
This is both about the actual content of your posts as well as how the posts are executed.
Hashtags can help
In terms of the latter, we’ve already gone over some of the basics. But another trick that can help maximize your posts is the use of hashtags.
Hashtags can help increase your reach and connect to trends. But it’s important to only use hashtags that are relevant to the niche you’re trying to establish. Here are some of the more popular hashtags going around that you can use for your benefit.
A smart practice to establish yourself is to create a hashtag for your personal account or brand and encourage followers to use it.
Timing isn’t everything — but it’s important
Another key way to maximize your account is to make sure you’re posting at times that will deliver the most eyeballs.
The absolute best time to post on Instagram may surprise you.
You can go a step further and pin down your own custom best time to post. Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature analyzes your past performance to show you data for the best times to post on each of your social platforms.
Stay active and use Instagram to its full potential
Finally, you need to stay active and use Instagram to its fullest potential.
- Post new, unique content tailored to Instagram every day.
- Use Instagram Stories to engage with your audience. (Brands have a whopping 85% completion rate on their stories, on average.)
- Take advantage of the carousel feature, which get more clicks on average than regular posts. (Here’s Hootsuite’s handy guide on how to create great Carousel posts.)
