HomeExperts decode how creators can leverage their Meta Verified accounts

Experts decode how creators can leverage their Meta Verified accounts

The blue badge has not been launched in India yet but it has indeed set the marketing and influencer industry in India has set the industry abuzz with the ways in which this new feature will change the market. Creators are already hyped up to pump up their game now Ted the Stoner aka Jitendra Sharma told CNBC-TV18.com that he hopes to see better and more impactful content via verified accounts along with the trending stuff with the paid subscription.

Profile image

By Nishtha Pandey  March 14, 2023, 1:19:00 AM IST (Updated)

7 Min Read
Experts decode how creators can leverage their Meta Verified accounts
Remember in 2008 Facebook (now Meta) had this tagline on it's homepage: “Free and always will be". Well, that tagline was removed and in 2019 and in 2023 Facebook officially is no more free. "Inspired" by Elon Musk's Twitter Blue, Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta announced plans to roll out a paid verification service for content creators.


It would be named ‘Meta Verified’, and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said on February 19 that this feature will create an extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be that of a user/content creator and get direct access to customer support.

The blue badge has not been launched in India yet, but it has indeed set the marketing and influencer industry in India abuzz with ways in which the new feature will change their marketing strategy.

Although experts are divided on the scope of Meta Verified towards the industry, Jaidev Kesti - Co-founder and Chief Distribution Officer of Wubba Lubba Dub Dub - Meme Marketing Company told CNBC-TV18.com that the paid verification will give creators the leverage to attract new followers and could lead to brand collaborations with a blue badge that they can purchase. Moreover, Neel Gogia, co-founder, IPLIX Media argued that the significance of the verification tag which was viewed as validation for hard work will tank down.

Also read: Meta announces 'Meta Verified' a paid subscription based account verification service, check all details here

Some creators are going through the same pros and cons dilemma. "It does make sense for creators and people who get impersonated a lot and have had a hard time getting their accounts verified the traditional way. That said, I feel the verification by payment situation might make the value of the blue tick go down since anybody with money can go that route,” said, Neha Sharma aka Neha Doodles, Digital content creator.

Over $8 billion is spent on digital marketing in India, with influencer partnerships estimated at $0.35 billion. Meta Verified might attract a more enthusiastic response from influencers compared to Twitter Blue as both Facebook and Instagram are designed to curate 'entertaining' content with the option to plug products and services.

Due to the platform's prominent positioning in areas like search, comments, and recommendations, Meta Verified could initially attract a spike in users.

How to make the most out of Meta Verified as a creator?

While Meta is going through a new year new me phase many influencers in India are planning to remain the same because as per them content is king. Digital content creator Aastha Shah who has over 380K followers on Instagram plans to create the same content that she has been doing despite how Meta Verified pans out.

“I’ll just make sure to in-still in the audience that this is the real me and build my brand value even more,” she said adding “Maybe not having a verification badge could be the new normal,”

Meanwhile marketing experts suggest that creators should start strategizing to leverage the most of the new feature.

“Brands look at your profile as more favourable once you have the blue tick,” said Viraj Sheth- CEO & Co-founder of Monk Entertainment and Investor. But now the badge will be so easy to access with Meta Verification so just having a badge will not be enough. Marketing it well will be the key.

“ I think that the key to leveraging paid verification is to think strategically and not view it as a shortcut to success. If creators can combine their verification badge with a strong overall strategy for building their brand and engaging with their audience, they'll be well-positioned for success in the digital landscape,” said Satya Satapathy, founder, Creation Infoways.

Follower count, like and comment ratio on the post, views on reels and videos and engagement on stories can become important aspects of marketing yourself now to brands when Meta Verification comes in India as the as the badge will become a money thing and there are chances of it losing the cadre that it has now.

As per experts it’s very highly likely that brands before collaborating with influencers after the paid subscription kick in will ask for the follower count and run it with the likes and comments on the most recent post.

“For instance if an influencer has a badge and has over 300k followers but the most recent posts by the influencer have just 1-5k likes and just 50-100 comments then the brand might not collaborate with the influencer,” said Vinnet Kumar a freelance social media manager.

Meanwhile Kesti recommends creators to start networking with other verified accounts and build a strong online presence with the badge.

What about small and budding content creators

So for creators, Meta Verified starts at $11.99 per month (Rs 979) for web version or $14.99 per month (Rs 1224) on iOS and is currently available in Australia and New Zealand.

Twitter Verified from which this trend started is priced at Rs 900 per month for mobile and Rs 650 per month for web users. So Meta Verified can be expected to be around Rs 900-1200 in India as Facebook and Instagram have a bigger audience base.

Pricing may be an entry barrier for smaller influencers or those just starting out, who may prefer organic growth. As Twitter Verified subscription offers more reach to creators who take the subscription it's likely that Meta might do the same to promote the paid subscription (just like how algorithms gave more preference to growth through Instagram reels when the new feature was launched).

This might hamper the growth of small and budding influencers who are not willing to take the subscription.

“The absence of the ‘verified’ mark may be seen as a lack of authenticity and value and more importantly, reach. It seems quite obvious that this verification will be more useful for brands and content creators aka influencers than individuals,” said Aashutosh Katre - Director, Yellow Seed.

Also read: How social media influencers make money — and how you too can get the ball rolling

Experts also suggest that as Instagram is a creator heavy platform so there are high chances that the platform might give the creators who have paid subscription some leverage with extra features which can harm budding creators.



“A large amount of creators come from Tier 3 -4 cities and they are generally young kids who do not have kind of money to invest monthly or something like this and they are just growing organically because of the great content they make or how they connect with masses that traditionally been how reality works so I think definitely this is not something that is going to help the budding creators because if they are not paying then they might miss out the viral moment,” said Vivek Yadav, co founder, Cosmofeed.

While there are many speculations about how Meta Verified will change the creator landscape in India one thing is for sure that content will remain the key priority always. “We’ll have to see how that goes, but this ecosystem is not always predictable. In my experience, quality content always wins and a good creator will eventually see success without or without a blue tick,” said Vijay Subramaniam, Group CEO and Founder, Collective Artists Network.

Echoing the same sentiment Kesti said "While having a verified account can increase credibility and potentially open up more opportunities for collaborations and sponsorships, the content that creators produce will ultimately determine their success on the platform.

Creators will still need to stay on top of their game and produce high-quality content, engage with their audience, and keep abreast of the latest trends and pop culture to maintain their followers and grow their audience,"

Meanwhile, creators are already hyped up to pump up their game now Ted the Stoner aka Jitendra Sharma said “ I can just imagine every other random account with a verified badge only because it looks cool now. Guess we will have to wait and watch to see what happens next. Hopefully we shall see better and more impactful content via verified accounts along with the trending stuff,”

Also read: Social media influencers might have to pay up to Rs 50 lakh fine if you don't follow these new rules
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!