One of the biggest problems that Facebook has had for users, especially brands, is making sure fans go to your account and not that of a lookalike fake one.  Twitter, Google+ and PInterest dealt with this problem at a very early stage with the verification ‘tick’ that celebrities and brands can get their hands on.

The launch now on Facebook is a major step forward and one that will see many breath a big sigh or relief and ask “why did it take so long?”.  It is also refreshing to see the platform take the initiative with some of the larger pages.

A post on the website said: “We’re launching verified pages to help people find the authentic accounts of celebrities and other high-profile people and businesses on Facebook.  Verified pages have a small, blue check mark beside their name on timelines, in search results, and elsewhere on Facebook.”

When I clicked on to the ICC (International Cricket Council) page this morning I was greeted that nice blue tick (Ed – ICC are a client of Pulse Innovations).  It is not only the ICC but many of the other large sports pages that now have this verification.  You can add Manchester United, their neighbours Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, the IPL, Premier League, NBA, David Beckham, Messi…. basically every big sports team, governing body and athlete on the platform.

One feature that I do like is that the blue tick also appears next to names in the search bar.  This means that official pages can find the right page simply, without having to go through a dozen others to find the right one.

Many other teams and brands will have to wait to find out how and when they can also get hold of the newest, must-have tick.  Below you can see how they look both on the page and in search.

Hopefully this will see the start of Facebook starting to catch up again…. yes, catch up….. to the likes of Twitter, YouTube and Tumblr.  It has become less relevant to the others and needs to win people back.  If it doesn’t, well we all know what happened to My Space! (yes it could happen)