Twitter launched "Blue for Business" in an effort to clarify which accounts are affiliated with companies and brands.
"We're launching the Blue for Business pilot, so starting today you'll start seeing business badges on some profiles. We'll be expanding the program soon and hope to have more businesses added in the New Year." Twitter Product Manager Esther Crawford announced in a Tweet (opens in a new tab).
But with more and more badges popping up every day, has Twitter verification gotten too confusing?
blue twitter for business
The new release means that certain eligible companies will now be able to share their brand logo with their employees and/or associates, which will appear next to their name (in a square shape) and any other check marks, for example, @TwitterSupport account, which is affiliated with the @Twitter account.
An article on the Twitter Business website (opens in a new tab) explains that eligible accounts can include members of management, support handles, employees, teams, and more. Each affiliate will be verified and linked to the main account in a process that involves the company and details who should be included.
The Blue for Business pilot program is open to an undisclosed "select group" of companies, with broader rollout planned for 2023.
Another recent change is business profile pictures going from the classic circular thumbnail to a square thumbnail, which Twitter hopes will make it easier for users to distinguish between legitimate business accounts.
Twitter has yet to announce whether it will be a paid feature, as is the case with the latest set of blue checkmarks (known as Twitter Blue), which costs €8/€8 per month (or €11/€11 per month when a the user registers on an iOS device).
Simply put, a blue tick can mean a verified old account or a paid Twitter Blue subscriber, while a gold tick indicates a business (which will also benefit from a square profile picture). Gray check marks indicate certain profiles, such as government and media, while a square company logo means the account is associated with a parent company account. Have I understood?