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Klout Means Nothing; Carry On

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Were you as surprised as I was to see your Klout score bottom out nearly 14 points lower yesterday? I looked twice and did a “huh” and then remembered it was planning a total revamp of its algorithm and people would not be as influential as they thought they were.

Yawn. Whatever.  So what?

Let’s remind ourselves what influence is – there’s been so much discussion (the ‘sphere is alive and kicking with all the Klout posts today) about whether a number dictates your influence. It doesn’t! But, we’re all so competitive that when a number is associated with us that correlates to the frequency of tweeting and posting, we start to believe it!

Yesterday on the #MeasurePR Twitter chat with @Shonali and @JenZings, that question came up…is influence measurable?  I believe, perhaps, but not via Klout. Is Klout monitoring key words and strength of message within each tweet and post?  Who is awarding the +K and is it a game like for “cougar,” “sheep,” “wine,” or other non-influential word?

Imagine a software salesperson who RTs 100 tweets/per day; his Klout score would increase for sure. Now, look inside those tweets and see what they say – are they all tech oriented, or not? The latter…and herein lies the problem.

Klout is “measuring” frequency of exposure not the content within that exposure.

So, with your lower Klout score as of yesterday:

1. Carry on, Garth. It’s business as usual!

2. Create the engagement in your community you’ve been striving for all along.

3. Keep the conversations going about issues near and dear to you and recognize you will get something out of that communication but your Klout score will remain as is.

4. Don’t get so caught up about a number. Who are these guys anyway, associating their arbitrary algorithm to every peep who tweets? When you sit back and think of it that way, it’s clear – you are master of your own influence and no one else.

So, ready to ignore Klout and keep the momentum going?

Influence Is Topicality With Tools

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Influence has been my favorite topic of late; in fact, it’s been everyone else’s, too. Let me bring you back up to speed with a bunch of good reads (not to mention a five-post series right here with many guest bloggers) since my series ran:

  • Gini Dietrich writes at Spin Sucks about Peer Index vs. Klout In this post she talks about tree frogs, her new pet and friend for Jack, and she also shares that Peer Index is trying mightily to be produce authorities on various topics.
  • Neicole Crepeau writes a heckuva intriguing post at Mark W. Schaefer’s blog, Grow, about a new way to measure and categorize influencers (she told me she is a “nerd” and this bit is all her intensity).
  • Shakirah Dawud tagged an Adweek article on Twitter about the Klout score showing up on resumes (I told you so…there, had to say that again.)
  • Judy Shapiro wrote a really good piece about why social media is a bad measure of influence (and she addresses that new influencer game, Empire Avenue (I’m staying far away from).

There’s another application I’d like to share based on a conversation and brief look at a beta site I saw yesterday. mBlast has products focusing on influencers and its flagship is mPact, rolled out earlier this year. mPact’s claim to fame is topicality as the filter of influence, and I liked what I saw although the kinks are still being worked out.

They’ve got a free product, so you can check it out, too, and its fee-based offering is reasonable considering what you’re going to get. In fact, as a small business, it’s quite reasonable at the lowest level.

One thing that resonated in my conversation with Mark Blount, vice president of mBlast, is about influence in general – it’s going to become more complex to sort through those with new social media influencer status, and the way to do that is going to be by using tools. Indeed.

(And, I especially like this Gartner-esque influencer map mPact offers…check it out…)

(images: TVArtists.org, mBlast)

Define Influence with Goals, Trust, Behavior, Motivation

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This is the fourth post in the What is Influence series. I appreciate and thank our contributors today, Erica Allison, Michelle Quillin and Davina Brewer. Each of them are influential in their own right; they engage with their communities, they blog with aplomb, and they are accessible to anyone who wants to learn from their expertise.

What’s amazing to me about this series is that one word can conjure (not negatively) so many thoughts from a wide variety of people who blend disciplines in this social media marketing space. Please come back tomorrow when we close the series with Aaron Sachs and Neicole Crepeau who wrap this first phase with more on measurement.

Again, I appreciate the many comments and tweets about the blog content. I have enjoyed this! (This one is a bit longer than most to squeeze them all in…have edited a tad, Ladies, I hope you don’t mind.)

Erica Allison is president of Allison Development Group in North Carolina. Her public relations and social media firm is active in fashion, design and other industries. She blogs at Spot On. I had the pleasure of meeting Erica at Social Slam recently!

I view Influence as a goal, something that I strategically work towards in business and in relationships.  If my suggestions, advice, or identification of information and insight can make someone move from point A to point B or choose one option over another, then I’ve influenced that person or persons.  If my work or writings can cause someone to stop and think, or review their point of view from another perspective, that’s influence.

I find that the success of one’s influence is directly related to one’s relationship and level of trust between the two parties (or more) in the relationship.  If there is a high level of trust in what one person (the influencer) says or thinks, or in their credibility, based on their accomplishments and real life experiences, then that influencer has tremendous potential to change opinion, inspire action or change, and generally “influence” another.

In addition to relationships and level of trust and credibility, I think context is a major factor here as well.  In the social media world, Klout is obviously the major measurement tool for influence.  It’s convenient to say Klout doesn’t matter or it’s flawed, but it is a consideration among folks who work in the social media world and to ignore it may in fact result in lost work, lost credibility and lost opportunities.

For those folks NOT working in social media, and trust me, there are plenty, Klout has no relevance what so ever.  Influence is measured by results, pure and simple.  If you can’t deliver results, your level of influence is called into question.  Understanding your own level of experience, credibility and relationship ‘capital’ is key in understanding your own level of influence.

