Guest Post by Angela Breidenbach
Let’s start with the what: Klout is an online “influence” measuring stick. The website helps monitor your online effectiveness.
Benefits of Klout.com: There are a few very pleasant benefits. As your actual online clout raises, people in your industry will be able to recognize your expertise. But there’s a fun perk to that rising number: You’ll get free Perks. Companies offer free products and services to Klout participants. The higher your Klout score, the more free opportunities you have to try because those companies hope you’ll enjoy the product/service and tweet about it. (No, there’s no requirement to do so.) I’ve received Lipton Green Tea & Honey, Jason’s shampoo, and a few other fun perks. And I liked them! Why not try something new?
Let’s take a look at why: By getting familiar with Klout, you’ll find out how well your online efforts reach your target market. Additionally, Klout.com helps you find out what messages you’re sending, mixed or pinpoint. The amount of topics listed under your score will tell you how wide a net you cast. For instance, mine has over 20 topics. Hmm. This tells me I need to hone my message if I’m after a specific target market. My next book, A Healing Heart, is in the Quilts of Love Books line from Abingdon. Over the next several months, my message will begin to move more into romance, quilts, and relationships to better target my market. But I wouldn’t know my eclectic message sent mixed signals unless I had a tool to monitor me. Thank you, Klout for pointing that out.
Now how do you get involved with Klout? Hop on over to Klout and follow the simple sign up. They’ll offer very short tutorials. Take them. They’re so short and helpful that you’ll feel like you understand right away.
Klout a little deeper?
Each time you log in to the actual site, Klout gives you “Klout” points to use toward benefiting others or yourself. You can click on a topic to show another person influences well in that area or add a topic to your own profile.
Notifications are at the top of the tool bar with a little icon that looks like a bunch of lines. Think of it as a little notebook holding your messages. If you’re awarded Perks because of your numerical Klout score, you’ll find those notices there along with when you’ve been awarded “klout” from another member.
Hop over to the Perks tab and see all the current and even some future perks. You can sign up on those you qualify for and they’ll send them over to you. The companies offering the perks do not get your contact information. That’s kept privately with Klout.com to protect people from too much nonsense. As your score goes up, you’ll be awarded more perks. Isn’t that the way the world goes round?
How do you raise your score? The most basic of basics. Tweet, post to your social media outlets, and be retweeted/quoted. The higher quality information you send out, the more you’ll be repeated. Those repeats share your message with the world. Klout.com picks up those social media messages and begins to build your score. Be patient for the first few days as Klout gathers enough information to measure.
Yes, there’s more to Klout. But this is enough to get you started and feel confident your clout is worth Klouting about.
Angela Breidenbach’s family tradition is to make photo memory quilts for each child as they graduate high school. Each unique quilt displays memorable moments of family life spanning birth to graduation. Angela is Mrs. Montana International 2009, a multi-award winning inspirational speaker, and author. Her works include Gems of Wisdom: For a Treasure-filled Life, Creative Cooking for Simple Elegance, and on Kindle Creative Cooking for Colitis. Other works by Angela include compilation books and devotionals from David C. Cook’s The Quiet Hour, Guidepost, Group, and articles in magazines, ezines, and newspapers. Angela also coaches courageous confidence, personal growth, and powerful living. She’s certified in mentor/peer counseling as a Stephen Minister and life coach. Angela serves as an assisting minister for her congregation in Missoula, MT. Angela is married with a combined family of six grown children and now several grand children. Look for her next book, A Healing Heart, from Abingdon Press April 2013.
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http://www.AngelaBreidenbach.com
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http://www.TheFaithGirls.com on Wednesdays each week
http://www.ChristianFictionOnlineMagazine.com Angie’s Place (monthly feature column)
Thank you so much for having me. I’m sorry it took so long to pop by, but had to work a little extra today at the gym. One of my coaches came down ill. So thanks for your patience 🙂
Are you loving or hating all the new social media avenues?
Angie
I participate in social media for the sake of the relationships, but I’ve never thought the focus on those numbers that are meant to accumulate by having people ‘follow’ or ‘like’ each other is a very good idea. I have young relatives with 600-800 and more ‘friends’ on FB, but in reality they only recognize the names of a fraction of them. The numbers are simply a status thing for many people and too often they obsess about them.
I don’t doubt statistics are useful to businesses or individuals promoting a product, but I’m afraid Klout isn’t something that I’ll be checking out.
I agree that numbers, just to have numbers, is pretty useless. I’m pretty selective whom I follow back on Twitter and whom I allow as a Facebook friend. I need to be interested in them, even if I don’t know them (yet). But (shhhh) I’ve been known to unfriend and unfollow, too.
However, it’s interesting to see how Klout takes the numbers and translates them into something potentially useful.
I’d have to say I agree with you, Carol. Building numbers for the sake of numbers is silly. Building an interactive network for the sake of connecting, ministry, spreading a message is brilliant. I don’t know a reason for teens or anyone to just have hundreds to thousands of followers either. But for an author, speaker, business, etc. to have the influence to change lives, minister, and offer something that makes life better? Absolutely! Klout does not award points to just have a ton of followers. You have to be interactive or it doesn’t count at all. I personally do want a large connection opportunity. And I like using Klout to find out if I am connecting well or not. But not every tool is good for everyone. I think that’s why there are so many options. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Angie
I appreciate your post, Angie! I learned a few things about how Klout works. Interesting tool!
Hey, ladies! 🙂
My huge, huge, huge frustration with Klout is that it doesn’t count FB pages or multiple accounts. I have a FB page with over 5000 likes and a profile with 200 friends–it only counts the profile. I have four twitter accounts, but it only looks at one of them.
I don’t see how that can truly be a measure of “Klout” when half of my interactions aren’t even considered.
But I know I’m not the only one with that frustration. Hopefully, if they truly want it to be an indicator of clout, Klout will figure out how to integrate all of a person’s accounts.
KWIM?
Hey Nicole and Valerie, you have valid points! But as in any social media, Klout will continue to evolve. I have no doubt about Klout (just couldn’t resist the rhetorical device). Klout listens and works on adding to their ability to measure. Given time, we will see quite a tool. 🙂