Yesterday, I went to a talk by Thomas Power about social media. Before I went, I tweeted that I was going, and excited to see what I could learn. When I arrived at the talk, Thomas told me he had replied to my tweet, so I took a look. He had checked out my Klout score and replied…
@SingleMAhoy not a lot you’re brilliant already https://t.co/n929eqs5Pd giggle here https://t.co/fV1oBiYXnY
— Thomas Power 1964 (@thomaspower) April 23, 2015
We had a brief chat about Klout, where another gentleman asked what it was. I replied that it was an almost arbitrary number, entirely meaningless. I tend to feel like a bit of a geek when I talk about Klout scores, and in a way it can be embarrassing to have a high one – “look at me, I spend all this time online and don’t speak to actual people much.” Bloggers make a big deal of saying, “don’t worry about the charts/the stats/your Klout score” and I have always been torn between a tiny “squee” whenever my score went up, and “oh Vicky, do behave – it’s just a random number.”
Thomas said that actully Klout incredibly useful for him when he’s training business executives etc in social media – it’s a way of knowing whether they’re getting anywhere, their ROI, if you like.
By the end of the seminar (which was fantastic, by the way), I was convinced – and also quite proud of my Klout score. Here are five reasons you should love your Klout:
1. It shows others how proficient you are on social media.
Did you know that if you apply for a job at IBM, you won’t even get an interview if your Klout score is below 60? For Google and Microsoft, it must be above 70 for them to even consider you. For pepole wanting to work in the internet world, Klout is a great way of measuring how active you already are there, how influential you are, how engaged you are with other people online. If you want to get work in any sort of social media arena, a high Klout score shows that you know what you’re talking about.
2. Brands take Klout scores seriously
Thomas explained that in the States, when someone has a Klout score above 80, they are taken incredibly seriously. If someone with a Klout over 80 tweets something negative about a particular brand, many of them will get that complaint to the eyes of a director or similar within minutes; they will then do everything in their power to resolve the situation – because they can’t afford to have someone with that much influence saying negative things about them.
3. Klout rewards higher scores
Klout perks are offered to people with higher Klout scores. They can range from a free coffee voucher to free business cards to gaining entry to the business lounge next time you fly. They recognise that a higher Klout score means you influence the opinions of others, and they want you to talk about their products.
4. It shows you how proficient you are on social media.
Thomas is right (of course; it’s his job): Klout is useful for knowing how you’re doing. If your Klout score goes up, you know you’ve been doing better on social media than you were yesterday. If it goes down, you know you’ve not quite hit the mark this week. If you’re just a person pootling about on social media during your lunch break, your Klout score is probably meaningless to you. But if you’re using social media for your business or your blog (or both), Klout is a great way of knowing whether all that time you’ve spent crafting the perfect tweet, putting the perfect filter on your Instagram post, whatever, was well spent or a complete waste.
5. Everyone loves a number!
No matter what we say, we all like to have some form of validation, a ranking or something. We watch our stats to see how popular our blog posts have been. We check our Facebook insights to see which posts have done well. We love when our tweets are RT’d or quoted. We get excited when we hit a milestone with followers, whether on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or another platform. Klout is a part of that, and its importance is growing.
Thanks for reading! If you’ve found this post interesting, you might like to read my “10 Simple Ways to Improve Your Klout Score” next.
39 Comments
Mim · 24/04/2015 at 11:06
Klout is still a bit beyond me – can you do a post about how to improve your score? I just gave you +K :) :)
Vicky Charles · 24/04/2015 at 15:35
Ah, fab thanks! I’m actually planning a post about how to improve your score – hoping to publish some time over the weekend
Ashley Beolens · 24/04/2015 at 12:17
WOW! I never knew Klout had so much power, maybe I shouldn’t just ignore it quite so much, time to start building a score :)
Must say I’m a little surprised at just how seriously it is taken
Vicky Charles · 24/04/2015 at 15:35
I was surprised too Ashley, I always thought I was being a bit of a geek by bothering with it!
Tim · 24/04/2015 at 13:14
Helpful post – thanks Vicky. I’m a sucker for numbers so I do keep an eye on my Klout score even though it’s not something that has ever driven my behaviour online – for me it’s a reference point rather than a motivator, if you know what I mean. But it’s interesting to see how important it is in certain circles, and I do have to admit that when I come across a blogger who is new to me I do take an interest in their Klout score if they have one.
Vicky Charles · 24/04/2015 at 15:34
Thanks Tim. I tend to check out people’s Klout scores too, they show in my Twitter feed. I think companies over here are starting to take it more seriously in terms of complaints but also positive comments on their brand.
Dominique · 24/04/2015 at 15:46
Mine has slowly been creeping up but still under 60! Must keep at it. A great post full of useful info as usual xx
Vicky Charles · 24/04/2015 at 15:52
Keep an eye out over the next few days for a post about how to improve your score!
Catherine · 24/04/2015 at 18:15
I looked at my Klout score for the first time this week and had no idea what it meant. Reading your post I think I would like to investigate it further – Thank you!
#weekendbloghop
Vicky Charles · 25/04/2015 at 17:49
I think it’s worth spending a little time figuring it out. Keep an eye out tomrorow for a post about how to improve your score.
Cardiff Mummy Says - Cathryn · 24/04/2015 at 22:29
This is really interesting. I’ve been pleased with my Klout Score, which is usually around 65. I had no idea it counted for so much with so many big companies though. Now my Moz ranking…. that’s something I really don’t understand! I’d love to hear your insights on that, if you had any. x
Vicky Charles · 25/04/2015 at 17:48
Ha unfortunately I’m in the same boat when it comes to Moz… I’m hoping to learn more about it though so I’ll post if I do suddenly figure it out!
