Klout just revised its scoring algorithm today to great effect, as seen from A More Accurate, Transparent Klout Score on the Official Klout Blog. Here’s a summary of 3 updates which have happened, and 5 conclusions I have gleaned from the new Klout scoring.
In Summary, here’s 3 updates:
1. Most top social media influencers, -not counting figures such as @BarackObama-, are not hitting 70 and above.
2. Score gaps have narrowed drastically among many top influencers; most of us are now hovering around 60-69.
3. More detailed insights on your Klout Dashboard to see how you have fared – with individual breakdowns by True Reach, Amplification, and Network. Here’s an example- as you can see, they have clearly indicated that my True Reach has decreased by 35 in the past day.
Here’s some of the responses I received from the recent changes to the Klout score:
and more…
Here’s my take- 5 conclusions from the new Klout scoring:
1. Klout is just another indication of how well you’re faring on social media. It’s not 100% accurate, because different people influence others in different ways. While numbers are important as a substantiation for clients and campaigns when there is a request on ROI- ultimately, as people, we have to examine our own purposes for being active on social media platforms. For me, I’ve been clear from the start that I want to try engaging my community as much as possible because I like to meet new people.
2.I believe that Klout wanted to refine the definition of an “influencer” with “improved” metrics.Essentially they’re making it harder to be a “high-powered” influencer. How this will affect current qualifications for Klout Perks remains to be seen.
3. A discussion with both @cammipham and @AskAaronLee highlighted this- Klout takes your engagement with highly influential people more seriously than it does with people who are not as influential in your community. This could have had an impact on the current revisions to the Klout algorithm. Again, this could be a glitch which Klout could be trying to fix. My belief is that this should not stop you if you have always viewed community engagement as a priority in your social media goals. Influencers will not be where they are without a community to influence. The heart of social media platforms lie with people as a priority, and not numbers as the primary focus.
I will not stop talking to people who have a lower Klout score than me because we’re all people and we are part of the larger community. Influencers were once at a position when they , too, did not have high Klout scores or commanded a high following. If Klout wants to penalise me for engaging with my community at large, and not just highly influential people- so be it. I enjoy engaging with my community and that’s why I am here, and active on social media platforms.
4. Of course, it will be great to understand some of the insights behind the new Klout algorithm, beyond words such as “transparency” and “accuracy”. Currently, it is not very clear as to what have been the main determinants in influencing the new scoring system.
5. Take a chill pill – don’t feel discouraged if your Klout score has gone down! It certainly does not speak of the amazing connections you have made through the social graph (Facebook) or the interest graph (Twitter).
What do you think?
