Social media verification is confusing. It doesn’t help that each one is so different; you get one under control, and the next is something completely new. That’s why we make so much content (on Clapper and on our blog) about our verification process. We want our creators to succeed in all facets of content creation, and of course that includes getting verified.
That’s why we’ll be breaking down the road to verification on Clapper in this new series. From setting up your profile to creating a content schedule and connecting with your audience. Consider this your one-stop shop for all things verification.
Set Up For Success 🙌
The road to verification starts literally as soon as you set up your account. It’s like an actual road trip: the journey itself doesn’t start when you turn the key in the ignition. You have to map the route, make sure the car’s filled up, book places to stay, pack, find snacks – it’s a process to make sure everything goes smooth! With social media, you’ll want to do some preliminary prep, either as soon as you create an account or before you apply for verification. We’ll be covering those essentials.
A Note on Clapper’s Social Media Verification 🗈
And, on Clapper, there’s one very important stop on the road to verification you need to plan for. Clapper has Creator verification, which looks at the content you create to verify you as a certain kind of creator. It’s the first part of our two-tier verification:
- Creator Verification
- Blue Check Verification
You must get your Creator verification before you can get your Blue Check. We’ll touch on this later, but as you build keep in mind: you have to have a specialty of some kind.
Your Profile 👤
There’s a lot to consider when building your profile. It can get a little overwhelming, so we’ve broken it down into sections.
Your Username 🖊️
Make sure you select a username that fulfills one of the following requirements:
- It’s easy to remember or to find.
- It has your name or your brand somewhere in it.
- It’s fairly unique.
If you want to have a career as a content creator, a solid username is the very first step! Try to avoid usernames with a lot of numbers, usernames that might be hard to type, or (if you’re in a really specific niche) doesn’t show us the kind of content you create. You don’t have to meet all of these requirements. And, to be honest, if you have a username you love/are known for that doesn’t fit into these boxes, don’t change it. At the end of the day, your social media is created for you, so you need to be happiest with it.
That said, if you’re looking to step up your social game or stand out from the crowd, the first place to start is your username. Again, try to find something that incorporates your brand or your niche. And look for a way to make it unique to you. For example, maybe it’s not the best idea to be @Clapper4 because @Clapper1-3 were all taken. Whether you include your niche or rework your ideal username, it’s best to make sure you standout somehow!
Your Bio ⌨️
You have limited space in your bio, but it’s one of the biggest tools you can use on your profile. It’s an introduction to you and your content or hook your audience, but you usually have around 150 – 200 characters to accomplish it. You want you bio to introduce you and your content, that way viewers can have an understanding of what you create even before they watch a video. Creating the perfect bio can feel overwhelming: you’re a lot of things and you want to show them off! For the sake of space, try to stick to a few. The kind of content you create, what you do, and maybe a little bit about you as a person are a great place to begin. But let’s dive into some tactics to get this across!
List your interests and niches.
Essentially, you’d find the most important things to understand you and your content and list them out in your bio. This might look like “artist, mother, coffee drink, content creator, #ClapperPride” or less general like “sculptor, Texas-native, Taurus”. This packs a lot of information into a quick to digest (and easy to fit in) spiel.
Summarize yourself in one or two sentences.
Not as easy! Think about you and your content – or your business and the content it creates. How can you squeeze that into a direct, effective sentence? For @ClapperAcademy that looks like “Here to help Creators & Businesses succeed on Clapper”. This clearly and effectively communicates what kind of content this account creates and what you can expect.
Focus on your niche!
Rather than trying to condense everything you are into a single sentence, just plop down in your niche. “Hair stylist”, “candle maker”, ” SFX make-up artist” – keep it simple and to the point. So long as it’s what you make the bulk of your content about, it will still be a solid introduction to your content.
Distill your content/personality into one, catchy quote/phrase.
It might not give the best introduction, but when used well it still hooks the audience. Something like @Rogue_‘s “That Australian Lady” piques a viewer’s interest and makes them want to explore your account further.
