Testing Instagram Verified ✔
Yes, I paid $15. Here's what happened on social media this week, March 31
⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY
Instagram’s overhauling their Reels editing tool + more
AOC joins TikTok to talk about the TikTok ban
Beyond Social: How a podcast helps feed Kate Terentieva’s TikTok + Instagram content strategy
I launched a course for marketers — check it out!
💻 ROADMAP
📲 Instagram Updates:
📚 Instagram’s been hosting master classes for select creators. If your invite got lost in the mail, Insider’s Sydney Bradley attended “Instagram University” and provided a recap of the strategy session around the app’s algorithm and tools:
There are multiple algorithms but the big three are the feed, explore, and reels.
Keywords help boost reach and discoverability
A current focus is on the app’s messaging and text-based tools
Instagram’s editing tools for Reels are getting a makeover (!)
Avoid uploading watermarked content
*It wasn’t included in IGU, but people are also talking about: Instagram’s launch of Collaborative Collections
✅ Meta Verified is still rolling out to US accounts, including mine. Here are some of my observations of going through the process to get paid verification:
Step-by-Step: If you’ve been checking your inbox, note that there was no email or notification. About two weeks after I added my name to the wait list, I checked the drop-down menu on my landing page and there was a Meta Verified tab.
It costs $14.99 per month. Once I clicked the “Subscribe” button, it processed the subscription through my App Store account. There was no $12 option.
You need your ID handy. Once you opt in, Meta asks to confirm your identity. I uploaded the front and back of my drivers license but could have used a passport, national ID card or state ID. The verification process can take up to 48 hours but mine took about 45 minutes.
Your Instagram name has to match your ID. The first and last name associated with your account has to match the ID you submit. This one’s going to be tricky with nicknames, English translations or people who signed up before changing their birth names so I foresee Instagram having to be more flexible around identity verification.
It’s for individuals. Not brands. Since you have to verify your identity, your account has to be tied to your name, not a business name.
Your profile photo and username are locked in. Once you’re Meta Verified, you can’t make changes without going through another verification process — make sure that avatar is a good one!
You need to enable two-factor authentication to go through the process. There’s no way to opt out.
Meta Verified Pros and Cons:
There’s no easy way to tell the difference between a previously verified account and a new Meta Verified subscription account, which helps reinforce the credibility a checkmark provides. Yes, people can check the date you were verified by tapping on your blue checkmark on your profile page, but the average person probably won’t be aware.
I couldn’t find the exclusive stickers promised as part of Meta Verified so I used the special support button to ask about the missing stickers. I did get an email back in under two hours. However, it only contained generic info about updating the app to see new stickers. So, whatever points Meta racked up for the prompt response were canceled out by the lack of actual help.
The biggest benefit seems to be the visibility you get in people’s notifications. That checkmark really stands out. I’ll keep paying for a couple of months and see if I can connect with people who might not notice my account otherwise.
For example, I want to connect with notable creators so I can interview them for this newsletter or invite them to be guest speakers in my UCLA classes… In the same way I’d assume a creator might want to stand out while connecting with potential sponsors or collaborators.
But once we’re all verified, then nobody stands out. So, if you’re testing this for a limited time, really focus your efforts on the first few months of verification when you can have the most impact.
UPDATE: One year later; Is Meta Verified still worth it?
📲 Twitter Updates:
Starting today, legacy verified users and brands will lose their blue checkmarks unless they sign up for Twitter Blue.
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
Can we take a tech pause?!
The theme of this week seems to be responsible requests to understand the implication of what we’re doing versus a ‘move fast and break things’ approach. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I’m on board with the following:
Congresswoman AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) joined TikTok to talk about the potential app ban. For the record, she doesn’t think it should be banned but wants to address the core issue as she sees it: the lack of data and privacy protection laws in the U.S.
“The solution is not to ban an individual company,” says AOC, “but to protect Americans from this kind of egregious data harvesting without your significant ability to say no.”
Over 1700 tech experts and academics, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp, signed an open letter asking to pause the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 for at least 6 months. During that time, they’re encouraging AI labs and independent experts to develop and implement a set of safety protocols.
As a lot of people have pointed out, advanced AI could represent a significant shift in the history of life on earth and there’s not a lot to indicate that we are unleashing this technology in a responsible way.
Along those lines, Garbage Day journalist Ryan Broderick urged readers to examine just who is being replaced by AI tools.
Sadly, the answer won’t surprise you. All you have to do is check the headlines. This week, Levi’s is facing backlash after announcing it would use AI to increase the diversity of its models versus, you know, hiring more underrepresented human models.
🔨 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
🌟 It’s taken months but I’m happy to announce I launched a master class called Working With Influencers.
The majority of DMs I get aren’t from creators — they’re from brand marketers and SMBs who struggle to see influencers as anything more than display ads. And then are disappointed when an influencer campaign doesn’t have comparable results.
I also hear a lot from people who are having a hard time convincing their teams of the full potential — I hear you!
So I designed this course to help people feel more confident about pitching and planning an effective influencer marketing campaign.
Sign up with code: Newsletter99 to save over 60% during the next two weeks. Or if you want to set up private training for you or your team, just reply to this email.
🌟 LinkedIn’s doubled down on its creator efforts recently but how exactly do you stand out? LinkedIn Creator Alice Moon launched a Guide to LinkedIn for entrepreneurs and executives looking to level up their presence on the platform.
The guide comes with profile optimization tips, post ideas and strategies to grow your network — Alice is actually the person who convinced me to launch a version of ICYMI on LinkedIn to level up my profile on that platform!
