Whoever hasn’t been frustrated with the obvious lack of assistance in resolving Facebook and Instagram issues, please raise your hands. Did you raise yours? Good, because we need to make this clear – something must be done, Meta. Many a Social Media manager has experienced the pain of trying to get help from Meta ‘representatives’, who are near impossible to contact – you’d have a higher chance of talking to rocks than talking to one of these people! However, soon, there might be another route to take.

Let Me Verify

According to the story of one Mr. Mark Bowness, after a frustrating and fruitless years-long battle to get a Facebook account restored, he’s now been able to do so in just a few days after signing up for Meta’s new ‘Verified’ program. Meta Verified is currently being tested in Australia and New Zealand and includes a range of additional perks for just $12 a month, including a verified badge, proactive account protection, and ‘increased visibility and reach.’

It hasn’t been made clear just how much this increase is, but Meta Verified does come along with one other critical element: direct access to account support. This dedicated account support may be the trick to getting those pesky long-term issues resolved, as it has been in these recent cases. While it’s still pretty much in its early days and easier right now to get access to said support, given that there are still only a few people signed up for the program, that could perhaps become a new avenue for others to sign-up for the program, even if only for a month, to solve a specific issue.

Of course, some people will be keen to get that blue checkmark as a means to add a little extra authority to their account, which may prove effective for some audiences. However, it could be that dedicated account support is the real deal-sealer here, and the real justification for the cost of Meta Verified.

To reiterate, it’s not a continuity thing – you don’t have to stay signed up if there’s no need. If you have an issue, you may want to sign up, get it resolved, and then simply allow your subscription to lapse. While it’s not ideal to have to pay $12 to fix an issue, we’re sure that many who’ve experienced this frustration would see this as a small price to pay to get rid of something so psychologically vexing, avoiding unnecessary angst.

The Wrap

It’s a strange yet interesting take on providing consumer support, and an equally interesting consideration, too. Since the program is still in pilot testing in Australia and New Zealand, we can’t be sure about the timeline of a broader expansion, or if it will even reach that stage at all. If Meta verified does make it to the live app globally, then maybe, just maybe, that $12 price tag would equate to a few extra millions for Meta, on account of people just wanting to avoid mentally stressing themselves out trying to fix account issues.

Sources

http://bit.ly/3J0W9hP