Meta Performance Spotlight Series: Making Waves with Meta Verified: WaterBear Photography's Journey

Performance Spotlight is a series that takes an in-depth look at brands successfully driving performance and efficiency with the support of Meta tools to help grow their business.

In today's evolving digital landscape, authenticity and customer confidence are key factors to business success. As an experienced artist photographer with a growing global client base and a stunning underwater portfolio, Kimber Greenwood, founder of Water Bear Photography, was eager to build a stronger online presence this year. Meta Verified helped her build credibility, protect her Instagram account from impersonation, and better connect with her audience—taking her business to the next level.

Meta Verified is a subscription toolkit designed to help businesses and creators build and connect with their audience more efficiently. By providing a verified badge following verification checks, impersonation protection, and access to exclusive features, Meta Verified is becoming an essential tool for businesses looking to stand out in the crowded social media space.

We spoke to Kimber to learn more about her business and experience using Meta Verified to support her brand’s growth.

Tell us about your business and how you got started?

I started my business almost 9 years ago after the birth of my son. Before I had him, I obtained degrees in both Marine Biology and Nursing and worked in both of those fields. I hadn't initially considered underwater photos until a friend asked if I would do her maternity photos at one of our beautiful Florida springs. After that, I was hooked! And strangely enough, both my degrees and long history of lifeguarding, teaching swim lessons, and SCUBA diving all were relevant to my newfound career.

Now, I am privileged to have a job that I absolutely love and that lets me incorporate my passion for conservation, creativity, and cheering for my clients daily. Currently, my studio specializes in underwater portraits, maternity, boudoir, elopements, and commercial ad campaigns.

What benefits of Meta Verified have been most valuable to you (e.g., verification, account protection, customer support)?

Visibility is the most valuable asset to a smaller creator + business like myself. I often only need a couple clients per month, and every little bit of extended reach can have a big impact. Thankfully, I haven’t had to use Meta Verified’s impersonation protection or customer support, but I have a lot of peace of mind knowing that they are available to me. Last year my entire website crashed and I had to completely rebuild. If I had not had access to my social media accounts and email list, I would have lost my entire business. I have spent close to a decade growing my audience on social media, and it would have been a huge blow to lose it.

Another benefit I’ve found with Meta Verified is the increased confidence online. I do believe that it makes other people and businesses more likely to engage and helps demonstrate authenticity. For other small businesses considering a subscription, I’d recommend thinking about it as a little extra business insurance.

Looking ahead, what are your goals for growing your online presence, and how do you see Meta Verified fitting into your plans?

This year I’m investing significantly into ads across Meta platforms to keep growing my account, as I often use stories, reels, threads, and more to connect with my audience. Meta Verified helps people know that they’re actually talking to me. In an increasingly digital world where people often pretend to be others, I think that this is an important tool for any small business owner or creative.

How do you use Reels in your content strategy, and what types of Reels perform best for you?

I create reels several times a week as part of my content calendar. The reels that seem to perform the best are behind the scenes ones where I show viewers what it’s like during an underwater photography shoot and then show the final images at the end. I think people like to see how these shoots are done and follow along on the journey. For example, I created a reel about how we took a fiberoptic dress underwater at the springs and that reel received over 4,000 views (my usual reels receive about 2,000). I also had a reel sharing about one of my upcoming workshops hit 3,000 views.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about how you’re using Meta’s tools to support your business growth?

Returning to Meta Verified, I’d say this is one of the most effective and affordable forms of advertising I have. I can’t possibly compete with large companies, and Meta platforms help me get in front of new people every single time I post. Even my website can’t always drive that type of traffic.

Also, for brand recognition alone it’s a worthwhile investment. There are so many ways to connect and grow with Meta, and I’d encourage small creators to use as many as they can!