At the meshmarketing conference yesterday in Toronto, I had the pleasure to interview Klout’s Joe Fernandez about the influence discovery market, Klout’s recent change in its algorithm, and where Klout is heading.
Here’s a mini-interview I did afterward:
Over the past 30 days, my Klout score has climbed five points.
I guess that’s a good thing, and it suggests the time spent on social media over the past month after returning from a lengthy vacation is starting to dividends. After all, it’s difficult to remain as influential when you’re sitting on the beach as opposed to tweeting or posting updates.
But having a Klout score of 67 rather than 62 hasn’t made much of a difference. I don’t feel more influential, although anyone who feels influential probably has too high an opinion of themselves. I haven’t seen a flurry of new consulting opportunities, a flurry of PR pitches in my inbox, or special treatment at any retail establishment I patronage.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool to have a Klout score of 67 because it suggests the time spent building a social media presence is resonating and having an impact, which is good for my personal brand and, hopefully, business.
I’m a big fan of the emerging influence marketplace because there’s value in being able to measure peoples’ influence so it’s easier for companies, brands and other people to identify the leading thought and opinion leaders based on their interests or needs.
But it is apparent we’re just scratching the influence surface and how we assess, discover and engage with influencers. Players such as Klout, PeerIndex, Empire Avenue and Appinions (a client) are developing different approaches and technologies to determine who is an influencer, and how companies and brands can identify and interact with them.
Just like the social media monitoring marketplace, there is room for a variety of influence players. At this point, it is important for companies, brands and people to recognize three key factors:
1. Just as there’s more than one way to skin a cat, there’s more than one way to determine an influencer.
2. It is still early days and there is a vibrant and competitive marketplace that should be explored. Appinions’ Influencer Exchange, for example, assesses influencers by looking at who’s creating content and who’s attracting the most coverage and attention.
3. While giving an influencer a score is user-friendly, there are other ways to measure and display peoples’ influence.
So while Klout has a high profile, there are other compelling options that meet different needs for people seeking influencers.
Last week, Klout.com unveiled its new look and feel that should enhance it status at the leading way to get a handle on online influencers – influence, of course, being a subjective phrase.
Aside from some more bells and whistles, Fernandez said the company’s strategic focus has shifted because it has built a rock-solid platform upon which it can quickly iterate and, as important, start to transform what has been a fascinating project into a “meaningful company”.
“We have become the standard around measuring influence, and we want to keep driving that home because people care about their Klout scores,” he said during an interview last week. “People talk about their Klout scores, and brands see people with high Klout scores are the ones they want to connect with. The strategy is still around trying to create ubiquity in that score, mainly through people caring about their score.”
“Admittedly, when you look at [the site] right now, there are some new features but what is more exciting is the positioning changes and we have laid the groundwork to iterate quickly. With the old site we were saddled by the fact, it was the beta version and something that got bandaged together as we grew really fast and it was hard to build on top of it for a while. We put 98% of effort in analyzing data and creating score. We didn’t put much emphasis on the user experience. For the first time, we are concentrating on and thinking about the user experience and having a platform to iterate quickly. Every week, you will see a new feature rolled out on Klout.”
Despite Klout’s popularity and progress, Fernandez said its business model is still work in progress. While Klout has 2,000 companies using API, including larger brands who are paying for it, he said the API is generating little revenue.
So, where’s the money going to come from? Fernandez said a source with lots of potential is helping brands connect with influencers. Nike, for example, was launching a new Kobe Bryant basketball shoe, and approached Klout to help it reach out to people with influence in the basketball shoe world, as well as related areas. How Klout gets paid by brands is also being worked on. It could be on a project basis or a fee per influencer.
“It is still so early, we haven’t figured out how much per influencer,” he said. “We are working with the brand, understanding the brand, really experiential. The brands are liking it, and we are seeing all of them signing up to do again.