Try out a few different methods and see what you like best. And go back to update your bio frequently! Make sure it still represents you, is up to date, and that you still like it. Bio’s are never one and done, and you can change them to suit your content and preferences.
Your Bio Links 🔗
On Clapper (and most other platforms) you can link to other social accounts and websites. Often these go unutilized by creators (our own team members don’t always take advantage of these!) but they are a great resource! If you have other social media pages that you want to share with your followers, go ahead and link them. This is a great way to grow your audience on other platforms and to show the social media verification team that you’re active elsewhere.
There should also be a place to link a website, and we’d definitely recommend taking advantage of this, too. You can link followers to just about anything you want, including a personal website or something that shows your skills/credentials. This is especially important if you’re in some kind of professional niche or have a project you really want to show off. If you have a newsletter or mailing list that you want to drive traffic to, this is the place to put them. If you’ve got a project you want to sell, link it here!
Sadly, though, this will only hold one link. If you have several things you want to plug, we suggest setting up a Linktree or something similar. This is a hub for multiple links, allowing you to share as many things as you want in your bio.
Profile Pictures 🖼️
Profile pictures are an underrated part of your social media presence. They’re another visual representation of your brand and another very quick introduction to who you are and what you create. Depending on the niche you fall into, you may go with a different style or type of picture. An actor might choose a headshot or something promotional from a movie they were in: artists might use a picture of their favorite canvas or their best known project. Or, if you post casual content or lifestyle content, you may choose a cute selfie! Whatever represents you and your content the best is what you should go with.
One tip we learned from @videoforbosses is to find some way to make your profile picture stand out. Her profile picture is pink, and no matter where she is it stands out. The minute she enters a Livestream or in a comment section, you see her. It catches people’s eyes and makes them spend an extra second or two looking at her account. Even if it’s no attached to her content! Experiment with a few profile picture ideas and see how you can make yours stand out.
Profile Tags 📇
On Clapper, you can add up to 20 Profile Tags to your profile. This is a great way to showcase your interests and communities! We suggest adding the tags that best suit you and your content. Plus, if you feel your bio is a little sparse and there’s more you wish you could tell your audience, your Profile Tags can solve that! They grab a potential follower’s attention and keep them looking at your profile longer, and they give followers a more full picture of you and your interests.
Profile Tags also make it easier for people to find you. Creators can click on a specific tag and explore other accounts with that same interest. If somebody is looking for more DIY content, they can go into the tag and look for accounts that enjoy the same content. If you’re a DIY page with the DIY tag, they’ll find you!
Creating Content 💫
We’ve covered creating content in a few articles, but we want to touch on some very important basics.
Intro Video 📱
One of the fundamental pieces of your profile is an intro video. This is a fairly new piece of the short-form content puzzle, but it’s a great tool! Spend some time creating an introduction video, talking about you and your content. If someone is scoping out your profile for the first time, they’re almost always going to start with the videos. You want to have a video that sums up the kind of content they can find on your page and shows them a little more about you. Be sure to include any regularly scheduled Lives or Radios they can attend. Once it’s filmed and posted, pin it to the top of your profile so it’s always there for people to see.
And check out our tutorial on creating an intro video! It takes you through everything you need.
Content Schedule ⏲️
We’ll get into the specific requirements for Creator verification in a later entry, but we did want to touch on content creation a little bit!
You always want to post regularly, but the frequency is up to you! We suggest posting at least 3 – 5 times a week, but there’s no rules on when you have to make those posts. You can space them out evenly, or sort of lump them together. You can even post every single day if you like. So long as there is a pattern and some consistency in when you post, you’re golden.
For one, algorithms favor regularity. For another, the Clapper verification team looks at posting consistency as part of the verification process. They want to see that you’re continually engaging with your community and connecting with your followers. You can test our a few different kinds of posting schedules until you find your favorite: the main thing is just posting regularly.
You can read more about filming content and creating a content schedule on our blog!
Next Stop on Your Social Media Verification Journey… 🗺️
In our next installment, we’ll be diving into Creator verification and preparing your application. We can’t reveal the rest of the road trip: you’ll just have to go one stop at a time.
