UPDATE: November 2019 – Facebook has now stopped letting you verify your page
In conversation with many business owners recently, I’ve been surprised how few have realised that Facebook Page Verification is available to them. Verifying your Page proves you are an authentic business. It is also a great way to increase your organic reach as Facebook rewards you with more views after your Page has been verified. All for a few minutes work and without having to pay to advertise!
The instructions on how to verify your Facebook Page are quite straightforward. Occasionally you do need to repeat them to get it to work! The great thing is that once you’ve done it, your page will show up higher in search results. This means it will attract more visitors and adds credibility to your Page.
It will also help to differentiate the “real” Facebook Page for a business. Some businesses have several Business Pages on Facebook, often done in error, however, there is usually only one “true” Page. This will help define the “real” Facebook Business Page. (It is good housekeeping though for the duplicate Pages to be merged with the current Page or deleted.)
What Facebook Verification Looks Like
If you see a blue tick on a Page or profile, it means that Facebook has confirmed that this is the authentic Page or profile for a celebrity, public figure, sports team or other media and entertainment organisations. If you see a grey tick on a Page, it means that Facebook confirmed that this is an authentic Page for a business or organisation. Please note that the check mark can be revoked at any time if you violate Facebook’s Terms of Use.
Is your Page eligible?
If you’re an Admin of your Page and it is eligible for verification, you’ll see this option in your Page’s Settings, under General. Usually the third option down:
For Page verification, you can either use your business’ publicly listed phone number or a business document (e.g. HMRC legal registration).
How to verify your Page
To verify your Page:
- Click Settings at the top of your Page
- From General, click Page Verification
- Click Verify this Page, then click Get Started, you’ll then see a screen like this:
- Enter a publicly listed phone number for your business, your country and language
- Click Call Me Now to allow Facebook to call you with a verification code
- Enter the 4-digit verification code and click Continue.
Now when you go back to Settings you should see this:
If you prefer to verify your Page with a business document, follow the steps above and click Verify this Page with documents instead at the bottom left of the window that appears:
then upload a picture of an official document showing your business’ name and address. Facebook will only use this information to verify your Page.
After Facebook receives your verification code or business document, they’ll review your information to confirm that it matches public records. Sometimes the verification happens instantly using the phone number option but it can take a few days. It usually takes a lot longer using the document method, sometimes a few weeks. Facebook does send you a notification or email about your verification status once it’s confirmed.
What happens next?
On the good news side, immediately after verifying my own Page my Reach went up +180% and Post engagement by +34% and continues higher than before verifying! I’ve also done this for several of my clients and they have all had greater organic reach.
I highly recommend that you have a go if your Page is eligible. It would be great if you popped back to let me know how you get on in the comments below.
As an aside, I did look for this feature on Facebook while I was away in Portugal and the option didn’t appear there at all! Clearly it isn’t available in all countries.
