- What is a TikTok Verified Badge?
- How to Get Verified on TikTok
- What do TikTok Reps Look For to Determine Verification?
- What is Asked During the Selection Process
- Ways to Increase Your Verification Chances
- How Do Points Work on TikTok?
- How to Get Media Coverage
- Watch Out For TikTok Verification Phishing Attempts
- Frequently Asked Questions
Since its launch in 2016, TikTok has slowly grown to become one of the most-used social media platforms in the world, predicted to surpass 2 billion monthly active users in 2024. As it continues to grow, it’s essential to know how to get verified on TikTok if you’re looking to become an influencer, create brand awareness for your company, or establish yourself as a unique creator.
Read more to learn what it takes to become TikTok verified, how to increase your chances of getting verified, and what to expect once you’ve secured a little blue checkmark next to your name.
What is a TikTok Verified Badge?
Like most social platforms these days, TikTok uses a blue checkmark to signify that a profile has been verified. This verification badge assures users that an account is real and has been confirmed by the app.
Having one next to your name allows your account some advantages over non-verified accounts such as:
- Proving your authority: Sometimes, when a creator is doing well on the platform, fake accounts may begin to pop-up using their name or ideas. The verification badge helps identify your account as the real profile.
- Showing your credibility: Brands are more likely to work with verified profiles than those without a blue checkmark (though this is not always the case).
- Opening you up to new followers: Having a verified account also means you’ll show up in the top spots of search results—which may lead to new followers and create brand awareness.
Keep in mind, though, that just because an account is not verified, does not mean it is a fake or spreading false information. Generally, having the blue checkmark helps to combat impersonators from pretending to be well-known users, creators, or brands.
How to Get Verified on TikTok
If you have thousands of followers but don’t have a verified badge on TikTok, don’t worry, you’re not alone. That’s because TikTok doesn’t verify its users based on followers but rather through a dedicated selection process by verification reps.
The platform has a team of people behind the app working to find the right creators, influencers, and brands to grant a badge to and you can’t request this process on your own.
What do TikTok Reps Look For to Determine Verification?
When selecting candidates, some of the things TikTok looks for in a creator include:
- Consistent daily growth: You may have a good chance of getting verified if your account is consistently gaining around 500–2,000 followers per day and gaining more views and watch times regularly.
- Authentic content: Creators that use their own voice and tell unique stories tend to rank higher amongst verification candidates.
- Regular viral content: Accounts whose content goes viral frequently are in a good position to get verified.
- Media coverage: If your content is getting featured in respected and prominent media outlets, you’re more likely to get verified.
- Verified accounts on other platforms: You may have a leg up on the process if your other social media accounts (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) are already verified.
- Following the rules: Creators hoping to get verified must abide by TikTok’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Service which includes abstaining from bullying, hate speech, or nudity.
What is Asked During the Selection Process
To get verified on TikTok, you’ll need to go through an application process with the app's verification rep or a talent/marketing agent that specializes in verification.
During the selection process, you may be asked for the following information:
- What is your category?
- What is your username/handle?
- Your full name or the name of your organization
- The full name of the account operator
- The email address of the account operator
- A description explaining your account including an official website or two media links
Ways to Increase Your Verification Chances
If you’re not quite there yet with your followers and viral content, there are some tips you can use to increase your chances of getting verified on TikTok.
- Engage and collaborate with other creators
- Use high-quality gear (i.e., lighting sources, cameras, recording equipment, etc.)
- Use popular or trending sounds/music in your videos
- Establish a niche and define your voice within that space
- Be consistent with your posts
- Be unique, offer engaging content that can’t be found elsewhere
- Add a “call to action” (CTA) to your videos (such as asking a question that needs to be answered)
At the end of the day, TikTok rewards creativity, authenticity, and individuality, so as the age-old saying goes, “Just be yourself.”
How Do Points Work on TikTok?
For TikTok to consider your video “viral,” your account must receive 300 points from the first 300 people who view your video. It’s given an extra point when it is watched fully, or 90-100% of it is viewed.
When someone watches your clip for more than five seconds, it is considered a “view.” It is not considered a full view though if you posted a 30 second video and it was only watched for 15 seconds.
It would need to be watched for 25-30 seconds to get points for being a full view. In other words,
- If a video is stopped around the 85% mark, you’ll get 0 points.
- If a video is 90–100% watched fully, you’ll get 1 point.
- If a video is looped, you get 2 points.
Because looped videos receive the most points, you’ll often see creators posting short, seven-second clips to engage the app’s algorithm.
Additionally, these views are not determined by your current followers but rather a random set of users that TikTok chooses to show your video to. This is its way of defining your video’s outreach success.
How to Get Media Coverage
Securing media coverage of your account is a great way to get closer to verification status on TikTok. While it may seem impossible or like a daunting task, there are some easy ways to begin getting your name out there.
One way is by signing up for Help a Reporter Out (HARO) as a source. HARO is a free (or paid) resource that connects journalists with people when they're in need of experts or sources for an article.
You can choose the categories of interest when you sign up and you'll be emailed three daily with questions that fall within that category.
If you feel one of your videos would be a good source for a query, you can submit your response and if you are chosen as a source, you may be featured in an upcoming article.
Watch Out For TikTok Verification Phishing Attempts
Be on the lookout for verification phishing scams meant to steal your information and lock you out of your account. If you receive an email regarding a verification badge, be sure that it is coming directly from TikTok and not an account impersonating the platform.
How TikTok Contacts You
TikTok will only send correspondence from a @tiktok.com email address. Any other address means it’s likely a social media scam.
Further, TikTok will not reach out to you via the app, text, or any other social media platform to become verified. If you receive a message outside of the @tiktok.com email address, report it immediately and delete it from your inbox.
You will not be asked for any of the below information:
- Your driver’s license
- Social security number
- Your financial information
- Login credentials
If the above information is being asked of you, do not click on any links, download any messages, or reply to the email. Report the incident to TikTok and/or delete the message immediately.
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