Klout is the online tool that assesses your activity on social media platforms to determine your influence. It was introduced to me by my Twitter friend, Steven Quezada, when he hooked me up with Klout credit for marketing.
Initial Thought: While I couldn’t determine the point, I thought it was pretty cool.
This summer, while I was on vacation, I tweeted often. I checked in on Foursquare. I posted status updates on LinkedIn. Facebook was added to the list of platforms that Klout measures. I reached a Klout score of 51. I was unstoppable.
Next Thought: I still didn’t see the point.
Chris Brogan wrote a blog post that opened “Please stop worrying about your Klout score ….” This written by the man with a 79 Klout score. The post is about Chris’ perspective of influence and marketing. For marketing mortals with <79 Klout score – the post is worth reading for validation.
Around the same time, Tom Webster wrote a blog post on Brand Savant entitled Should Klout Scores be Stickier? that explained a perceived value to Klout. People that don’t know anything about social media may use it to determine a marketer’s value. Over 30 = good score.
Tom (Klout score:62) lamented that when he went on vacation, his score dropped. Unlike my vacation style that ramped up on the social media interaction, Tom’s throttled down and he lost points.
I realized my 51 may be more precious than I thought.
I returned from vacation and got busy. The great-fun-working-with-amazing-clients-who-get-it kind of busy.
Current Thought: A month later, my 51 is a 47. I’m at a loss of what more I can do for the care and feeding of my Klout score. Better than that, I no longer care. I partner with people to market and communicate their business’ value. When I tweeted that my Klout score dropped, the very talented Mike Ciolino of Verve Creative responded:
Find your own Klout score with our “how” post. Let me know what you think …
UPDATE On 9.9.11: Alison Kenney tweeted a great blog post about Klout from Norman Birnbach. He includes Paul Gillin’s call for measurement with these marketing platforms, but Norman brings up some concerns that Klout isn’t ready to be the standard. Steve Cole seems to agree – his topics of influence on Klout: sheep and Mickey Mouse!
