Using Klout and social scoring for sales and marketing teams
Apr 23rd
One of the things I have been interested in is examining practical applications of Klout and social scoring to an internal enterprise.
If you are unclear about social scoring systems and what they attempt to measure, it might be useful to start with this blog post about Why Klout Matters. Like a credit score, let’s assume that companies like Klout, Kred and Appinions are beginning to measure something that correlates to an individual’s social media effectiveness.
I had an opporunity to test some of these ideas last week when I conducted a social influence workshop with a global services company in the UK.
I began with an overview of the basics behind these systems and what we can really learn from them.
Then, thanks to Andrew Grill, president of Kred, we were able to construct an internal dashboard that approximated the relative social media effectiveness of many company employees. It was nothing short af a revelation to these top executives. Here are a couple of observations:
Who is the real company spokesperson?
One of the executives said, “I don’t know any of these people on this list! You mean they are representing our company?”
Indeed. I told him the story about how one of his IT employees — the person with the second-highest Kred score in the company — connected with me through this blog and on Twitter, and over a period of two years we had become friends. When he found out I was coming to London, he offered to introduce me to the company’s marketing team. That led to organizing the workshop.
“You see,” I said, “to me, this web developer IS the face of your company. The only reason I am here today is because he is representing you so effectively on the social web.”
This was a profound lesson for the executives. They were discovering their most effective representatives on the social web — and it was quite eye-opening. Now they are wondering about: How do we thank them, learn from them, and find ways we can work more closely together? How do we transfer their expertise to other parts of the organization?
Where is marketing?
It was illustrative that 80% of the top influencers where in no way associated with PR, sales, service, or marketing. This was an equally shocking revelation. Shouldn’t these departments be highly visible on the social web, especially in a technology and services-oriented company?
This company prided itself in being on the forefront of technology and best management practices but this simple ranking made them realize they were missing an enormous opportunity to discover gaps with their customer-facing strategies. This led to a lively discussion about further training and how some of the key ideas from Return On Influence could be incorporated into basic sales best practices.
Influencer Outreach
The exercise also started them thinking about using these scores to discover unknown or under-utilized resources at prospect companies, possible partner companies or even as a way to find high-potential new employees. How could they find like-minded and passionate individuals who have a natural interest in their ideas and technologies? They had already observed how it could be used to find a resource like me. The possibilities seemed vast.
It was exciting for me to see some of the core ideas of Return On Influence come alive in this corporate setting and I wanted to pass along some of the experiences to you. Can you see how some of these simple lists can help you and your sales efforts?
Klout rants are becoming a cottage industry
Dec 7th
Klout seems to be the blogger’s best friend these days. Is anybody NOT writing about it? What’s driving the frenzy?
Are you really serious about privacy?
The biggest complaint about Klout (recently) is the fact that they have had some privacy breeches, most notably “opting-in minors” who were connected to people who had legitimately participated in Klout. This privacy violation is intolerable.
This is a serious issue, but to all the bloggers who are passionate about privacy, I’d like to ask a question — If you have so much energy around Klout, why aren’t you going absolutely ape-shit about Facebook?
Duiring this same period that the world has been bitching up a storm about Klout, the U.S. government concluded a Congressional investigation over Facebook’s grievous violations, including this one:
Many of the most popular applications, or “apps,” on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information — in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names — to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies. The issue affects tens of millions of Facebook app users, including people who set their profiles to Facebook’s strictest privacy settings. (Wall Street Journal)
Now, because of these arrogant, chronic, and brazen violations that probably affect every one of us, the federal government slapped a much-needed penalty on Facebook that includes 20 years of privacy auditing. And yet, I have not seen one single blog post from the Klout detractors about the most serious privacy issue of our generation. Not one post.
Are you serious about privacy? Then do something about it that matters. Let’s have some original thinking on the matter instead of another dozen Klout tantrums.
Klout by the numbers
In the big scheme of the social web, Klout is trivial. I teach university classes to dozens of business professionals every week and less than 10 percent of them have heard of Klout. So why would some bloggers devote 4, 5, even 6 blog posts in a month about an obscure company like this?
I think one reason is because Klout CEO Joe Fernandez often personally responds to critics, a noble gesture that also feeds blogger egos and probably encourages more criticism. I don’t think any blogger expects to hear from Zuckerberg, right?
