No I’m not talking about that barely seen Anna Faris romantic comedy. And I’m not trying to ask you out on a date. I’m talking about Klout. Klout analyzes all your social media platforms and gives you a score out of 100 based on the influence you have over your Facebook friends and Twitter followers.
Klout has its fans and its critics. Some consider a high Klout score as resume worthy while others see it as just a game with no true meaning. I can see both sides. I currently have a healthy Klout score of 45. According to Klout I am a networker. Klout says I know how to connect to the right people and share what’s important to my audience. Not too shabby. Klout continues to explain the number with charts that explain my true reach to my other influencers. The score takes into account how many people respond to my content and how many people retweet or reblog what I post. The number is also based on the Klout scores of your influencers. If their Klout score drops so does yours. The number can change on a daily basis and part of the fun is seeing the number rise and fall. Klout recently changed the algorithm it uses to determine Klout scores.
This has raised confusion and complaints from Klout users who are beginning to question the accuracy of Klout. My score jumped 3 points after the new algorithm was established but my true reach, amplification, and network impact all dropped dramatically. Shouldn’t my score have dropped instead of increased? Klout also informs you of your influential topics. I’m apparently influential about family, photography, and money. I’m no photographer and I’m far from financially stable so that can’t possibly be true. But I’m not complaining. Especially since Klout gives away free swag to those who have a high enough Klout score. I’ve scored myself some free Axe hair gel just for having an account and there are countless other freebies up for grabs all the time.
So at the end of the day I think Klout is an interesting tool that people should at least get to know because it gives you incentive to try and make a bigger digital presence for yourself. Just don’t get carried away with it. Remember, it’s only a number.
By Darren Eck, Field Specialist and Wordsmith at The Social Lights.
