Facebook Business Page Verification: What is it and How Can I Verify My Page?

Do you know how people find your company? You might think most of them are finding you through your website, that billboard on the highway, or maybe some newspaper ads you ran a while back. But how about social media?

Well, believe it or not, today’s consumers are doing much of their pre-purchase research online through social media. Just think about it: Social media gives consumers access to tons of information including your business’s phone number, address, consumer reviews. It also allows potential customers to get a glimpse of your company’s core values and culture.

So what if I told you that you can boost your company’s Facebook presence in as little as a day? Sounds great, right? Let’s get started with verifying your Facebook business page!

What Is Page Verification?

There are thousands upon thousands of business pages on Facebook, some of which are inactive or just plain awful content-wise. Once you have an active page that consistently publishes good content, though, the thing that will set you apart from the others is that little checkmark to the right of the business name. Well, what does that mean?

The verification checkmark (blue or gray) indicates that the page is authentic. Think about it as having a huge flashing business sign in a sea of regular, unlit business signs at night. It’s a big deal!

Why Is Page Verification Important?

Verifying your business’s Facebook page is important for a number of reasons, including:

• Authenticity: Anyone can create a business page, and that means anyone can create a fake business profile. Facebook’s page verification badge tells consumers that the business is exactly what it says it is — in other words, it’s legitimate.
• Credibility: Companies take the time to create websites, signage, marketing materials, business cards and more so why not add social media to the list? Page verification shows consumers that the business takes their social media marketing seriously. Consumers can trust that if they reach out to the page they will speak with an employee at the company.
• Visibility: Views are important but with constant changes to Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm, it’s getting increasingly difficult to reach people organically. Page verification helps your page rank higher in Facebook’s search results and it strengthens your business page as a business directory for Google.

It’s also less likely that your page will get deactivated by Facebook if you don’t post on it for a while. This has been happening with increasing regularity as the social network has amped up efforts to remove fake or hacked accounts from the platform.

Is My Business Page Eligible?

Most pages can get verified by having the following on their Facebook business page — a profile picture, cover photo, a publicly listed phone number, and a physical address. However, Facebook is at liberty to say that the information provided is not sufficient enough. In those cases, a Facebook Support Representative will tell you the next steps to getting your page verified.

How Do I Verify My Facebook Business Page?

Verification is a short and simple process. First, go to your business settings, click on the “General” tab and select the edit button on the “Page Verification” tab.

From there, you can have Facebook call you with a verification code or you can submit business documentation.

Acceptable forms of documentation include a: business utility or phone bill, business license, business tax file, certificate of formation or articles of incorporation. It’s really that simple!

Social Media Marketing Solutions for Today’s SMB

Time and time again, we see that social media is an untapped channel for many SMBs. So many business pages get set up only to get ignored and neglected a few months later when the busy season hits and internal resources get stretched to their limit.

Need help? We can handle this for you. Want to see better returns from your social media presence? The Mediagistic social media team can make it happen. Contact us and let’s get started planning a social media marketing plan for your business today.

Erica Flores is a social specialist at Mediagistic. She has a dog named Mister Tiny and she often says that “tacos are life.” She also has a passion for personal development, digital marketing, branding, video production and animals. Connect with her on Linkedin.

Image via iStock