Klout: Don’t Start Here!
Homecoming King and Queen. It seemed so important at the time, but we discover as adults that what leads to winning a popularity contest as a teenager is pretty superficial and doesn’t tell us what is truly important and meaningful about people. Klout, self described as, “the standard measure of online influence,” is in that same category. Having a high Klout score has about as much value and meaning as being voted onto the homecoming court. Sure, it’s great for your ego if you have a high score. However, does it really mean you are influential online, and if so, what is that influence really worth?
A few weeks ago, I attended Social Media for Nonprofits in Chicago. One of the speakers, Justin Ware, spoke about the value of finding influential online ambassadors for nonprofit causes. He referred to Klout as a valuable tool, imperfect, but a good starting place. As soon as he said that, my stomach lurched and I felt a strong desire to scream, “STOP! Don’t you know these are nonprofit professionals? They don’t have time to waste. They are here looking for help with social media.You are throwing smoke and mirrors at them.” When Justin asked for questions and comments, I expressed some of my thoughts about Klout. After Justin’s presentation, he and I continued the conversation and decided to do “dueling blog posts” about Klout. Justin’s post is here.
I have so many concerns about promoting the use of Klout to any audience, but particularly a group of nonprofit professionals. Essentially, Klout utilizes activity level on social media platforms as an indicator of actual influence. But activity is not influence, which is much more complicated and nuanced. Additionally, Twitter is Klout’s starting point, but users can grant Klout access to their profiles on other social platforms. However, those who do not allow access to multiple platforms are not differentiated from those who do. A person may be highly influential on Facebook but not allow Klout access to her profile, and is therefore penalized with a lower Klout score. Furthermore, a person with a high Klout score may be engaging heavily with a particular audience that has no relevance to a nonprofit. Since Klout doesn’t give any indication of who they believe a person is influential with other than a short list of fellow tweeters, it is difficult to determine who this audience might be. A person may be very active in the business community on Twitter. But if a nonprofit is looking to impact low income youth in the city, there is a disconnect.
Another problem is that topic expertise on Klout is so incredibly easy to impact by users. During Justin’s presentation, I mentioned in a Facebook group that I was frustrated by his portrayal of Klout as a worthwhile tool. Before he finished, Hunger Games had been moved into his top three topics of influence. Not by people who had ever met him, or by people who had any particular expertise about Hunger Games. But by four fellow members of the group who happened to have fairly high Klout scores. It is this blind trust of high scores that is so problematic. Justin suggests that there aren’t hordes of people gaming the system. However, the ability of users to determine where expertise lies when they may have no experience on a topic detracts from its reliability.
This blind trust of high Klout scores has made its way into employment hiring. As revealed in a piece on TechCrunch, Salesforce recently posted an open position in which one of the requirements was a Klout score of 35 or above. Even for an established company such as Salesforce, it is just too tempting to look at someone’s Klout score and not do the additional research that Justin recommends. And in the nonprofit world, where there is always a struggle to keep up in the world of technology, Klout may be seen as a valuable shortcut. Unfortunately, by using this shortcut, people with great skill and expertise, but less time to focus on their personal social media profile, will be passed by.
Measuring online influence is an incredibly complicated task. I’m not sure if we will ever come up with a great tool to help us determine that influence. But I am convinced that Klout is not the right place to start a search for online ambassadors for a cause, for a business, or for anything else.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree with me or do you think Justin is right that Klout is a good starting point? What have been your experiences with Klout? Please add your thoughts to the comments below.
Special shout out to the Punks, whose input played a big role in the creation of this blog post and in my life every day. You know who you are! xoxoxo
October 5, 2012 at 9:59 AM
Hi Heidi,
This is such an important discussion to be having. While social scoring sites are primarily being used by marketers and brands to highlight “influencers”, the potential for them to help non-profits – already low on funds and resources – is a new paradigm that could really help.
The problem is, as you say, at the moment it would appear that the metrics aren’t the ones that truly matter, especially if filters aren’t taking into account influence on non-connected accounts.
Social influence – much like any influence – is a matter of context, relevance, situation and much more. There are definitely pluses to the systems out there at the minute, but I can’t help but feel the real stories about influence are only beginning.
Thanks, miss!
October 5, 2012 at 10:03 AM
Danny,
You are so my go-to guy on Klout (and actually so much more!) Much of this post is inspired by what I have learned from you, heard you say, or read on your blog. So thank you!
Here’s to harnessing the power of these networks for social good through the use of real tools that actually send nonprofits in the right direction, instead of a wild goose chase.
Thanks for your comment and so much more, friend!
October 5, 2012 at 11:10 AM
Such a valuable perspective, Heidi. I do a lot of work with local nonprofits related to understanding and adapting technology and social media. I ALWAYS get questions about the amount of time that goes into learning, crafting and implementing these strategies. Invariably – because resources are so very limited – I’m asked for shortcuts or ways to make it easier to understand, I could easily see them using Klout as a one-stop shop, to their detriment. I will be sharing this post with them, so that if they do choose to use Klout they can also take other, often more critical measurement standards into account. Thanks!
October 5, 2012 at 11:14 AM
You are in the trenches with the orgs doing the work, that’s for sure, Mickey! Hoping that they decide that Klout is not valuable and determining who those potential online ambassadors takes some work-not a quick fix, like Klout.
