First off, for my mother’s sake, I’ll explain Klout.
Klout is a website. It delivers personal and company social media analytics, developed through their own algorithm. The website spits out a number and measures your online, well, clout.
Klout measures influence online. When you create content or engage, you impact others. Klout analyzes that impact to find your Klout Score, influential topics, and your influencers. Klout is the standard for influence. Top brands such as Disney, Audi, and Turner use Klout Perks to reach and engage influencers. Over 3,000 applications and partners use Klout data to display Klout Scores, prioritize based on Score or topics, and segment users.
For people who aren’t social media nerds:
Klout’s a good thing. Go sign up (CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP), companies will give you coupons and free stuff if your number is high enough. Even if you don’t sign up, if you have a Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn account, Klout has already assigned you a number.
You can probably stop reading this post now, Non-nerd.
I warned you, stop reading.
Fine, suit yourself, but you’ll be bored with the rest of this post (unless you like to watch train wrecks).
For social media nerds:
I’ve heard more and more about brands looking at a Klout score to decide if they want to work with you. Thankfully, mine happens to be pretty good. It typically holds steady around a 65 or 66. Although, I have seen my Klout score shoot up to a 69 (that’s what she said), and I’ve watched it drop down to a 63.
The average Klout score is a 20.
A little over a month ago, just as an experiment, I added all of the social networks I use.
Some of them I use more than others (*ahem* Twitter). Some of them I don’t use daily or even weekly or even monthly (*ahem* Flickr). But, according to Klout,
Klout measures influence online using data from your social networks. Anywhere you have an online presence, you have the opportunity to influence people by creating or sharing content that inspires actions such as likes, retweets, comments and more. The more engagement your posts receive, the more influential you are. Klout uses this information to provide you a Klout Score that measures your overall influence.
So that reads to me like they’re measuring interaction when you put something out there.
I get interaction when I put things out there. People put little hearts by my Instagram photos.
But what happened when I added the entire package? My score started to look like my credit score. Sucky.
It looks freaking scary, right? It looks like I fell off the map. It induces mass panic (even though that’s basically a one point spread). It makes my brain go like this, HOLY CRAP! I MEAN NOTHING ONLINE ANYMORE!
And then I get writers block, and I think everyone hates me.
I don’t like thinking everyone hates me.
My online influence actually means something to me. I look at my numbers and stats like a crazy person. And any blogger who says they aren’t doing the same is either lying to you or they haven’t monetized yet (most likely they are just lying to you). I am trying to make some money over here to fund my obsession with Spanx, shoes, vacations, and Skinnygirl margaritas.
So in order to move my Klout score upwards again, I’ve disconnected all but Twitter and Facebook. As a result, my score will inevitably shoot back up over the coming months. Heck, look what it did overnight.
Because this is the money shot:
And no one really cares about Google+, anyway. And I’m not a blogger who posts three times per day with coupon codes. And Facebook pushes your organically added photos higher in the news feed than those that come from Instagram (that’s Facebook science).
I also think your Klout score increases when you receive a +K on a supposedly influential topic. My topics happen to be a little drunk and business-y all mixed together, sort of like me, so I guess the topics are accurate.
Although “Pregnancy” is wrong, Klout. I was talking about my period on Twitter just the other day, which clearly proves I’m not pregnant. Not even a little bit. I just sort of look like it because I had a baby only three years ago.
Jeez.
But I’ve noticed when I receive a +K, my score goes up the next day or the day after. So I don’t really care where you give me +K, just as long as you give me some.
(CLICK HERE TO MAKE MEREDITH FEEL BETTER)
If you want me to +K the crap out of you, ask and you shall receive! I’ll bet your score goes up, too.
The bottom line: If brands are going to look at this, I’m going to give brands the best version of my Klout score possible. I want them to hire me and think I know things about things.
I want to become a Klout celebrity.
Okay, maybe not the woman beating kind of celebrity, but you know what I mean. If something is going to give me a social media credit score, I’m going to play the game (if it means I get more work out of it in the long run).
So if you’re working in freelance social media, and if brands really are looking at your Klout score as a deciding factor… just don’t tell them everything you’re doing (even thought that seems counterproductive, since brands most likely will want to work with someone who knows how to do everything). Disconnect where you’re not as active and watch your score soar.
See? I taught you guys something today. I taught you how to Photoshop your Klout score to look better for brands.
YOU. ARE. WELCOME. SOCIAL. MEDIA. NERDS.
Were you even aware of Klout? Did you know you can get things like upgraded hotel rooms with a higher Klout score? What is your Klout score?
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for admitting that you check your stats and numbers constantly. When I hear other bloggers talk about how they are not about the numbers I want to call bullshit. They totally are. Klout is confusing as hell to me, but I do enjoy the free stuff every once in a while. I got a huge box of stuff from Chiquita once. My kids loved the banana hanger.
OK – just disconnected to see what happens. I “used” to be about 75 and have been hovering at 68 for a while now.
I just given you a ton of +K and wouldn’t mind if you flung a few my direction.
I took your advice and just unlinked about 8 different things and just left Facebook and Twitter since I rarely post on or with anything else and spend entirely too much time on Twitter. Now, if I could just figure out how to link multiple Facebook pages I manage and other Twitter accounts I use, then I’d be set, I think.
Interesting. Mine had been steady at 73 and then went down to 67. But, I feel like I was interacting more.
I had heard of Klout before but didn’t “get” it before this post. So I guess that puts me in the same category as your mom! Thanks I think! Anyway, not sure how I got influential about Camping (especially since I *HATE* camping) but I’ll take it! Now somebody needs to give me some +K on things I’m actually influential about. Like soccer, Bowling For Soup, Your Mom jokes, pizza, or snacks.
I want the kind of Klout you have. It’s all sexy and stuff. I’m in my 50s, highs & lows. Watch it. I mean my Klout score.
If you would like to learn about the real science and theory behind Klout, you would enjoy my book “Return On Influence.” It’s an “insider” view and an examination of online power.
I give credit to dear Rajean for passing this along. It is a bunch of bull, but you’re right, it never hurts to play the game. Going to disconnect a few sites that I don’t do much with. I did always think that the +K’s were a load too?
Interesting ! I am going to try and just have Facebook and Twitter as you suggest and see what happens. Like you feel more I interact the less impact it has. My score floats between 63 and 65 but seems to fall when getting outs of RTs… A Klout mystery ….
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