Michelle Quillin is co-owner of New England Multimedia. I’ve had the immense pleasure of working with Michelle at The SMB Collective, and she inspired me to produce my first video that shall remain unpublished at this time. She is consummate marketer on Facebook and recently launched a new LinkedIn Group.

How do you possibly measure influence?

In the realm of marketing our services via social media, my behavior changes as I “see” patterns of behavior online, including my own behavior. I’m a student of people, of the way we think, of how we engage with brands, of how they engage with us. I pick up on how people (including myself) respond to calls-to-action, even subtle ones, and then I in turn make choices to implement tactics and strategies and test the response. Over time, I’m getting more and more strategic as I see what works. I bet I could’ve learned all of this in school, but maybe not. Maybe it’s all about influence.

I’m a youth minister (7 years now), working with teens, and let me tell you – they are very, very easily influenced by media and entertainment, and they in turn wield powerful influence among their peers. They don’t even realize its happening. I wonder if we’re the same? Are we all being influenced all the time, even in ways we don’t realize?

Davina Brewer is owner of 3 Hats Communications with a very spritely blog. She is one of the most prolific commenters I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing, and her opinions are on the leading edge.

The biggest obstacle to defining and measuring influence in the social arena is qualifying and quantifying motivation. My motivations have been to make real connections that develop my expertise, build my credibility and yes, someday lead to a network and a community of professionals which just may include referrals and money-growing trees. If I found better, more effective and profitable ways to develop my skills, build community and establish credibility, my motivations and therefore the influence would shift.

That said something by Gini may sway my opinion; she’s got me thinking of Livefyre. Something from someone else, because of a connection and friendship, may pull my attention to a particular blog post, on which I may or may not comment or RT. And someone’s perceived reputation and “Klout” may bias my opinions on someone’s authority and prestige.

We don’t always argue, debate or disagree with influencers or those in positions to possibly help further our own goals and objectives. Now we certainly are NOT a bunch of kiss-ass sycophants and I love that, I enjoy the intelligent debates and discussions. But I’ll read posts from many a TopNoOneElseCaresBigNumberList and be unimpressed, yet see mostly praise in comments. I’ll follow their tweets that seem pedestrian, downright ordinary.

I wonder WHY some have the reputation and influence they are reported to. Then I remind myself that they’ve built that reputation and cultivated their community over time, w/ lots and lots of hard work. And that anyone can think the same of me. It’s the WHY that’s the challenge. Things and people only influence us if we let them, right? So what influence I have (which is negative numbers) or who has influence over me gets into WHY I allow that, just not sure charting and graphing tweets and clicks will really reveal that.

 

 

Klout: The Influence of Influence

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Everyone says you need a goal when engaging social media. Two years ago, when I started tweeting I had no earthly clue where my journey would take me. As a public relations practitioner always seeking the next trend, technology, or new practice, I had to launch into Twitter because everyone was talking about it.  My Facebook page is relatively young, but it’s growing, and I need to give it more TLC.

It took me awhile to earn my stride and slowly my goals took shape. It was never to monetize; after all my products are my words, strategic counsel and educating the profession and business about my passion (PR, if you haven’t guessed by now).

My goal was to be an influencer. There have been so many blog posts written about influence. What exactly does that mean? In my opinion, I like to think it’s authoritative, authentic and accessible leadership.

Let me explain a bit; there are influencers who encase themselves in their glass houses and rarely respond to tweets or questions posed on a blog or Facebook. These people are inaccessible. Being authoritative comes with seasoning. Having an opinion and presenting it genuinely implies authentic authority. Blogging allows for opinion, and comments create accessibility to the blogger. Being authoritative could also be considered arrogant, and that’s not a positive characteristic.

And then came Klout. I have only looked at my score 3 times ever; most recently over the weekend because someone mentioned scores were rising after Social Slam. I had a score of 52, and this weekend it is 60. It says I am an influencer, and that means I have attained my phase one goal.

What’s interesting about Klout is the detail and quantity of information available about your social media activity. I have not heard of anyone putting emphasis on Klout scoring for people hunting for a gig or being considered for a speaking position, have you?

But the more people jockey for position in social media and claim expertise, I’m thinking Klout is going to have greater influence defining who the influencers truly are. Will this become an authentic rating of the influencers? Should it?

I haven’t looked at others’ Klout analytics and I don’t know if I can dissect the data for other people as deeply as my own analysis, but this score may just become the defacto measurement system to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Here are some thoughts for you:

1. What are your professional social media goals?

2. What is your Klout baseline (your score prior to working on increasing it?)

3. Examine your social media behavior; do you ping from blog to blog and comment excessively?

4. When you blog, are your topics focused and do they command any comments? It takes awhile to find a voice; it’s helpful to have a year of blogging before things take off.

5. Are you active on Facebook or do you refuse to let social media control your every waking hour?

6. Is your Twitter stream littered with topics and Tweeps who don’t advance your goals?

7. Are you following a disproportionate number of Tweeps compared to followers? I was just introduced to Tweepi; it’s a wonderful tool to weed out those you followed who did not follow you back.

8. Have you latched onto a rising star and are you retweeting their content to your stream?

9. Is the content you publish from tweets to blogs and comments authoritative rather than just a few words in reply?

10. At the end of the day are you being you?

You may regard much of this as bunk, and it very well may be; however when I  see an analytical tool that can track my online behavior that also points to places I may improve, it is certainly worth more than a passing nod. If, that is, your goal is to become an influencer.

(Image: SocialFresh)