Our Blog: where do you stand?

Klout: Social Media, Numbers and Nonsense?

By: Ashlyn Brewer | 08/08/2011

We've blogged about social media metrics before at Standing, but I'd like to focus specifically on the big number getting the entire spotlight these days - Klout.

For communications professionals, finding a way to make the numbers all "add up" when it comes to social media is incredibly attractive. Our industry has learned quickly (for the most part) that number of Facebook fans or Twitter followers is a cheap metric, and have sought more intelligent numbers to help guide and evaluate social media initiatives.

When Klout came into the picture with its easy, one-number look at how well a user is harnessing social media tools, it seemed too good to be true. Imagining a future free from problematic data sources like TweetStats and Technorati, it was just too easy to jump on the Klout bandwagon.

In addition to providing an at-a-glance evaluation of an account's social influence, Klout also lists what topics that account is influential about and categorizes accounts into one of 16 different groupings based on varying dynamics (casual vs. consistent; focused vs. broad; listening vs. participating; and sharing vs. creating.)

All of this information could be invaluable to marketers - but the algorithm isn't perfect.  It's too easy to game the system, accidently or otherwise, to become "influential" about something you're not. For instance, I'm currently listed as influential about Tweetdeck (a social media aggregation tool) despite being a long-time user of its competitor, Hootsuite.

And although I'm sure there are lots of reasons marketers might want to find someone who is influential about "moms" and "Miley" on Twitter, Allison Babka probably wouldn't be their conduit, despite being listed as an influencer on both topics by Klout.

So, let me be clear: Klout is not the end-all be-all social media metric. Nothing is. That's why communications professionals play such a valuable role in developing and auditing digital strategies.

Still, Klout can be worthwhile, especially if you use it wisely:

1.  Read the data behind the number. Klout compiles some interesting details, such as a Twitter user's unique retweeters/mentioners in a 90-day period that provide single-shot insight more clearly than an aggregated number.

2.  Don't worry about gaming the system to "win" at Klout. Achieving your strategic social media goals will likely increase your Klout score. But the inverse isn't true - high Klout doesn't necessarily mean anything for your business objectives.

3.  Do use Klout as a gut check. Although the "influential about" system is far from perfect, it can give you a starting point to understand which content is getting the most online traction.

Posted in