What is Klout and how does it work?

You may have been perusing Twitter and noticed that people are acknowledging something called their "Klout Score" and thought to yourself, what is this exactly? Or maybe you're a business and you're considering putting a perk online to get the word out about your services. Either way, if you're wondering about Klout, you've come to the right place!

Klout is an online start up that takes all of your social media activity and determines your online influence based on how many people follow you, friend you or fan you, and how well your posts do based on those numbers. The algorithm is a bit more complicated than that, but suffice it to say that your Klout Score is a number that indicates what your overall influence is online. The more you create impressions and engage, the higher your Klout Score.



What makes Klout different than say, your Facebook EdgeRank score, is that its a) visible and b) competitive. Everyone utilizing this web service is doing so because they want to showcase their influence online. They want to see how well what they're putting online is performing.

Klout was initially created for individuals, but has now expanded to offer service for businesses as well through Klout Business. Through this service not only can you determine your brand's online score, but you can also create Perks which give high-level influencers the chance to try out your products for free, and potentially create conversations around your brand within their online communities.

There are a few other websites offering the same thing, however Klout seems to be reigning supreme in the space. Some sites say Klout doesn't measure influence very well, but at this point it still seems to be industry standard.

Currently my Klout Score is 65. That's not particularly high, but it's not low either. I've been offered 3 perks so far, the first one was a #mooperk from Moo.com for 50 free business cards. Not a big deal, but everyone could use some free business cards and it gives moo.com the opportunity to showcase some of their more original offerings.

Woo hoo! My first klout perk just arrived! Business cards from moo.com! #lovethem instagram.com/p/aBu-IRIs9c/

— Christella (@christellasays) June 1, 2013

Once I claimed the perk it took a bit of trial and error before I finalized my order. In the end it was great and I really like my new cards. I chose the "Green Style" of card, so they're not AS professional looking as they could be, but they're printed on eco-friendly paper which I think is more important.

I was able to use a template to build out my card, uploading my own photos and creating my own style. For an extra cost I could've used better quality paper and had my corners rounded. I did take a few minutes and peruse the moo.com site and found that some of their offerings are pretty cool... like their Facebook Card!

This is the only perk I've actually received in the mail so far, but I've opted for 3 at this point. There are no requirements as an influencer to preach on behalf of the brand, and if you don't like the service or product you're more than welcome to say so. That's what I like about Klout... they actually want to know what YOU think. There's even a section on the website that gives you the opportunity to answer questions based around your expertise. (They figure that out based on your tweets, or you can personalize your profile when you set it up.)

Did that answer your questions about Klout? Check out this video about how Klout works for influencers.