You must have heard of, or seen the blue verification tick on Instagram, that little sign that proves someone’s authority and influence while increasing their reputation at the same time. Before influencers were a thing, only big celebrities like Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian had the right to that tick. Now, brands prefer social media influencers with more of an organic audience, a specific reach, as well as that verification next to their handle. But what exactly does it mean to be verified on Instagram, and can anyone get that blue tick? Here are 3 simple steps to follow in order to get your account verified.

According to Instagram, a verified badge is “a check that appears next to an Instagram account’s name in search and on the profile. It means Instagram has confirmed that an account is the authentic presence of the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents.”

That blue check helps people avoid ‘imposter’ accounts, meaning it helps them find the brands or profiles they actually want to follow. It also appears in your search bar as well as on your profile and in the comments section.

For example, the blue tick could help you differentiate a celebrity account from a celebrity’s fan account. Same applies for brands, having a verified Instagram account can help avoid any knock-offs from stealing your followers and customers.

First and foremost, however, the blue check is almost a status symbol.

Although the social media platform likes to present the blue tick as a rare commodity created for superstars and media giants only, it has now become easier for smaller accounts to get verified. Speaking to Screen Shot, Mai Raunstrup Laursen, campaign coordinator at Brandheroes explained: “It seems like it has become way easier to get the tick. I see people ranging from 2,000 to 2 million followers getting verified.”

In other words, if you’re looking to get verified on Instagram but your name is not Lady Gaga or you don’t own Bloomberg, don’t give up just yet. You can apply for an Instagram verification with either a personal account or a business account, on the condition that Instagram deems you ‘eligible’.

After all, getting verified would be too easy if Instagram didn’t ask for a certain number of things before even looking at your application. Instagram verification is reserved for accounts that are “notable”, “in the public interest” and “have a high likelihood of being impersonated.” Yet, more and more people are receiving the check, so why not you?

First things first, you must adhere to Instagram’s ‘Terms of Service’ and ‘Community Guidelines’. Once you’re all done with those, according to Instagram’s website your account must also be:

– Authentic: Your account must represent a real person, registered business or entity.

– Unique: Your account must be the unique presence of the person or business it represents. Only one account per person or business may be verified, with exceptions for language-specific accounts. Fan or meme accounts are technically not supposed to be eligible, yet profiles like @doggosdoingthings sometimes can get verified.

– Complete: Your account must be public and have a bio, profile photo and at least one post. Your profile can’t contain “add me” links to other social media services.

– Notable: Your account must represent a well-known, highly searched for person, brand or entity. We review accounts that are featured in multiple news sources, and we don’t consider paid or promotional content as sources for review.

It is important to note that while already having a verification on Facebook will not help you in any way during your application for the blue check on Instagram, having one on Twitter might as it is based on similar criteria.

Getting verified on Facebook is easier as the platform grants verification to small businesses and organisations.

While the criteria for eligibility shown above seem quite strict and, let’s be honest here, boringly tedious, applying to get verified on Instagram only takes a few steps—three main steps to be more precise.

1) Log in: Go on your Instagram app and make sure you’re logged into the account you want to verify if you have more than one Instagram account. Make sure you have a public Instagram account as private accounts are not eligible for the verification.

2) Request your verification: To do so is simple. Click on the three-lined Menu icon in the right corner of your profile (yes, that hamburger icon) and then click on the Settings gear icon at the top of your options. Once on your Settings, click on Account followed by Request verification, which will then take you to the form you’ll have to fill in for your application.

3) Confirm your identity: On this form, you will be asked to write your Instagram’s username, your full name, as it appears on your government-issued identification, and what you are ‘known as’, which means your name or the name of your company. To make it simpler, use the name that people generally know you as. If you usually go by a nickname for example, enter that information here. If you have a company and your Instagram account is mostly known under the company’s name, then write it under there.

Then, you’ll want to pick a category. You can choose from news/media, sports, government/politics, music, fashion, entertainment, blogger/influencer, business/brand/organisation, or other. Simply pick the one that aligns the most with your brand.

Last but not least, you will need to upload a copy of your government-issued photo ID or an official business document. For a personal account, you can use a driver’s license, a passport, or a government-issued identity card. For a business account, you could use a tax return, a utility bill in your company’s name, or your articles of incorporation. Make sure the name on your document matches the name you entered above and that your picture is as clear as can be so that Instagram can read your name and see your picture.

