Ever notice Twitter accounts with the little blue check? In the beginning, they were to protect high profile celebrities from impostors creating fake accounts. These little blue checks became common on the pages of celebrities. Now you see them more often on the pages of large brands, journalists, and government agencies. The purpose of verification is to establish authenticity of identities on Twitter.
The verification badge helps users discover high-quality sources of information and trust that a legitimate source is authoring the account’s Tweets. Therefore, it should be commonplace for schools and districts to have verified accounts. We know that protecting stakeholders from potential dangers and chaos is paramount. The badge can help prevent being trolled by fake accounts.
One of the many things schools and districts worry about when starting a social media page is trolling. Trolls are people who post inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages on social media with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response and causing general trouble on social platforms. Still the online presence of education entities continues to grow. Many schools have implemented social media policies and educate their students in digital citizenship. The verification badge can help keep your Twitter account from getting trolled.
Don’t have a lot of followers? No worries. Follower count is not a factor in determining whether an account meets Twitter’s criteria for verification.
How to get your Twitter account verified:
1. Be sure your page and website are linked. There should be a link from Twitter account to your website and a link from your website to your Twitter account. You can embed a follow button on your website to make it easy for users to go from your website to your official Twitter page.
2. You should also include links to Twitter from your other social media accounts. All of these links will help verify your authenticity.
3. Put in the request, gather the following information and send it to gov@twitter.com.
– Twitter account handle
– District or School name
– Two contact names with titles and emails
– URL of your main website as well as a URL with your Twitter handle listed
4. Once you send this information, you should receive a response from Twitter to let you know that they will consider your request. This process most likely involves making sure that your account is authentic, and your managers are properly using the social media channel.
5. If your request is approved, you will see a little blue check appear on your account a few days later.
There is no set time because Twitter doesn’t openly accept requests for verification from the general public. A few school districts, like Blue Valley Schools in Overland Park, Kansas and Park Hill in Kansas City, Missouri have proved this method successful. There is no guarantee that your account will be approved, but it’s worth a try.