Gretta · 25/04/2015 at 00:48
Hmmm, interesting. I am a newbie I have heard of Klout a few times but didn’t know what it was. I will have to investigate now I’m intrigued! Thanks for hosting #weekendbloghop X
hannah · 25/04/2015 at 10:56
Wow thank you for sharing this info :) I’ve just registered with Klout this week and was hoping someone would publish a useful post putting the scores in context. I’m taking it more seriously already. #bigfatlinky
Vicky Charles · 25/04/2015 at 17:47
Ah I’m so glad to be of help. Keep an eye out tomorrow for a post about how to improve your score.
May · 25/04/2015 at 14:01
Great post! I have Klout, but I don’t really know what to make of it. I should really a deep dive analysis to see where I should on. Thanks for sharing this information!
Stopping by from the Weekend Blog Hop!
Vicky Charles · 25/04/2015 at 17:47
Thanks May. Keep an eye out tomorrow for a post about how to boost your score.
Nicole · 25/04/2015 at 14:13
Okay, I had never even HEARD of a klout score before this post. I definitely need to up my social media game! Thanks for sharing this info and hosting the weekend blog hop!
Vicky Charles · 25/04/2015 at 17:46
Keep an eye out tomorrow for a post about how to improve your score!
Linda Hobbis · 25/04/2015 at 16:31
This is really surprising and it’s making me look at Klout in a new light. Like you I thought it was just a random number when it’s clearly as important as Instagram is in judging how proficient someone is at Social Media! I’m off to look at my score!!!
Vicky Charles · 25/04/2015 at 17:53
Enjoy playing with it Linda! Keep an eye out tomorrow for a post about how to improve your score.
Tin Box Traveller · 25/04/2015 at 20:54
This is really handy. I’ve heard a lot of peoplr poo-poo Klout. It’s fascinating to hear that big IT/online brands take it so seriously. I’ll definitely look into klout a bit more now!
Vicky Charles · 26/04/2015 at 10:08
I know, right! I thought I was just being a big old geek – the newspaper article Thomas linked me to referred to Nathan Barley! But actually it’s a great indicator of how well you’re doing – but also to other people who might want to hire you or pay for sponsored posts etc.
Astrid · 25/04/2015 at 22:11
I tend not to look at my Klout score because I use a different E-mail address for it than I do for my other social media (because, for a time, I switched all my social media to that address but now I don’t and I forgot to change my Klout E-mail). Wonder if that means I’ll have a low score because I don’t know hwo Klout finds your social media. I have a pretty lwo score on pretty much everythign social media anyway. It’s brilliant thought that Klout rewards higher scores. #weekendbloghop
Vicky Charles · 26/04/2015 at 10:03
Hmm that’s a tricky one! If you go and have a look at your settings in Klout it should show you which accounts are linked, and you can change them if needs be.
Becky, Cuddle Fairy · 25/04/2015 at 23:31
You make some really good points! I just signed up for klout this week :) #TheBigFatLinky
Vicky Charles · 26/04/2015 at 10:02
Ooh brilliant, it’s a great indicator of how well you’re doing on social media. I published a post today to help you improve your score too.
K @ EatLoveLive · 26/04/2015 at 23:29
Thank you for sharing this. I have to admit I had little understanding Klout and this shed a lot of light for me. Will have to go and check out my score :) x
Vicky Charles · 27/04/2015 at 21:15
Thanks, I hope it helps.
Jenny Eaves · 28/04/2015 at 13:27
That’s really interesting! Thanks! I’m quite new to Klout, so just getting to grips with how it works, I seem to have got stuck at 62 now and finding it hard to get higher! Definitely need some tips on how to get others to engage more and get myself ‘seen’ by others. :) x
Vicky Charles · 28/04/2015 at 20:50
Thanks Jenny. I got stuck around 62 for a while too. I think it’s just about engaging people in genuine conversations, asking questions and suchlike.
Jenni - Odd Socks and Lollipops · 29/04/2015 at 10:24
This is really interesting I am still getting to grips with Klout but I am even more determined now!
Vicky Charles · 29/04/2015 at 22:09
It’s definitely worth playing with, even if you just set it up and carry on as normal. Good to know whether your combined efforts are having the desired effect.
Alan herbert · 29/04/2015 at 18:52
I had joined Klout before reading this post. Now I will be checking my Klout score hourly. LOL
Brilliant post and so useful to know. Especially as I hope to earn a decent income from my blog.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Vicky Charles · 29/04/2015 at 22:03
Thanks Alan. Don’t bother checking hourly though; it only updates every 24 hours as far as I know!
martyn · 30/04/2015 at 20:02
I’ve loved these posts. Thank you so much for doing them and sharing them with me and linking them up with us on the #bigfatlinky hope to see you there next week
Joy Morales · 02/05/2015 at 18:23
Methinks I need to pay more attention to this! It’s one area of social media I’ve yet to explore fully…
Tori Gabriel · 10/10/2015 at 18:45
Thank you Vicky! This is just what I needed. I signed up to Klout months ago and then forgot all about it. I checked it today and saw I had a Klout score of 62. I thought “yay!” but then realised I have no idea what that means. I’m pinning this post too.
Vicky Charles · 10/10/2015 at 21:33
Thanks Tori, I’m so glad you found it useful. 62 is a pretty respectable score; I think the average is about 40!