12 Most Influential Ways To Raise Your Klout Score
In the social media world, Klout is the way to measure your social influence. Your Klout score can affect you in many ways: it determines what kind of perks you are eligible for, whether or not a brand responds to you, and even whether you get a job or not. That is why it is important to do everything you can to keep your Klout score up!
Here are 12 ways to raise your social media Klout:
1. Connect networks
The more you connect, the more accurate your score. Klout is always adding new platforms to the algorithm so you can really account for all your social media influence.
2. Get RTs
Being influential on Twitter equals tweeting things of value. What better way to show you’re valuable than by having someone else share your thoughts? More retweets means higher Klout score.
3. Leave tips
Foursquare tips are one of Klout’s best kept secrets. When you leave a tip at a location and someone has done it (or adds it to their to-do list) that shows you are influential!
4. Likes
It is so easy to “like” something on Facebook. Anytime someone “likes” something of yours it adds to your social influence and raises your Klout score.
5. @replies
It’s not all about retweets! Tweeting something that promotes engagement and conversation, such as an @mention, increases your social influence according to Klout.
6. Comments
Similar to @replies, posts that elicit engagement in the forms of a comment shows you are influential. Remember, a comment takes a lot more effort than a “like” so comments are weighed heavier!
7. +1’s
Google+ has hopped on the Klout bandwagon and a +1 on G+ is the same as a “like” on Facebook. It’s not just about being influential on Facebook and Twitter but on social media as a whole!
8. Thanks and…
If we know that @mentions help your influence, why should we ever end the conversation! When someone retweets or engages with you, you can thank them and follow up with a question. Always keep the conversation flowing!
9. Choose the right blog platform
If you’re a blogger, Klout has a home for you! You can connect your blog to your Klout profile if you pick the right one. Klout doesn’t offer connection to all platforms so hope that yours is applicable.
10. Follower/following ratio
As a general rule, you should try and have more followers than people you are following. This ratio is taken into account when calculating your Klout score.
11. Remain active
Your Klout score can change in an instant. To remain high and steadily increase you need to be consistent on your social networks.
12. Be artistic
Klout is compatible with networks such as Flickr and Instagram. Being active on these sites and getting a lot of engagement will help your Klout.
Although the exact Klout algorithm is top secret, these are proven ways to increase your Klout! While Klout is not the only way to measure your social influence, it is one of the best indicators we have so far. Go out there and be influential!
What have you found works to boost your Klout score? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured image courtesy of procsilas licensed via Creative Commons.
Cara Friedman
Cara Friedman is the VP of Education at @LikeableMedia, an award winning social media and word of mouth marketing agency. Cara is a social media geek, Harry Potter fanatic, blogger, Disney-lover, and pop culture follower. Follow Cara on Twitter @Caraizzle.
50 comments
@BiancaZander On a purely selfish note, I hope you spend that time writing more books.
@allisonmariecat Thanks! Halfway through 2nd now. It's exhausting these days being a writer and also having to maintain an *online presence*
thanks for the link, @BiancaZander - now I'm trying to actively increase my Klout by responding to you in a friendly, artistic manner #barf
@SarahELaing @BiancaZander So unbelievably phony. It's Holden Caulfield's worst nightmare.
@SarahELaing I'm worried this tweet is lowering my score because we're already friends in real life. Plus no more texting, it doesn't count.
You should get some interesting comments here, Cara. I like the highlights you hit, and I've seen other posts where they give a little sense of the "weighting" that goes into each of the factors you mention. I'm still disappointed that they have not added Livefyre and Disqus to the scoring yet. A lot of the "influence" of a discussion happens in the comments to a blog.
I do know my Klout score, but I focus on the engagement and content creation/curation...and hope the rest takes care of itself!
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@dbvickery I think there are a lot of networks and platforms still missing. Klout is still a work in progress. Thanks for your comment!
@Caraizzle These are actually not "proven," as you claim they are. Klout allows you to link many platforms to their service, but not all of them are counted into your score. You suggest Instagram, Flickr, and blogging platforms as "proven" methods to raise your score, but Klout has openly stated that only 5 networks are currently counted into your score (LinkedIn, Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+) - see here: http://klout.com/#/understand/score
@AdamBritten Thanks for the reference Adam. By "proven" I mean that a sample of people have done these things and they have all seen results!
@Caraizzle It must have been some other action driving those results. Klout doesn't take into account Instagram, Flickr, or blogs in your score.
@DixieLil - Exactly why it should be viewed with a skewed vision. Did changing the algorithm change the definition of influence? Apparently it did, according to Klout. So, folks naturally became suspicious when they saw how the criteria for ranking influence could change based on a computer model.
Further, if I understand a little of the metrics, the measure of influence is based on the number of responses your posts generate. If the same person responds 1,000 times does that make you more influential than someone whose posts generates 100 unique responses?
@Caraizzle Seems there's a lot of debate on the topic of how important Klout is and whether or not it will get you anywhere in life. I found it interesting that everyone loved it when their scores went up, but when the algorithm changed a while back, and many of the top influencers saw their Klout scores fall, some got mad and deleted their Klout scores. So, whether or not you put much stake in your score, you still hope for it to soar.