And here’s another clue to the Klout blog frenzy. The chart below illustrates the average number of tweets I received on Klout-related blog posts compared to the last 25 non-Klout-related blog posts (not including growtoons):
Klout drives traffic like no other subject on the blogosphere. And I’m not the only one seeing this phenomenon. A blogger friend said his three biggest blog posts of 2011 were about Klout. I’m not claiming anybody in particular is using the topic as linkbait. I’m just saying a critical thinker might consider the fact that doubling one’s blog traffic might just impact a blogger’s decision to harp on this comparatively obscure issue. It is fair to call attention to a problem. It is wearisome to make a career out of it.
And, you may be missing the point.
Many people claim Klout is silly and meaningless. And, there are many funny anecdotes that support this point of view. However, I articulated a counter-opinion to this in a post called “Why Klout Matters” and I won’t repeat the argument here. But I will let you in on a secret …
While doing research for my new book, I interviewed many of Klout’s customers. The people in the marketing trenches told me that not only is the data they receive from Klout meaningful, it’s revolutionary in ways that will surprise you. These case studies will be available soon, but the democratization of influence is undeniably becoming a mainstream marketing option.
Klout has made some very big PR missteps. They are iterating a start-up venture in real-time, in public … and that’s kind of like grinding out sausage in the middle of a busy street. Pretty ugly. But they’re also improving and making legitimate business advances:
- They’ve attracted business (and repeat business) from some of the most important brands on the planet like Nike, Disney, Audi and American Express.
- Based on some spectacular success, one television network is integrating Klout influencers into nearly every program marketing effort.
- A fresh round of investment just came in from the most powerful venture capitalists in Silicon Valley.
- Salesforce.com announced it was wiring Klout into its market-leading CRM software to support sales and service decision-making.
- Christopher S. Penn, one of the intellects I most admire on the social web, authored a cautionary view about opting out of Klout because of its increasingly mainstream applications. A must read.
- Advertising Age named Klout as one of the most important digital trends of the year.
There seems to be some momentum building here, no?
Everybody has the right to say and do whatever they want on the social web. But in my opinion, social scoring is here to stay and it’s time to move the conversation along. I’m hopeful that we can start seeing fresher and broader debate, especially on the essential topic of Internet privacy.
Dear social web, Let’s try keeping it real.
Oct 27th
I hesitate to be drawn into the Klout firing line again but I have had so many requests from the {grow} community to comment on the Klout Meltdown this week that I guess I need to respond. At the risk of adding to Klout weariness, here are a few observations.
- My Klout score dropped from 82 to 64. Who cares? My wife and kids still love me.
- Klout’s biggest competitor is PeerIndex. My score on PeerIndex is 64. Funny. They’re the same level now.
- Nobody complained that their PeerIndex score was too low.
- My friend Elizabeth Reusswig remarked that “60 is the new 80.” It’s true. As I looked at how this affected others, my RELATIVE influence stayed about the same.
- Here is the big idea most people miss about Klout. In the long run, Klout doesn’t give a damn if you’re happy with your Klout score or not. You’re not their customer. As long as they deliver the goods to brands we can go ahead and howl all we want.
- I admire Klout CEO Joe Fernandez but he created a hole for himself by announcing that the new changes would affect most people’s scores very little. If he just would have said most scores will drop for a re-set in the name of accuracy, it would have gone down a lot better.
- Recently Blogger Danny Brown ran some really concerning stuff about Klout and privacy. I agree with him. Klout has got to get on top of that or they’re going to jeopardize their success.
- Some people said that this drop in scores “proves that Klout is on the way out.” Ha! That made me chuckle. This week, Klout received another $30 mm in funding and is already valued at $200 mm. Ummm, no, they are not on their way out.
- Klout is kicking ass. They are getting tens of billions of hits to their API every month. PeerIndex just hit 100 million hits. Klout is that far ahead.
- Disney, American Express, EA Sports and other well-known brands are lined up for Klout programs. Klout said they are nearly “sold out” on Perks for December. You may think Klout is dumb, but these companies don’t. Pay attention.
- Another thing that makes me laugh … people are “heart-broken” because they put so much work into their Klout score only to see it drop. Are these the same people who are incensed when they work so hard to be the Foursquare mayor at Dunkin’ Donuts and get replaced? C’mon folks let’s get real. Go make something. Go sell something.
- I saw another big line of complaints from people who were afraid a score drop would jeopardize their job prospects. When I wrote about Klout and employment opportunities a few months ago, people thought I was making it up. Apparently some companies believe it is a sign that you are adept at using the social web. Or, it might be a sign you have too much time on your hands. Either way, it’s going mainstream.
Here is the big take-away for me over this brouhaha. Accomplishment doesn’t matter on the social web. Social proof in the way of Twitter followers or a Klout score matter more than success on your job or the great charities you support. It’s painful to acknowledge that, but it’s true. That’s the real reason people are so upset. Klout scores DO MATTER. In an information-dense society, it is an easy short-cut to determine worth.
