TikTok is a great place to make your dream of becoming a social media influencer come true. Unlike YouTube, the platform is easier to use because of its musical integration and user-friendly editing tools. It doesn’t even require great editing skills because the filters and background music are included in your recordings from the get-go. There is also more audience to reach out to on the platform. But owing to its accessibility, it is also easy to get your account drowned in the pool of aspiring content creators on the platform. One of the ways to make your content stand out is to get your TikTok account verified.
TikTok’s blue badge will serve as your badge of affirmation and will help you build trust among your existing and potential followers. However, getting verified on TikTok works quite differently from getting verified on Twitter and other platforms. Here’s what you must know about how to get verified on TikTok including some tips.
Related: How to Use TikTok App: A Complete Guide
Inside This Article
- How to Tell If an Account Is Verified on TikTok
- Why You Should Get Verified on TikTok
- How Are TikTok Verified Badges Given
- How to Get Verified on TikTok
- How Did TikTok Got Popular
- Will TikTok Remain Relevant in the Future?
- FAQs
How to Tell If an Account Is Verified on TikTok
The telltale of a verified account is similar on many platforms. TikTok, like YouTube, Twitter, and other websites, provides a “verified” badge to signify that the platform has verified the account’s identity. Through this blue checkmark next to the account name, you can easily tell verified accounts apart from non-verified ones. You can also visit the account’s profile and see whether the blue checkmark and “Verified Account” signifiers are below the user’s name.
The blue badge is a good way to weed out impersonators and fake accounts, especially now that social media has become a major source of disinformation. They also play an important role in shaping culture, with influencers and content creators on these apps paving the way. TikTok mitigates possible disinformation and reshaping of facts by verifying accounts – a method that ensures accounts represent the person they claim to be. Of course, this isn’t a fool-proof way to halt the spread of fake news on social media sites.
Some fake or spam accounts may be tricky to spot. That’s because some users sneak in emojis and other verification symbols in their bio to trick other users. These accounts are not verified and are likely impostors of the original account, trying to fish for easy followers. They might know how to get verified on TikTok as individual creators, so they like to mooch off others’ identities.
Why You Should Get Verified on TikTok
Don’t know how to get verified on TikTok and aren’t even sure if it’s worth it? TikTok verification is important for the same reason as YouTube or Twitter verification is. It’s the easiest way for prominent figures to let others know it’s their real account. The verification badge builds trust, regardless if you’re a celebrity, local influencer, organization, or musician. It makes fake accounts easier to spot and, likewise, makes authentic accounts easier to distinguish.
Apart from this, having that verified symbol next to your name could also get you more exposure. Of course, this idea hasn’t been confirmed by the app itself. Nonetheless, rumor has it that TikTok’s algorithm seems to favor verified accounts and showcase them more often than unverified accounts. If it’s true, you’ll likely gain considerably more followers and likes on your content.
Lastly, getting verified is a mark of trustworthiness or reliability. If you’re verified, you’re more likely to gain attention when you comment on other people’s content. Hence, if you comment on a celebrity’s TikTok video, you’ll have a higher chance of getting a response. In addition, famous influencers and celebrities will also more likely respond to your direct messages. They could even collaborate with you on various projects if you request one.
How Are TikTok Verified Badges Given
You might be wondering how to get verified on TikTok. Is there a simple method for it? Do you just send an email to their team and hope to get a reply?
Unfortunately, getting verified on TikTok isn’t as straightforward as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. That’s because the platform has its own secret set of criteria that it uses to verify an account. The staff hand-picks accounts themselves, so no one truly knows how to get verified on TikTok.
Some of the criteria have been laid out, but they’re somewhat vague and unclear. As a result, there’s no hard and fast way to get yourself verified like there is on other apps. In fact, some accounts that have large followings are still unverified on the platform, despite them seemingly meeting proper criteria.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that there’s nothing you can do to boost your chances. That’s because some TikTok experts, like Rachel Pederson, have given rough guides on what the team at TikTok might consider. Firstly, your account must be growing daily – by 500 to 2,000 every day. You can monitor the exact number of your live follower using a TikTok counter.
In addition, your content needs to be getting more views on average and should increasingly retain those views. Furthermore, the staff considers viral content and media coverage key indicators of whether an account deserves verification. You’re also more likely to get verified if you’re already verified on different social media sites.
