Kassaundra 0:00
In May, Meta announced that they would be testing out tiers of their meta verified subscription. And we can't not chat about it.
Kassaundra 0:11
So teacher authors, go ahead and reheat that cup of coffee, because I'm your host, Kassaundra Foster. And we're about to get schooled in socials.
Kassaundra 0:21
Welcome back to schooled in socials. Today I'm rolling out a new hot take segment, where I'm going to be sharing with you my raw and refined reactions to certain trends and happenings in the social media world. And the inspiration for this new segment came directly from the topic we're gonna be chatting about today, meta verified tiers. Before we jump into my hot take, I want to back up a step. So we're all on the same page. So what is meta verified anyways? Have you ever noticed that blue checkmark on some accounts, this means that they are meta verified, these accounts pay a fee each month in order to hold their verified status, they have gone through a series of steps to prove they are who they are, and that their business belongs to them. And that monthly subscription includes having that blue checkmark on your page to help you look more credible. It also comes in more support than the average user gets so that if there's any issues with the account, they can be more easily solved and usually take less time to get resolved. And meta even makes sure that other people aren't impersonating you on Instagram.
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Now, meta verified used to kind of be a one size fits all service for creators and some businesses. But in May, they rolled out the idea of creating tiers. Basically, the more you pay for your verified status each month, the more perks you get. And within those perks, accounts could access features that could increase their reach, get their content in front of more users. So they would be offered better search optimization, as well as more opportunities to pop up as a featured account on people's feeds. And when I say that this sent the small business community into a bit of a tailspin, me included for a hot second. I'm not kidding, it was pretty much all I saw for a few days in my feed, people were upset, they were freaking out. And I kind of didn't blame them.
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So here was my initial hot take. I was mad. And I felt a little bit betrayed. I know it sounds kind of funny to feel betrayed by a social media platform. But it was the timing of the announcement that really got me. you see the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, just about a week or so earlier talked on his page about how small creators weren't being served as well as they could be by Instagram, and how they were plans in the works to extend the reach of small creators, especially to non followers, so that small businesses like us could see more growth. And then they turned around and dropped the bomb about verified tiers, which by the way, the top tier could potentially cost a business $349 a month, that really didn't sound like helping the little guys to me. So I had my moment, I took a few deep breaths. And I realized a few very important things.
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Even if Instagram moved forward with this new approach, and big creators and businesses could essentially pay for more reach, things are going to be okay. Because one organic marketing has and always will be about growing and creating a community that isn't changing, no matter what kind of updates Instagram decides to throw at us. Two: they have a lot of changes that have happened over the years. And just like those changes, we will adapt, we don't have to freak out, though a moment or two is sometimes warranted, we will just need to tweak our strategy for growing and getting in front of our target audience. Three, just because Instagram offers this as a product doesn't mean people have to buy into it. We have to wait it out. And we have to see how it shakes out before we make any sort of drastic changes when it comes to our Instagram strategy or how we use Instagram to market our resources. And four: just like some proposed changes in the past, they never make it through beta testing. And at the time of this recording, meta verify tiers is still in that beta testing stage. It might never make it out of that. If it does, I'll be here to help you with that shift and help you adapt your strategy to make it work within whatever framework Instagram throws at us.
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So there you have it, my hot take on meta verify tiers on the surface. It feels super frustrating. But when you look a little deeper, this is not a The sky is falling situation. We can adapt, we do not have to be Chicken Little. If these changes happen, we can still see marketing results on Instagram. We're just gonna have to make a few tweaks along the way.
Kassaundra 5:26
Now it's your turn. I am all for a spicy hot take. So I would love for you to pop into my Instagram DMS and give me your hot take. It could be about meta verified tiers or anything else on social media that really ramps you up. I cannot wait to hear all of your thoughts.
Kassaundra 5:49
Alright, cool coffee friends. Thanks so much for listening. If you're loving getting schooled in socials, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Also, I would love it if you left a review so that other teacher authors like you can start getting schooled in socials too. All right, I'll see you in the next episode.