A Klout Score is a specific number from 1-100 that is derived from all the quality social media interactions, engagements, and posts a person makes. Klout’s algorithms comb through all social media data to find your number which is given to anyone who is active in the digital space. The tabulated number can be found on Klout’s website or on Hootsuite and you’ll notice that it’s always increasing or decreasing; depending on the level of activity and quality of content being posted on social media.
According to Klout Incorporated, the Score is determined using the following factors:
- Ability to drive action from content posted or new methods on social media (e.g. Twitter, Google+. Facebook, Linkedin)
- Last 90 days of activity
- Number of different social media accounts connected with each other
- Number of your followers
- Klout scored of your friends and followers
- Frequency of updates
- Number of likes, retweets and shares that your updates receive
In fact, high-scoring users qualify for Klout Perks which include free products or services from reputable companies (e.g. free hotel upgrades) that are hoping to be associated with these individuals to gain some exposure and influence themselves.
At Branding & Buzzing, we effectively use Klout Scores to help us source which influencers to align with when promoting client brands and events. Generally, only scores with 60+ are considered, as these influencers typically wield a great ability to connect with their large audiences. From the number of ReTweets, Engagements and Likes they receive, we can tell that their opinions and thoughts matter to their audience.
How To Use A Klout Score To Source Competition On Social Media
Let’s use Pizza for example. There are currently over 200 different pizza places in the Greater Toronto Area and some have a larger social media presence than others.
For a brand like Queen Margarita (@qmpizza), it can help determine where they stand in terms of digital popularity. As QMP continues to grow and connect with its audience, its Klout Score will only continue to increase. The number is an effective way to see what is resonating with pizza fans and what content is getting the most social media attention. It’s also a great discovery tool to conduct informal research off of other successful brands. You can review the competition’s social posts and model your post strategy off theirs as well as determine which influencers are helping to amplify their popularity and presence.
For brands and companies, Klout is an effective research and learning tool to determine who is posting valuable content in the digital space, who the influencers are, and who has many actively engaged followers. Using this information will help you make informed decisions about who to work with and who the best digital storytellers are in social media.
*Thank you to Jeffery Ha for your research!