Sign up with code ICYMI to get 25% off Alice’s Guide to LinkedIn.*
*sponsored
💫 BEYOND SOCIAL
Beyond Social is a new series where I ask creators and influencers about the communities they’re connecting with beyond social media. More than ever, creators (and brands) need to focus on their owned and operated channels — that’s websites, newsletters, email lists, podcasts, closed communities, etc. This week I talked to creator Kate Terentieva about launching a podcast which helps feed her TikTok and Instagram Stories content strategy.
KATE TERENTIEVA, Kindly Gifted Creator
Lia Haberman: What’s your primary social platform?
Kate Terentieva: I would say it's pretty split evenly between TikTok and Instagram Stories. Most of the people that follow me on TikTok are people that either want to be in the industry or just appreciate my insight but don't really plan on directly putting money in my pocket for some sort of consulting service because they either don't have a brand that I can help them with or they're not trying to build a personal brand.
Whereas on Instagram, the majority of my followers already have an existing career in the industry, have a brand and, or, are building their own personal presence. So there's less pushback, in terms of affordability or additional resources. They take it as it is.
LH: Where else are you looking to connect and communicate with your community?
KT: I started my podcast [Kindly Gifted] on impulse. I was deciding between having a podcast and having a YouTube channel. I know that I'm great on video, but I hate video editing. So I'm not starting a YouTube channel until I have a video editor or budget for that.
A podcast also lended itself really well to the marketing niche because our space is so reactive. So I don't need to create a full blown set-up every single time or really plan as hard on a podcast as I would on YouTube. There's no reason that I can't pop in my headphones and record for 7 minutes. It creates this bite-sized update. And it's been compared to a check-in call with your marketing bestie.
LH: How does this channel help you?
KT: I naturally gravitate towards, ‘OK, let's put a ton of time and energy into expanding on the issue in a podcast episode and see how we can create bite-sized moments of education on either Instagram Stories or TikTok from there.’
So I think podcast first and then try to create TikToks out of that.
I've also realized that if I take a podcast episode that's 20 minutes long and I turn that into a bite-sized, 90-second sizzle, there is actually a portion of the audience that will never go to the podcast. They get everything that they need out of that 90 seconds.
However, there will also be a portion of the audience that will be like, ‘Oh, but I want to know more of the details of what she's talking about in this 90-second video. And I want to go listen to the 20-minute thing.’
So there are two different audiences that consume content… and you have to be OK with that.
LH: What’s your tech stack for this channel?
KT: I use software called Descript, which is actually really cool. You can upload either video or MP3 files into Descript and it will transcribe the audio and then you can delete any filler words as well as just edit down paragraphs and it cuts it out from the video files too. So that has been really helpful.
I will say, if you have a video podcast, it is not enough to simply record a dialog and put it up for people to watch.It has to be entertaining or a little bit more produced. So if that's not a capability that somebody has or is willing to do, then delegating that to somebody else is important.
LH: Are you monetizing this channel — what does that look like?
KT: I use a platform called Anchor. Well, now it's called Spotify for Podcasters… Spotify bought it. But it does allow you to place ads in your episode.
For me, I did not create my podcast thinking it's going to generate any revenue. I created it as a resource because I don't think people need to be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for an education in this field. They just need to find the right people who have expertise in something and give it to them in a way that's digestible and not condescending and actually interesting to listen to.
So I never went into it thinking like, this is going to be a money-making resource for me. So I didn't get disappointed when that didn't happen for a long time.
LH: What’s the percentage breakdown between time spent on social and this other channel?
KT: I would say I spend more time on something like Stories because things come out all the time. There's always something that I feel like I want to respond to that I don't necessarily want to be a podcast episode.
LH: What’s your BEST tip for other creators considering this?
KT: I heard this statistic a while ago that two-thirds of podcasts do not have more than four episodes published. And I think there's a few reasons for that. A podcast is like YouTube, they're long games. You don't get rewards for a while.
So I would spend a lot of time thinking: ‘Why is this the right move for me?’ How does it serve the consumer that you have or the audience member that you have?
If it's only, ‘This will make me famous and this will make me cool.’ Or, ‘I'm going to make money from this.’ That's wonderful. And those things are totally respectable. But if it's not helping the person that's going to be listening on the other side, then don't do it.
Related: Matt Navarra shares his appreciation for broadcast channels
📣 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“If you’re getting a yes every time you offer your rates, that’s a problem. You should be getting turned down… If you don’t try, you’ll never know. And you could be leaving money on the table.”
- TikToker Corporate Natalie shares her branded partnerships experience in Marketing Brew’s: What Corporate Natalie looks for in a brand partner
🧮 DATA OF THE WEEK
69% of brands increased influencer marketing investment over the past year
- CreatorIQ’s Effective Marketing Is Creator Led 2023 report
📖 ON YOUR RADAR…
Revolve’s Raissa Gerona on deprioritizing influencer trips: ‘The content feels dated’ -Glossy
Short-form video needs better monetization, creator funds aren’t the way to do it -Digiday
When it comes to the talent working on TikTok, more agencies are eying personal profiles -Digiday
Social media's new pay-for-play rules -Axios
Hollywood, music industry brace for a TikTok ban -The Washington Post
France is proposing legislation to make it mandatory for influencers to label filtered and retouched photos -HighSnobiety
The 2023 Creator Economy: A new direction (a survey of 30+ creators and creator economy pros) -Antler
Thanks for reading!
Another great edition. Look forward to thus every Friday!