Since its inception in 2009, Klout has garnered mixed responses from the Internet. For close to five years, the site existed simply to score the online influence of individuals.
Using super-secret metrics, Klout gives each user a score between 0 and 100. While it’s easy to achieve a score in the 30s or 40s, anything higher is more difficult. Cartoonist and SEO legend Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal has a score of about 81. Professional writer Neil Gaiman currently has a score of 91.
Social Media Association writer Hillary Topper says a Klout score of 55 shows that people listen to you. The higher your Klout score, the more influence you likely have. Sign in to Klout and link your social media accounts to get your score within a few days. In the past, Klout didn’t offer much guidance about improving your score, but a recent update to the site includes a content creation and curation dashboard. Klout’s new tools offer super simple ways to manage content and drive influence on Twitter and Facebook.
Curate Content
On the main page of Klout’s new dashboard, select existing content to share with your audience. Customize Klout recommendations by adding topics related to your niche or business. Klout finds new, popular and upward trending content that’s relevant to your niche, letting you share it to Facebook or Twitter with a single click. Add your own comments or questions through Klout’s dashboard, and they’ll be displayed as a post on Facebook or Twitter, making it easy to reference an article or engage users in conversation.
Look for Klout’s green “Hidden Gem” designation for a better chance that you’ll be the first to share something with your audience. Red “Hot off the Press” flags let you find the newest information easily, and you can foster discussion on your page by sharing information that Klout flags as trending upward.
Create Content
Interspace curated links with your own content. Update a website with new information and link to updated pages, hire a blog writer to create regular content and link to posts, or share short tips or news directly in social media posts. Save time by using the Klout dashboard to post all content, but don’t forget go to actual social media pages to foster community by responding to comments from your audience.
Schedule Content
One reason to post content through Klout is that the dashboard includes a scheduling feature. Keep an active presence on social media no matter how busy you are by scheduling future posts. Select schedule in the Klout dashboard and click the pen icon in the top right corner to write your own post, which can include an image. You can also schedule curated posts from the create tab.
Klout scores may be confusing, but the new dashboard is convenient and smart. Sign in and start increasing your influence today.
Sarah S creates content for small-to-medium sized businesses, particularly those in healthcare, accounting, technology, and retail niches. When she’s not typing frantically, she enjoys hiking, reading, and a hot cup of tea. Sarah currently has a Klout score of 54, but she hasn’t figured out the super-secret formula behind it.
