​The video-sharing social network TikTok is not on everyone’s radar – most influencers and entrepreneurs occupy themselves with Facebook, Instagram, and, to a lesser extent, Twitter. TikTok, however, is not to be underestimated – it was the 7th most downloaded app of the decade (2010-2019) and the number one most downloaded application on the App Store in 2018 and 2019.
For those hoping to reach as wide an audience as possible, being active on TikTok shouldn’t be enough. To truly make the most of your TikTok page, you should aim to have your account verified.
Verification on TikTok works in much the same way as on other social media, such as Facebook. Once the platform’s requirements for authentication have been met, a verified ‘badge’ appears on your profile. This is the equivalent of the verified crown seen on the platform back when it was marketed as musical.ly.
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Celebrity status
Verified badges on TikTok are something of a status symbol. In general, they’re reserved for celebrities and well-known influencers – the most that the majority of non-celebrity users can hope for is a ‘popular creator’ badge.
Having a verified badge next to your profile name makes you part of this elite group, recognized as the most important and influential users on the platform.
Verified = authentic and noteworthy
Objectively, the main purpose of account verification on TikTok and elsewhere is ensuring that you are who you claim to be. This is only really important in the case of popular individuals such as celebrities – because it’s only in their case that anyone would have a reason to impersonate them.
From here, we can draw two key benefits of TikTok verification. The first is the badge proving that your identity has been verified, you are who you claim to be, and your account is authentic and trustworthy. The other is the underlying suggestion that you are important enough to require, and obtain, verification – since fraud and impersonations only happen to influential people.
Having a verified account is the first line of protection against impersonation. In case someone does create an account under your name, or a fan page that makes it seem as if it relays your official content, having a genuine verified account will make it much easier for you to take care of the situation.
Generating interest and follows
Verification will help your account build up a bigger following. The first reason for this is that the blue badge indicates trustworthiness and authenticity of both the content and the person behind it. This suggests to potential fans that the content they can expect will be of a consistently high quality and free of spam.
The other side of the follow-generating ability of the blue badge goes back to the notion that if you’re verified, you must be someone of importance. TikTok users seeing your content or profile with a ‘verified’ badge will check out more of your creations to see what they may have missed, assuming that you might be someone worth following if you’re noteworthy enough to be verified.
 
TikTok verification is not a straightforward process and the platform doesn’t make its requirement and process very clear, but it’s certainly doable with just about any kind of profile.