I think Klout is a fun social game more than anything. I don't think it's going to help you get a job (unless you're applying for a job in social media) and I'm not so sure about its accuracy. Regardless, it's still fun and you've done a great job of showing how to "win the game." Social games are fun. Points on Foursquare. Words with friends. Why not add "Klout" to the list. Hmm...I wonder what my klout score is now...
Latest blog post: But If I Tell Them How to Do It, They Might Not Hire Me!
@douglaserice It is kind of fun to have a score in social media! We are all competitive so whether it means you are influential or not, it is still cool :)
Interesting...just wrote my own article about Klout on my blog. I didn't know the tip about "tips" on Foursquare... I'll have to try that one sometime and see if it has any effect. I'm on the fence about how important Klout is. It is a way to see whether or not a person is engaging on social media...but I wouldn't personally put any stock in Klout scores when hiring/outsourcing. Not yet anyhow. Great list!
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Cara Hi,
this "In the social media world, Klout is the way to measure your social influence. Your Klout score can affect you in many ways: it determines what kind of perks you are eligible for, whether or not a brand responds to you, and even whether you get a job or not. That is why it is important to do everything you can to keep your Klout score up!" is the biggest crap that i have ever read on influence.
Influence is power to sway or changing behavior. Klout certainly doesn't measure that. Klout simply measure awareness nothing more or nothing less. Saying that is important to keep your Klout score up for your future employment is ridicules. If its to believe your theory then Buffett Warren would never get a job as his Klout score is around 20 - you need to be kidding... You know how bad company is if they ask you for Klout score.... run away before is to late :)
As well why would you teach someone how to artificially increase their Klout score anyhow, what the point of it.... It's strike me knowing that someone who supports and works in WOM agency would even think that way.
Best Jure
Latest blog post: Paradox of Online Influence
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@jureklepic Hi Jure- Thanks for your comment! I'm sorry you didn't like my wording but hopefully I can clarify a few points. In no way is Klout a perfect system and there are many other tools out there. Whether or not it can actually determine "influence," I'm not sure. What we do know is that it calculates engagement, responses, followers, etc to give you some sort of score. This score, whether real or fictional, is used in the social media world (whether we like it or not!). These tips are meant more for you to understand what goes into a Klout score than to "artificially boost" it. Hope this helps!
Hey Cara :) thanks for the post. I always find it really interesting to see what people are thinking about Klout. I think that Klout definitely indicates the social activity going on, and to anyone trying to see if someone knows how to use social media - it can give you a good feel. My favorite thing as I talk wih businesses and their new social media people is when they tell me how well their community manager is doing , then I check Klout and I see like. 25 point score. Not good.. However aside from that I think the. Kind of engagement is also important so aside from getting perks, the Klout score itself shouldn't be a persons measure of social worth - lots of fun playing around wih it though and watching how it moves around. ;) great list :)
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@Caraizzle You're welcome. I am looking forward to more great articles. Keep them coming!!
@BeckyGaylord @12Most would it defeat the purpose of klout if it was all artificial? Ie i can manipulate my score? Do pornbots have klout?
@Klout mightn't be precise or perfect but does assess aspects of real social media interaction, imo: likes, RT, shares, etc @lldzne @12Most
@BeckyGaylord @klout @12Most i agree but that is why i mentioned spambots. They have likes, followers (more than me :) ), and even RTs :)
@lldzne Cara's post doesn't imply @Klout is "artificial" Her tips = more social engagement. Nothing more real than that! @12Most @Caraizzle
@BeckyGaylord @klout @12Most @Caraizzle klout has to mean something it means activity measured on a metric. It says nothing of content.
@lldzne @BeckyGaylord Joining this convo late! @Klout is absolutely not the end-all way of measuring influence but it is A way.
@BeckyGaylord @klout @12Most to be sure and i will read it with interest a good article despite my disagreement with it. :) best L
I know @Klout sparks some strong views. Maybe there's another @12Most post on influence worth writing... 'til then, @lldzne!
@BeckyGaylord @klout @12Most @Caraizzle issue is not differentiating content. A race to lowest common denominator. Klout focuses on activity
"It says nothing of content" @lldzne. But Lawrence, bad content generally doesn't get shared or help one's @klout. @12Most @Caraizzle
@BeckyGaylord @klout @12Most @Caraizzle klout is artificial ie it's a social media device. Being more engaged is more engaged not engaging
Thanks for your thoughts, Cara.
I wonder how important this really is? Of course Klout thinks it is and I have heard of some employers using it as some sort of barometer, but when they change the rules of the game in midstream, it makes one wonder what it really means?
Also, who defines influential? According to Linkedin, the most influential people are ones who have posted something that has gotten lots of responses. Is that good or bad?
Captain Kangaroo was influential, Mr. Rogers was influential, Sadaam Hussein was influential, Bin Laden was influential.
How important is influential and how is it being measured?
Cheers,Marc
@MZazeela Great points Marc! Companies often search for their "top influencers" and what that really means, I don't know. I do know that when it comes to social influence, people often refer to Klout. It is not perfect and it is not the only tool our there but it is the one I focused on in this article :)
Let’s be social!
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