Once this is done, press send and wait for Instagram to review your application for verification. Among other factors, it will be looking at “the authenticity, uniqueness, completeness and notability” of your profile.

After reviewing your application, Instagram will notify you as to whether your request is approved or denied. You’ll receive the message in your Instagram notifications but don’t expect a response right away. While there isn’t any specified timeline for how long the verification takes, it generally takes at least a couple of days.

And don’t forget, Instagram would never ask you to pay for the blue tick and they will not send you an email asking about your verification request. If you get a request to pay or an email asking for more details, you’re being scammed!

Because submitting a request for verification does not guarantee that your account will be verified, you will need to do everything you can to improve your chances of getting the blue check.

First of all, Instagram will look at whether your profile is completely filled or not. This means that you should make sure you complete all of the Instagram fields with accurate and relevant information about yourself or your business.

Secondly, do not try to lie about any information you’ve shared with Instagram. Use your real name, pick an accurate category for your account and use a real document to prove your identity. It goes without saying that if you fail to do that, Instagram won’t verify your account. Instagram specifically says, “If you provide false or misleading information during the verification process, we will remove your verified badge and may take additional action to delete your account.”

Thirdly, although we mentioned Facebook’s verification previously and how different it is compared to Instagram’s own, having a presence outside of Instagram can help your application. The logic behind this is that even if you have a lot of Instagram followers, it’s hard to prove that you’re “notable” if you don’t have any presence outside of the app.

In other words, if Instagram staffers search your name on Google during the verification review process, it would be best if they found other websites and apps that mention your name. For that, make sure your website is optimised to appear in top search results. To grow your online presence, you could consider guest posting on other blogs or sites, especially if they are well-known and respected in your niche.

That being said, do not cross-promote your other social accounts in your Instagram bio and don’t use your bio to ask people to follow you elsewhere. As stated by Instagram, profiles that “contain ‘add me’ links to other social channels” will not be approved.

Then, in order to both grow your online presence and increase your chances of coming up first in search results, try reaching out to multiple news sources so they can write about you or your brand. You can either send a press release to bigger media companies or contact smaller, more local publications if you’ve never been in the news before. Remember that paid or promotional content doesn’t count. Once you start getting mentioned by different news platforms, link all these articles in a ‘press’ section on your website or even as a highlighted Instagram Story. If you’re not sure when to start, look up journalists that are already writing about other Instagram accounts and send them a DM or an email asking them if they could potentially be interested in covering your own Instagram account.

Post regularly. Technically, you need to have at least one post to be considered for verification. But realistically, you should not apply until you have a stronger Instagram presence. For example, if your account has been inactive for a few weeks, you won’t be considered a great candidate for the Instagram verification. To boost your chances, make sure to post new content regularly and to interact with other accounts.

Having an important amount of followers always helps, even though there is no longer a set number of required followers to get verified on Instagram. However, having more followers is a pretty good indicator of noteworthiness. Furthermore, Instagram looks at how likely you are to be impersonated. Someone is probably more likely to impersonate an account with many followers. That’s why having a large number of followers makes it more likely for Instagram to give you the verification badge.

Just remember that, no matter how many followers you have, don’t buy fake followers as this would seriously impact your application. Instagram will notice that you bought fake followers and therefore will not give you the blue tick.

Once you’ve gone through all those steps, all you have to do is wait. Your application might not be approved on the first try but don’t get discouraged by it, take the time to improve your profile and grow your audience, then feel free to apply again! You can reapply 30 days after your first request is denied.

Keep in mind that, while the verification process looks quite simple and short, Instagram has a very strict set of rules that it follows when looking at your application. If you don’t meet some of the less obvious criteria, then you will be denied. You will receive a notification in your notifications tab.

We’ve mentioned it above but we will repeat for those at the back: do not use a third-party service to apply for the verification check. Instagram specifically says not to try to verify your account through a third party as there are plenty of scammers out there who will try to sell you Instagram verification. Read about it here but don’t fall for it.

If you end up with a successful application that results in your Instagram account receiving the blue check, remember that you can lose it as quickly as you received it. Continue to follow Instagram’s terms of service and community guidelines and never sell your badge, or use your profile picture, bio, or Instagram name to promote other services.