10 Easy Ways To Improve Your Klout Score [Video]
Ok, so you’re probably wondering aloud, “who cares about a Klout score!” Well, you may be right. On it’s own, a Klout score might just be the most meaningless statistic in social media. But there’s one problem.
People are using it. And when I say people, I mean companies looking to hire you, brands and businesses looking to contract with you for services, and of course other people in the social media universe.
Like it or hate it, you are indeed being judged by your Klout score so you might want to take notice.
Even though a Klout score can be seriously gamed, the people using it for justification relative to their social media decisions, don’t seem to understand that or simply don’t care.
Brands wanting to get positive word of mouth on Twitter are using the score to ID influencers that can help build buzz by sharing their experiences with their audience. Disney, Virgin America and Fox Television are just some of the brands that have tapped Klout as part of getting buzz online.
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The Palms Casino announced the formation of the “Klout Klub” which will use Klout to determine the type of treatment and upgrades you receive based on the amount of influence measured by the service.
Palms’ chief marketing officer, Jason Gastwirth, is currently building out “The Klout Klub,” which “will allow high-ranking influencers to experience Palms’ impressive set of amenities in hopes that these influencers will want to communicate their positive experience to their followers.” The Palms is already pulling in data from Klout and referring to it as part of their reservations process.
A good Klout score is like having an American Express Black card…well maybe not that good, but it’s getting there. Klout is enabling those with significant social media influence, as determined by Klout, to be first in line at everything from movies to airline rewards.
When Virgin America opened up its Toronto route last spring, it asked Klout to find a small group of influencers to receive a free flight, in hopes that they’d effectively spread the word. “We allotted 120 free flights for this campaign — all of which were booked within a matter of weeks — so we were very pleased with how much enthusiasm was generated to take advantage of our offer,” said Porter Gale, VP-marketing at Virgin. “We saw a ton of social media buzz and press around the campaign which definitely helped to build awareness for our brand and product in the Toronto market.”
After accruing the initial 120 participants and an additional 144 engaged influencers, the word of mouth power kicked in, as those individuals, proud to have “earned” such special treatment, generated more than 4,600 tweets about the new route. This, in turn, led to more than 7.4 million impressions and coverage in top blogs and news outlets like the L.A. Times and CNN Money. And all it took was making those original 120 participants feel special.
So we decided to feature this video from Amy Schmittauer. She’s got an impressive 67 Klout score…which means she’s a player according to Klout. Additionally the stuff in her video’s not too tough to do. And besides, it saved me having to make a video to explain things. That and she’s a lot better to look at on screen than yours truly.
So are you going to take these 10 ideas and do something about your Klout score? If not, why not? It’s not tough and your business may certainly improve by simply taking the time to work on raising your number.
Klout’s system may not yet be perfect, but to brands like Virgin America, its value is already apparent. For years, social media has promised marketers a high return on little, if not concentrated, investment, and this may be the first step toward realizing that elusive ROI. More importantly, the platform has the potential to bring true celebrity status — and all the associated perks — to anyone willing to work for it.
My Klout score is now 57 and it’s risen something like 30 points since I started following some of the suggestions my influencers have suggested. Just wanted to mention that…if one cares about such things.
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