With that said, TikTok verification is still all up to the staff even if you meet the checklist. No one can request verification, and as such, it’s a much harder ordeal than on other platforms. All you can do is follow their loose requirements, build your following, and hope to get verified eventually.
How to Get Verified on TikTok
There may not be a surefire method on how to get verified on TikTok but that doesn’t mean you can’t try. Here are some of the things you can do to increase the odds and boost your chances.
1. Upload Unique Content
There’s a plethora of content on the platform and it’s only growing as more users hop aboard the app. As such, one important way to help you get noticed by TikTok’s review team is by creating unique content. After all, being a content creator is all about providing value. Hence, if all your videos are generic and can be replicated or found elsewhere, they’re less likely to gain popularity. On the other hand, if your content is unique, you’re more likely to gain followers who want more.
2. Focus on Your Niche
How to get verified on TikTok for free? The best way to grow your following and fast-track your way to verification is by focusing on a niche. This is because generic videos or profiles filled with too wide a range of genres can feel overwhelming and chaotic. It makes it hard for the viewers to know what your content is truly all about. As a result, it also makes people hold off on following you because they can’t know what to expect.
Our advice? Choose one thing, get good at it, and wait till you attract other people’s attention and get noticed. Your niche could be anything. For example, you might like skincare and make popular videos that advise fellow skincare enthusiasts. If you’re into Kpop, then you might make video compilations about that or upload dance covers. It’s free for all and almost anything goes as long as you follow the app’s terms of service.
Once you rise in popularity, your following will grow the more you produce your niche content. Make it catchy, keep it short, and most of all, be engaging.
3. Engage Your Audience
Is there a method for how to get verified on TikTok without followers? The only way to do something like this is to become a recognized celebrity in Hollywood or the music industry. Unfortunately, most of us aren’t celebrities and are only trying our hands at becoming internet famous through social media apps.
If you’re not a celebrity or a public figure, chances are you want to boost your engagement. You can do so by replying to comments on your posts or even commenting on other people’s posts. In fact, you can even leave comments on your followers’ videos to keep engagement even higher. This will allow others to feel more connected to you and gain a sense of community overall.
4. Collaborate With Other Creators
Collaborating with other creators on the app is one neat way to boost your following. This is because it exposes both you and your fellow creator to different audiences. It expands your reach and might help pique the interest of those who wouldn’t have found you otherwise.
Apart from this, collaboration creates rapport within the community. Collaboration says you’re a trusted individual and a legitimate creator with good people skills. It’s more likely to push your content forward and will assist you in going viral.
5. Get Your Content Viral
One of the best ways to get a chance at TikTok verification is virality. This is because, historically speaking, TikTok accounts have had at least one viral video before getting verified. Once you hit that “For You” page, you’ll likely get a surge of followers and viewers.
You’ll also more likely be under the TikTok team’s watch. They’ll keep an eye out for you a bit more and will probably consider you for verification down the line. Of course, this entails that you must make a video go viral first.
What metrics do they use to measure virality? Two things: your video has to have high activity and high engagement. People need to interact with your content much more than the average video.
To make a video go viral, you can make something catchy and attention-grabbing at the very beginning. This will retain people’s attention for a bit longer to find out what your video is about. Afterward, we recommend telling a story or getting a message across. Now, you’re not required to do this, especially if you’re more of a physical TikTok content creator like a dancer. Nonetheless, for those of you who aren’t, it’s a great way to boost engagement. You can also include catchy TikTok captions to go with your videos.
Apart from this, we recommend keeping the videos short. Try cutting your videos to about 8 to 10 seconds to boost retention. People watch brief clips more often because they don’t like staying too long.
6. Keep Uploading Content
How to get verified on TikTok? One thing is for sure — you will not get verified if you’re inactive. Sure, some YouTubers can get away with producing content sparsely or a little at a time. That’s especially true if their videos are long and packed full of information.
With TikTok, however, this isn’t something you can do. That’s because the videos are short and have a time limit. Hence, it’s important to keep producing content if you want to keep your viewership engaged. Moreover, active participation is one of the key criteria TikTok has for user verification. If that quality isn’t present then you’re less likely to get verified.
7. Stay Relevant and Participate
There is no easy method to get verified on TikTok, but we recommend keeping up with the latest hashtags and challenges. This will help you stay relevant – especially if what you’re building is an account for your brand. Check out the latest trends and always stay up-to-date on what’s happening around the platform.
