Most people have heard of the well-known online social influence monitor Klout, but are businesses making the most of it, and how exactly does it determine a social media influence score?

What people may not know is that Klout is based on an accounts’ overall social media influence, not just on Twitter. It gives each account a score between 1 and 100 (100 being the highest) based on how often it is posted from, the amount of followers/friends/likes it has, and their interaction with that account. 

By authorising all social media outlets to the app, it generates a better overall score. AM recently compiled a list of its AM100 Twitter influencers, but it was incorrect, simply because Klout cannot determine Twitter influence specifically, unless the accounts analysed only have their Twitter account linked.

For example, Perrys has 5,616 Twitter followers and a Klout score of 68 and has authorised five platforms (see the symbols below Perrys’ information). 

However, Porsche Retail, which has 9,393 Twitter followers, has authorised Twitter only but has almost as high a Klout, with 62.

Dick Lovett – with 2,783 Twitter followers – has authorised 13 social media platforms to its Klout account, to reach a Klout score of 64.

Our ‘AM100’s top 20 social media influencers’ list will be out very soon, so make sure all your business’s social media accounts are authorised at www.klout.com. 

How much does Klout matter?

Some car dealers are so concerned with their Klout score they have sleepless nights if it drops by one point. 

Social Advisors’ Simon Ryan told AM: “The algorithm that calculates your Klout score is indeed based on volume of followers, your posts and the interaction of your followers with your posts. 

“So you can just post a lot, follow lots of people randomly and get a great Klout score. You can also be a genuine social media user and get a great Klout score. So the issue for 

me is; what is the value of something that can be so easily manipulated?

“To be honest, I like the gamification that Klout enables. You can create some rivalry between friends, clients or staff on who has the best Klout score.”

There have been reports that Klout can be manipulated; for example, you could choose not to link a social media platform, if it is perhaps performing worse than others, so as not to affect your score. But to get a true representation of how a business is performing on social media, it is best to link everything. 

The American Genius publication reported tips on increasing or, ‘gaming’ Klout, the first being to schedule posts:

“If you post something on Facebook and get 40 comments from people with low Klout scores, your Klout score won’t alter (even though so many people interacted), but if you have 20 comments from people with high Klout scores, your Klout score will improve. But ‘likes’ do increase your Klout score.”

It also detailed that Google+ is apparently less complicated and Klout is “happy if you’re a one-hit wonder”.

According to the publication, Instagram can also be manipulated. The photo app announced in March 2015 that it had reached 200 million users and may be a good platform for dealers to showcase their showrooms, improvements, workshop activity, happy customers (who are happy for their picture to be taken), and stock profiles.

By posting four pictures a day, four hours apart, it will drastically improve an account’s engagement. Taking the time to ‘like’ other peoples’ pictures that are active at the same time as you will also improve an account’s Klout score.