Meta’s expanding access to its Verification for Business subscription package for brands, which enables you to buy a blue checkmark for your brand’s Facebook and/or Instagram profile, while it’s also adding new elements, and higher-priced tiers for its business verification packages, in order to cater to more use cases.
Up till now, Meta’s Verification for Business option has only been available to brands in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, but from today, businesses in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Peru, France and Italy will also be able to buy a verification tick in each app.
Which could reflect the relative popularity of the offering. Meta hasn’t shared any data on Meta Verified take-up as yet, but the expansion would suggest that Meta is seeing positive signs, and solid interest for the option.
In addition to this, Meta’s also adding new subscription packages to consider.
As you can see in this package overview, you’ll now have four increasingly higher-priced verification options for your business, with a range of add-on benefits at each price point.
And the individual profile costs are actually the greyed out prices displayed, with Meta offering the alternative, cheaper prices as "an introductory offer" for new subscribers (or via a 20% discount for brands that verify both their Facebook and IG profiles a once). But after a year, you'll actually be paying the crossed out amount for an individual profile. So you’re looking at $499 per month for the highest priced tier, or a combined $699.98 per month, if you verify both your Facebook and IG profiles ongoing.
Which is a lot, no matter how you look at it.
So what do you get for your money?
Well, all of Meta’s Verification for Business packages include a verified badge for your profile, as well as enhanced account support (more specific options for higher tiers) and impersonation monitoring in-stream.
But there are also now other elements, depending on what you pay, including:
- Enhanced profile – Including multiple business link options (between 3 and 8 depending on which option you choose), and visual elements for your links
- Search optimization – Have your profile appear “at or near the top of search results”
- Featured account – Have your business shown in dedicated “Meta Verified” business display units on Facebook and IG
- Links in Reels – You’ll get 2 to 6 links in Reels per month, depending on your price point
- Employee impersonation protection – Which includes verification badges for chosen employees
- Customized messaging chats – Dedicated color palettes for your customer chats
- Account review – Top tier subscribers will get access to “semi-annual” profile reviews from a Meta expert to enhance your content strategy
So there are a range of new add-ons to consider, though again, they do come at significantly higher price points.
So, are they worth it, and should you consider spending $500 per month to get the full suite of Meta Business add-ons for your brand’s Facebook presence?
Look, I would say probably not, as the value you would get for such is likely not worth it, but then again, if you’re spending more than that amount on Facebook ads, for example, there may be value in the additional links in Reels and enhanced profile options, with more CTA options to consider.
It’s impossible to predict what the value of the new account review option will be, because we don’t know as yet, but Meta seems confident that this will provide more value, considering it’s the only element that’s unique to its top-tier package.
So maybe it could be worth it, with that extra insight from Meta’s team, on a “semi-annual” basis, helping to enhance your presence in each app. But for most, I’d wait and see what some of the big brands get out of this before signing up.
But you now have more options to consider, which could entice more brands to buy a blue tick.
I mean, the value of the blue tick is immediately eroded by selling it, and I’m not sure that anyone sees this as a mark of credibility or authority, as they once did.
But maybe, these new add-ons will provide more benefit, and if you’re heavily invested in Facebook or IG for your promotions, it could be worth testing.
You can learn more about Meta Verification for Business here.