Despite some changes to its original plan for ‘Meta Verified’, its own take on an exclusive subscription program that essentially allows users to purchase their own blue checkmark in the app on both Facebook and Instagram, Meta is expanding the scheme’s availability to the UK, with UK users able to apply starting this week.
Extra Verified
Meta launched the initial stage of Meta Verified with Australian and New Zealand users back in February, before expanding it to US users a month later. Now, it’s the UK’s turn to start buying blue ticks along with their tea fixes. Ahem, pardon the stereotype. In case you weren’t aware, there has been only one significant change to the offer since its launch.
When Meta expanded the program to the US, it pulled its increased reach element for Meta Verified profiles, which would have given subscribers more exposure potential on both primary apps. Twitter implemented the same for Blue subscribers, giving them priority ranking in discovery and reply threads. After trying it out with the AU and NZ subscribers, Meta was quick to back away to ‘reassess the best way forward’, or so is their sentiment.
Meta has yet to clarify why it decided to withhold this element, but it could be that it conflicts with its ad offerings, with users also able to pay for post boosting, which, for the most part, is the same thing, just on a per-post basis. Perhaps, then, the relative value of extra reach dilutes the same for ads, it’s either that or Meta just realized that, by amplifying the content of paying subscribers, users are more likely to be giving more reach to attention seekers who are likely to already have that reach organically with good content.
As such, juicing their reach is probably counter-intuitive from an engagement standpoint – but again, Meta has yet to explain why it has pulled the element. In any event, you don’t get any reach boost for your monthly Meta Verified account, but you do get other nifty treats. Direct account support has already proven beneficial for some, with users testifying that Meta Verified finally resolved some of their long-standing account troubles.
It could be worth it, depending on your problem/s – and it could also be worth also paying for a blue tick, even though selling the marker dilutes its value, and it’s pretty much meaningless now on Twitter. As such, why would people pay for a blue tick or extra reach?
The Wrap
Again, such an implementation most oftentimes leads to the most attention-hungry users simply paying for more presence, which isn’t that good for overall engagement. Either way, it’s expanding the option and will be available for UK users for £12 per month on either iOS or Android, or £9.50 per month straight from Meta on the web. Click here for more info.
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