Social media is pervasive and powerful. Globally, billions of users are on social media networks. With easy access and availability of information, not to mention the visual appeal, social media is the go-to place for news and the most trusted source of information. Social media verification is now the buzzword, particularly for brands that engage in digital marketing and celebrities.
Most people in the marketing industry are already aware that these ticks are usually for social media verification purposes, generally regarded as a “badge of honour” that confirms and assures all the users and followers that social media verification enables the building of trust and ensures the authenticity of the social media account. But for those who don’t know, these badges are also useful for added trust and help to protect the brand’s equity.
Elevating the Brand above the Rest
The social media verification tick comes with additional benefits, too; a unique kind of exclusivity or kudos that comes with the elevation of the business or brand above the rest in the same product category or industry. In addition, many social media platforms come with exclusive features or services for verified account holders, such as editing rights.
Customer reviews are another effective “social channel” for building brand awareness and trust.
Benefits of Social Media Verification
Social media verification has the benefits of providing added trust, security and authenticity. Having a verified social media account adds further credibility. This is particularly important for brands, celebrities, or individuals with a huge following. Social media verification helps prevent frauds, wrong representation or claims and ensures the reliability of the information. Yet, it is easy to dress up or fake personal information on social media channels, making it difficult to verify such information. In addition, the ease with which false profiles can be created means a lack of authenticity.
Should You Seek the Social Media Verification?
If you haven’t verified your account yet, should you or can you seek verification?
Well, no one has a definitive answer. Still, from the ever-growing number of retailers who have them and the politicians, celebrities, and journos, among other opinion shapers, investigating the verification opportunities on various social media platforms further may well be worthwhile. From Facebook and Instagram to Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, and others are some of the most important marketing tools to improve branding awareness and the trust in your business.
Employers now look at deeper levels of background verification through social media. Social media verification can provide important clues on the candidate’s reputation, behavior, and extreme political affiliations. Resume frauds are quite common, as numerous studies have shown. Social media verification can be an important aspect of a comprehensive background verification process to corroborate or confirm the findings in other checks. While social media information is still vulnerable to being fake and cannot be relied upon in isolation, social media background checks can be used in conjunction with background checks to profile the image of an individual with verification before hiring/partnering.
Don’t wait for social media to contact you for verification. If possible, contact them directly and request them to verify you. Make sure that you are active on all the social channels and have gained as many followers as possible for the social media verification.
Don’t forget that regardless of the social marketing tools and techniques you use to gain consumer trust in your brand or business, there’s no substitute for getting the products’ appeal, quality, design, and pricing just right. Then, of course, offering excellent customer service and experience from their order to the final delivery is the icing on the cake.
