We can argue about the importance of having a high Klout score, but there's no denying that Klout provides a popular measurement of your influence and reach in social media. It's by no means the only metric that potential customers use to evaluate your online reputation, but if you want to be influential in social media you might as well join the Klout party. I'm not suggesting that you try to manipulate your score, but take care of these basic things that everybody should be doing, and you will probably see a nice boost in your score right away.
Pretty obvious, I know. But a lot of my friends and co-workers aren't even signed up. You can't do anything without a Klout account.
There are currently 10 social media icons that appear immediately below your name. The ones you are signed up with appear in color. The ones you aren't registered with are greyed out. Go ahead and sign up with all of these, login, then go back to Klout and click the icons to register each one. Simple thing, but look at the jump that my profile took when I did that in the chart below!
Update your profile to be consistent with your other social media profiles, complete with a nice head shot and keywords that describe your interests and expertise. This is basically free advertising, so make it count.
Unlike Twitter or Facebook, or the many sites that grade your presence in these networks, Klout takes an overall look at your social media presence. Your "Network Influence", "Amplification Probability" and "True Reach" are measurements of how often people relay your updates on the various social media sites and how far reaching your updates and tweets go in the social media sphere. They also measure the quality of your followers, how influential they are.
The ideal strategy is to put out high quality content (both yours and others') on a consistent basis and focus on befriending influencers, people who have high credibility and are active "retweeters" and "likers". I'll talk about how you can find these people in another post. Klout looks for balance and activity across all of the major social networks, so don't just focus on one channel. Try to add value through your posts on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn on a daily basis, and visit your other social media channels regularly.
Just kidding, but if you have a hiatus, either for business or pleasure, you will probably see a significant dip in your score. Don't sweat it. Just go back to your regular social media activities when you return, and your score will go back up.
Interesting Side Note: I've noticed that people with low scores (say in the teens to twenties) see a pretty rapid acceleration in their scores as they become more active and connected. This pace levels off as you become better known. In other words, as you reach higher score levels, it takes longer to see an increase. I'm sure the algorithm is not a straight line relationship between influence and activity/reach, so that probably explains it.
Have fun! Don't take your Klout score too seriously, but don't ignore it either. You never know who might be looking at your score and evaluating your social media chops!
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| Follow @Kuno |