Moreover, we recommend keeping up with the latest songs and most popular artists. That way, you can know which songs are most popular and which ones are more likely to get higher views. Music is essential and is one of the key things that might engage or repel viewers.
8. Get a Media Feature
If you can, getting featured in an established media platform will certainly boost your odds. You can get featured anywhere, from magazines to newspapers or even on TV and radio stations.
If you want a lower barrier to entry, you can try your hand at getting featured in others’ content. Try messaging a famous YouTuber or podcaster who makes content related to yours. Spread your message and get out there. Odds are, you aren’t alone. Others are looking for collaborations, too. That’s especially true of independent influencers on other platforms.
Once you do, you should gain a significantly larger following, especially if your media feature is highly regarded. Of course, you need to have something important or significant to say about the topic for this to go well. If you do, then you’ll probably get a higher chance of getting verified, too.
9. Be Verified on Other Platforms
TikTok isn’t the only popular social media platform out there. Giants like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all exist – and they all have individual verification processes, too. Once you become a big content creator on those platforms, you can apply for verification. This will, as a result, boost your odds of earning TikTok verification.
Of course, these other platforms have different criteria and processes for account verification. For example, Facebook usually only verifies professional or official accounts. These commonly include news companies, media outlets, restaurants, companies, and other establishments.
On the other hand, Twitter recently posted 6 different categories accounts must fall under for verification. Instagram, while a little more complicated, usually verifies accounts that have a high tendency for impersonation. These include celebrities, artists, musicians, and more.
Regardless, the team at TikTok will likely take notice if your accounts on other platforms have verification markers. They will know you’re not a bot with true internet influence. Hence, the chances for verification are higher.
10. Follow the Guidelines
Like any other platform, TikTok has a strict set of rules, guidelines, and terms of service. Users agree to it once they sign up for an account or post anything on the app. Hence, the app has the right to terminate, flag, or suspend the account of anyone who’s in violation. This includes you or even other verified individuals within the app.
Of course, this also means that TikTok will not verify accounts that violate their rules. Doing anything sketchy or remotely flirts with the technicalities of the guidelines might hurt your chances. If you want to learn how to get verified on TikTok, this is one easy way to make sure you’re not out of the running.
How Did TikTok Got Popular
Back when Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat were the only ones at large, people didn’t think another app would take over. That is until 2018 when TikTok made a big splash in the social media scene – in lightning speed, too. At the time, it was rapidly growing and by 2021, the platform already had over one billion active users. The app was even installed in the United States over 200 million times.
Now, this may seem abrupt and out of nowhere for folks who aren’t familiar with the app. However, if you’ve ever been on the platform before, you’d know how addictive it truly is. The app provides a fresh, new way of creating and consuming content unlike anything else. Moreover, its content is short and easily captures your attention, making it great for younger audiences.
Speaking of which, TikTok’s youthful audience played a big part in boosting its growth. In fact, only a small percentage of the app’s users are 50 years years old or older. It’s unsurprising, considering the app’s nature and focus on younger audiences. This worked well in TikTok’s favor and it certainly shot up in popularity, thanks to its largely Gen-Z user base.
Apart from this, having a younger audience also means attracting brands that cater to that demographic. TikTok played its cards well, implementing ads and partnering with companies who market to youth.
Lastly, the app is also unique in that, like YouTube, offers monetization options for creators. This encourages users to stay and engage on the platform because more engagement also equals more money to be made. That goes for both the app and its content creators.
Will TikTok Remain Relevant in the Future?
We know that fads and trends come and go – that goes for any industry, whether it’s fashion, food, or tech. Likewise, the world of social media also has its fads and fades. Now, does this mean TikTok is just a fad for a few years and will fade into oblivion eventually?
Not likely. TikTok has already become one of the fastest-growing platforms in recent years and it’s unlikely to stop. In fact, it hasn’t stopped growing since it began – and that’s saying something. Moreover, the rate at which it’s growing is rapid. It may slow down eventually but it isn’t likely to halt completely. At least, not soon.
In addition, giants like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have already started implementing TikTok-like features into their apps. This means what the company is doing works – and it works well enough for it to be envied by others. Sure, this might also spell the end of TikTok if other apps fill the void of short-form videos. However, TikTok doesn’t seem to be slowing down even when Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts started.
FAQs
If you are ready to be an influencer, you can download TikTok on App Store and Google Play Store.