Thanks for your insightful (as always!) comment.
October 5, 2012 at 11:26 AM
Mostly great points, Heidi. The one thing I take exception with is the term “blind faith.” I would never recommend that anyone put all their eggs in Klout’s basket (or any one basket, for that matter). Instead, I believe Klout is a great starting point, particularly for trying to determine if a Twitter user might be influential. Again, I ask you, name one respectable and legitimate Twitter user with Klout score over 60 who you wouldn’t want sharing your organization’s information?
As I said in my post, a low score doesn’t disqualify a person from being influential, but if a new follower of your org’s Twitter account has a high Klout score, that’s one of many metrics that suggests you should look at little closer at who that user is and if they might be someone worth the effort at building a strong relationship.
Thanks for agreeing to do the dueling posts!
October 5, 2012 at 11:40 AM
Hi Justin,
I guess it depends on how you define “respectable”. Is that a business professional, or simply a real person that uses online tools?
If it’s the latter, then no, I wouldn’t want Justin Bieber being the spokesperson for Viagra for the Over-50 Male audience. That’s a simple example, obviously, but the crux of why perhaps the starting point question needs to be more fleshed out itself.
Cheers!
October 5, 2012 at 12:01 PM
There are certainly more and less appropriate online spokespeople for an organization. That said, in almost every case, most orgs would think it WONDERFUL if Justin Bieber were to retweet or share a Facebook post. Either way, Bieber is incredibly influential and he has a high Klout score to represent that influence.
I don’t know how many times I have to say it – Klout is not perfect. But it is valuable when part of a much bigger picture. I’d be selling my clients short if I didn’t include it as part of a much bigger tool kit.
Thanks for weighing in!
October 5, 2012 at 12:10 PM
But here’s the thing about many nonprofits. They won’t see it as a starting point. It will be the only point. They are too busy, too stressed, and don’t have time, money, or insight to do what you are describing. And because Klout is such a flawed tool, I would rather see them skip it altogether. There are better ways to determine online influencers…search and recommendations from others who you know and trust are two better options. I know you are not saying Klout is the be all and end all of determining influence. That isn’t what this conversation is about. It is about whether or not it is even a good starting point. And I say it is not, given the nonprofit world today–especially for small and midsized organizations.
October 5, 2012 at 12:37 PM
That’s true of everything. Twitter and Facebook, for all their value, have their limitations and potential pitfalls, too. That said, I’m not going to tell anyone “you don’t have the savvy to leverage Twitter and Facebook correctly, so just ignore them.” Instead, I work with the organization (either through my consulting work or free advice my a blog) to help them understand how the tool can fit into a comprehensive online and social media strategy.
Saying Klout is completely useless, because it’s not perfect is like saying cars are completely useless, because people often crash them. Learn how to drive the right way, and both can be effective and helpful.
October 5, 2012 at 12:54 PM
It’s just too bad Klout is the 1971 Pinto of the internet…
October 5, 2012 at 12:57 PM
Ha! I love analogies…🙂
October 5, 2012 at 11:44 AM
[…] I recommended this approach, strongly disagreed. (To read Heidi’s counterpoint to this piece, click here). Heidi said that Klout is completely useless because, among other things, it can be quickly and […]
October 5, 2012 at 2:34 PM
This!
Seriously, it’s so incredibly easy to game Klout it’s not even funny. Can it be useful for brands to find people who might be willing to pimp out their products? Sure. But Klout is a marketing agency, not an influence measurer.
October 8, 2012 at 9:31 PM
Well said, Amy! I currently have coffee as one of my top 3 areas of expertise. I have a friend who owns a coffee shop who would be hysterical hearing that. I don’t like coffee. I don’t even like coffee ice cream. I NEVER drink it. I don’t care about. Some folks decided I knew coffee and voila! I am an expert. Yeah, whatever. Thanks for commenting, friend!
October 5, 2012 at 4:54 PM
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October 5, 2012 at 11:04 PM
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October 6, 2012 at 12:01 AM
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October 8, 2012 at 7:33 PM
I loved the banter you’re having with Justin and am with you on Klout. For me, Klout or any other influence measuring tool, is just a marketing tool and I always believe influence in not something that can be measured in any absolute terms. Klout as they say reads multiple signals, which are precisely your messages, does’t mean those messages have the ability to sway opinion.
October 8, 2012 at 9:35 PM
A friend of mine blogged about how much he liked what we were doing in response to disagreeing with each other. Glad folks are enjoying it.
Amy commenting with the same idea, that Klout is a marketing tool. I agree…and not even a very good one. I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football every time I click on the link telling me there is a reward waiting for me. It always says that this award is for other Klout users. WHAT??? I’m with you…not sure we ever will be able to actually measure influence. And perhaps that is a good thing.
Thanks for commenting!
October 9, 2012 at 4:40 PM
[…] measurement and PR that really need two sides to tell the full story. Check out Heidi’s post here and Justin’s post […]
October 11, 2012 at 12:40 PM
[…] critics of the services point to today’s influence measurement being nothing more than activity based – the […]
January 14, 2013 at 11:01 AM
[…] critics of the services point to today’s influence measurement being nothing more than activity based – the more you […]