I cover this phenomenon quite a bit in my upcoming book (There! A Tease! Power on the social web. Hmmm … wouldn’t that make a fascinating book?).
People are literally crying over a fake numeric Internet badge. Yes my friends, we are living in a very, very weird world.
Create and curate great content. Nurture a network of people who care about you. Be kind. The influence will take care of itself.
Now I am going to go play tennis with my wife.
Why Klout matters. A lot.
Sep 12th
Yes, this is a real invitation.
If you hate Klout … and you probably do … try to take a deep breath and read ahead with an open mind.
Nothing seems to get rational people in a frenzy as much as Klout and its attempt to measure “influence.” I have immersed myself in the world of online power and influence over the past six months and feel like at this point I have probably studied this topic more than any person on earth! And, unlike every other blogger on the planet it seems, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a very important development. In fact, a historically important development.
Before I get into why, let’s knock a few obvious facts out of the way:
- Klout cannot measure every type of influence. Never has. Never will.
- Klout can be “gamed.” Is there anything on the Internet that can’t be?
- It is uncomfortable being publicly rated and compared to other people.
- Yes, it is stupid that Klout thinks you’re influential about lamps or sheep. It is still in the early stages of development.
Now, for a different perspective.
Before the Internet, you had to actually accomplish something to be a celebrity. Today, anybody can drum up some attention for themselves by creating content that virally moves through the social web.
Even me.
In my small world here in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, I might influence my family, maybe some business colleagues, and that’s about it. But give me a blog and a Twitter account and I have people from all over the world telling me that I have impacted them. That is a situation that could only have happened at this precise moment in human history! It is a possibility enabled by technology – widespread access to low-cost, high-speed Internet service and free/easy social publishing tools.
Just a few years ago, there is no way you would have heard of Mark Schaefer. Now I’ve been quoted in the New York Times and featured on MSNBC for just one reason: I am able to create, and move, my content.
So even a nobody like me can become an Influencer. And that’s pretty darn cool. In fact, we’re in an era where you don’t have to be a sports star or a politician to have influence. All you have to do is write about your favorite topic and you can have your chance to be a little bit famous.
Content is power.
The ability to create and move content is the absolute key to online influence. So think about this — To the extent that you could actually measure that, wouldn’t you also be creating an indicator of relative influence?
That’s what Klout is trying to do. They are finding the people who are experts at creating, aggregating, and sharing content that moves online. Nothing more.
That may seem rather simple but it’s actually complex, and from an academic and business point of view, a significant development.
“Influence” has been one of the most studied aspects of politics, marketing, sociology, and psychology and yet it has never really been measured in a statistically valid way. Until now. People creating content is an action. Having a link clicked, or a message re-tweeted, is an effect. Finally, there is something to measure in this field. In fact there are billions of actions and effects to measure and compare every day!
So an important distinction is that if you’re not on the social web, you’re obviously not being measured. To argue that I should not have a higher Klout score than Oprah is missing the point. Of course I should have a higher score. Oprah doesn’t tweet, so she can’t be measured. That does not mean that GLOBALLY I am more powerful than Oprah. It means that in my little sliver of the online world, among my audience, and on my topics, I can be influential. And, so can you.
A word of mouth revolution
For decades companies have spent big, big money to try to identify and nurture word-of-mouth influencers. This is an expensive and inexact science. Can you see how amazing it is to now be able to quickly, easily, and cheaply find and connect with the people who are influential about movies in Memphis? Or who generate buzz about beer in Berlin?
You can imagine that companies would be all over this. Some of the biggest and brightest marketers and brands like Disney, Audi, Starbucks, and Nike have incorporated Klout influencers into their traditional marketing efforts. And it is working. According to Klout, each influencer in one of their Perk programs generates an average of 30 pieces of content and millions of possible impressions. The cost per thousand impressions is incredibly low compared to other forms of advertising and it is ORGANIC since it is being generated by people who already love the brands.
Now, you can go ahead and keep writing blog posts all day long about how stupid Klout is and I’ll simply suggest that you are putting emotion ahead of facts and doing a disservice to your customers. Of course all of the negatives at the top of the article are true and valid. But don’t miss the forest for the trees. This trend is happening with you or without you, so calm yourself and start to study this as an important online marketing weapon.
Social scoring is improving. It is a historically significant development. Big brands care. And so should you. Right?
Welcome to {grow}
You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow.
Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
-Mark SchaeferFollow Mark
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