*BMN Exclusive* How to get verified on Instagram

Hello all,

I’m here to bring a Brandman Network exclusive on how to get verified on Instagram. I know the blue checkmark is highly coveted for musicians especially on Instagram, and wanted to breakdown the process of what it takes and also dispel any misconceptions regarding the verification process as well. I’ll keep this guide short and sweet for now, and will add detail as I see fit throughout. Let’s get right into it!

Quick facts:

As of 2020, about 3% of accounts are verified on Instagram
Instagram describes verification as “The verified badge is a tool to help people find the real accounts of public figures and brands, and it means we verified this is a notable and authentic Instagram account. A verified badge is not a symbol to show importance, authority, or subject matter expertise.”
The reality of it is, verification REQUIRES press, not X amount of followers or likes. This is why you can see politicians/local entities/news reporters with very small follower counts with verification badges. We’ll be going over press requirements in this article.

Estimated Costs:

Press - $1000-5000 (3-5 weeks)

Submission $0 - $5k (3-4 weeks)

ETA: 6-8 weeks

Press:

Generally speaking, the quality and quantity of press you have will determine your chances of being verified on Instagram. Instagram weighs seo-optimized, google indexed, non-sponsored posts the most. Don’t get it twisted though, the majority of press can be bought. You’ll notice that the price range for verification is very wide, and that’s because depending on your current amount of press and what publications you’re going for, your need for additional press is varied. For verification, you want to aim for at least 7-15 quality publications.

High quality sources of press include: Yahoo Finance, Lyrical Lemonade, Ear Milk, Wikipedia, Google Knowledge Panel, Famous Birthdays, etc.

Most of the press packages you’ll find are resellers of the same sources. I have a list of direct sellers, let me know if you need direct sources 🙂

Submitting for verification:

There are two ways to submit for verification. The first way is submitting through the Instagram app. My best advice for this is submitting with as much info as possible (they will ask who your demographic is, what articles have been written about you). This submission takes up to 30 days and costs nothing.

The second way is paying to submit on your behalf to a media portal. Someone with media portal access is able to submit verification requests, name changes, and requests unbans on Instagram. The going rate I’ve seen for these submissions are $2k-5k. They’re typically insured (meaning service is granted or money is refunded), and the best way to find these is through an social media escrow service like SWAPD (SWAPD acts as a middle man to ensure that the seller/buyer both receive what is agreed upon).

Quick warning signs for scams

They approach you first, and it’s “cheaper” than the going rate < $1k
They ask to deal outside of a secured service (Paypal Friends & Family, Cash App, etc.)
They don’t ask to see your press

It’s important to submit to a quality media portal. A quality middleman will only consider verifying you if they thought you were eligible to apply for verification without the media portal. There have been case studies I’ve seen where people with media portals lose access because they’ve abused/let low quality accounts apply for verification, and I’ve seen artists lose their badge because they were flagged for a low quality verification (DM for me proof if you’re curious)

I hope this guide was helpful! I know there’s a ton of info (whether right or wrong) on what it takes to get verified and everyone’s situation is different, so feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

27 comments