The Facebook business manager was introduced in 2018 before Facebook changed its name to Meta in 2022, becoming Meta Business Manager. It was developed for business owners to manage their business properties e.g Facebook and Instagram Pages in a central hub.
It provides several features for various kinds of organizations to utilize for the purpose of improving brand identity. Over the past years, Facebook has given business owners the opportunity to verify their accounts and have access to additional features the platform provides.
Facebook founder, Mark Zukerberg had made it known that developers can now manage apps, WhatsApp cloud API, and domains right from the manager account. He further stressed why retailers and publishers should link their properties in a single manager account.
Why Meta Business Manager?
In 2017 Facebook introduced the “Page Transparency” button on Facebook pages thereby allowing users or customers to get further information about the business managing the page, the History of a page name, the country from which the page is managed, and the Ads Library.
Once a business is verified, Facebook displays “This is a person or organization that has completed our verification process and claimed responsibility for the page” although this information is not available for all pages. Depending on the page’s relevance Facebook may display it or may not.
This feature helps in building brand reputation, trust, and engagement, survey confirmed that 45% of verified business owners drive sales 2x more than unverified businesses.
There are documents you should have in place before applying for a business verification on Facebook;
- Legal business registration documents
- Website
- Valid Identification Card
How to verify your business on Meta Business Manager (formerly Facebook business manager)
Before verifying your business, you would have to create a business manager account, here’s a complete guide for creating a business manager account. Verify your business on Meta Business Manager (formerly Facebook business manager) by following these steps;
- Visit business.facebook.com on your browser
- Locate the settings icon on the lower left side
- Select business settings
- On the left side scroll down to business info
- Fill all your information accurately as it appears on your registration documents.
- Upload your files (follow instructions on file type, size, and format)
- Click on Submit
Note that verification approval can take 14 business working days so you’d have to be patient with the status. No need to worry if you’ve followed the guide you shouldn’t have any issues with verification results. Ensure your domain name and primary page name match with your business information and documents including your address and contact information.
Facebook Journalist resources – Getting Verified and using crowd tangle
In 2019, Facebook Journalist Resources was through the journalism program which was initially kickstarted in the united states before it was finally rolled out in other countries. This feature enables verified journalists to various tools and benefits.
There are requirements you need to meet as a journalist or publisher to have access to these tools and features with your Facebook profile. Crowdtangle needs to authenticate with your profile before you can access the tool. So let’s dive in
Requirements To Qualify As A Verified Journalist On Facebook
- You must have an ID-verified Facebook profile.
- You must be an author of a registered news page
- Authored at least 5 articles on the registered website
- Personalized work email with the official news website of the approved organization.
Features Available
Here are the most common features available to a verified news organisation on facebook business manager;
Safety and Protection measures
This feature provides Stronger security measures that protect your Facebook and Instagram profiles against harassment and potential hacking threats.
Blue Badge Verification
You become eligible for the blu badge on your Facebook and Instagram profile. This allows people to know your Facebook account has been verified
CrowdTangle Search
The tool allows a journalist to have a breakdown of what trending globally or within a geographical territory. Getting social media insight like shares, comments, etc.
Updates on special features
You get notifications of new features available to you as a verified journalist on Facebook.
One major tool I have come to utilize is the CrowdTangle search tool which I consider a tool for publishers and fact-checkers, Impressive data insight, filtering, and information exporting. The Facebook journalist resources also give eligibility to being verified only if your profile meets the requirements which means you can have access to the tool and not get verified.
How To Verify Your Profile As A Journalist On Facebook
Follow these steps to verify your Facebook profile as a registered journalist after meeting the requirement above;
- Login to Facebook and locate Settings and Privacy
- In your settings locate the Journalist Resources tab at the left
- Input all the required details
- Turn on Additional Benefits and Submit
- You would get an email when your profile has been approved
The email would contain a link that would contain a form and access to the crowdtangle tool, fill in all your information on the form, upload your ID and you should get feedback in 24hrs. If the news organization you’re applying with is verified, then you may have a good chance of landing the verified badge.
Conclusion
You need to know that verifying your business on the Facebook business manager does not give your business the verified blue tick on your Instagram or Facebook page. It only provides meta information on your page transparency and gives you access to additional features on the Facebook business manager.
There are tons of benefits available to publishers and journalist on the Facebook platform which I think they’re worth giving a try, but it is only available to organizations that have met the business verification guidelines and news page registration.
