KLOUT & the power of a tiny tribe.

by

Ahhh Klout.  Here’s where, were I not a misfit, you might find some sort of disclaimer proffered about varying circumstances etc. Ive got none such disclaimer.  I do think KLOUT rocks as no other metric illuminates the power of a TINY TRIBE.

To be a blogger is to be continually asked to prove your worth.

Each time we pitch/are approached by a brand (a post for a different day. if life is like dating—which I contend it is—I never ‘get’ why brands ask US out & then demand our numbers.  It begs a response of: But wait. You wanted to date *me* I didnt as you out!).w

We’re repeatedly asked about blog analytics.

How many visitors we receive daily.

How many uniques we receive daily.

How many page views we receive monthly.

How many how many how many.

My first indication a brand partnership is not for me is when they seek these specific numbers upon first encounter.

must.explore.new.hood.

lemmie check. nope. not a fit.

Sure analytics are important (a semblance of them are publicly available places like compete.com) yet they only tell a fraction of the story.

There’s power in a tiny tribe.

Pause for a moment and consider to whom you look for recommendations or advice.

If you’re anything like I am it’s someone who has consistently offered solid information, who’s earned your trust, and whom you see as remarkably similar to you.

There’s power in a tiny tribe.

Klout, for this blogger, is precisely like fitness.

There are no shortcuts.

There are no quick tricks.

The only way to get there (if by “there” you mean living a longer, healthier life which I do) is consistency.

There’s power in a tiny tribe.

The same is true with Klout score.

My strong score is indicative of absolutely nothing (where are those hotel upgrades we were promised?!) and of absolutely everything (engagement. continually. unseen in pageview numbers.)

It’s an indicator of consistency across myriad social media platforms in life.

It’s an indicator of the fact I do a little bit, each day, on a regular basis—precisely like fitness.  

And for my misfit brand—that’s everything.

 

  •  Be you blogger or brand—whats your take on the hotly debated topic which is Klout?

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Comments

  2. I totally…call me crazy…don’t care a hoot about analytics, klout score yadda yadda yadda. I am who I am and I engage people because I love it.

    I delete emails such as you described. I don’t have the time or the desire to advertise for such or jump through the hoops the deem necessary.

    Love love love this…thank you.
    Have a marvelous day Miz! ?

  3. I am the last piece where you ask who I look to.
    I don’t look to famous people because they aren’t like I am.
    I look to you.

  4. I also didn’t know about the focus on numbers I thought it was all writing/content judged?

  6. Marketers take note. I am embarassingly influenced by the bloggers I “know” and “trust.” Their suggestion to try something/do something/consider something means so much more to me than a celebrity endorsement! As for Klout, I don’t have time to do all the +K stuff and now I am concerned about the “post this” and “answer this stuff.” When it was just a metric of the reach of your social media, maybe it was a good metric. But if it becomes a measure of how much time you spend on Klout ….

  7. I am not familiar with Klout because I don’t blog.
    I am highly influence by regular people though.
    Remember that Birkenstock advertisement you did? The advertorial in Ladies Home Journal?
    I bought Gizehs!!!!

  10. It’s precisely what it claims to be – an analytic. What you infer from it depends on who you are and what your goals are. I wouldn’t consider myself a full time blogger and I have very little interest in working with brands (though I do it occasionally when I see a fit). In hindsight, those “fits” are usually brands that haven’t asked for my numbers, and in return I haven’t asked for compensation. Obviously blogging is not my core employment, otherwise I’d be very broke 🙂

  11. It is about being consistent like fitness.
    I get frustrated because I do want to my my living through blogging but it seems brands only want bloggers with a million+ page views a month.
    I will never have that.

    • I am as well.
      I tend to buy and patronize what my friends do and I also tend to think of you as my friend, Miz.
      🙂

  13. Not being a blogger this is interesting insight.
    I go to my Facebook friends for recommendations etc.
    I’m glad you’re in my Tribe there.

  16. I love Klout but don’t do much with it. I hear ya on the analytics. My blog is mostly for me. I write what I want and feel blessed when others read it and comment. I’m not really concerned with the numbers. Maybe I should be but I’m just not. 🙂

  17. I hire bloggers regularly for my clients and although they do want to see numbers I have taught them that engagement and a true readership is more important than only page views. Some times a blog that receives hundred of thousand page views is still not the right fit for a brand.

  18. Love this post Carla!! It’s so true…numbers ( IN ALL ASPECTS OF OUR LIVES) do not indicate worth, value, or true potential! It’s the connections we make with the people we interact and the difference we make in their lives that truly matters. Of course having a certain number of readers or outreach matters to companies…but it shouldn’t be all that they consider. Tiny voices have the power to make a big difference too! 🙂

  19. Yes. This. I like my blog best when I feel like the commenters are friends stopping by for coffee, not on days when I get few comments and a ton of hits…

  20. Numbers is only a matter of perspective. It does not indicate my worth or value as a person. I have Klout, do I understand it…not really. I do like to share with those who have influenced me though :)…like you xoxo

  21. There are days I have Klout figured out and days that it just baffles me. A long time ago when they changed their algorithm I left Klout because something was wonky… artificial… scores for influencers dropped drastically and some scores went up or were unchanged for accounts that were barely used.
    Needless to say I’m back with Klout because so many people want to know what your score is.

  22. Interesting to get your take on Klout b/c I will admit, I have largely ignored it as a metric. Now you have given me food for thought–I like your take on it!

  23. I think it’s just a small picture of things…I mean, it’s not completely accurate on influence IMO. I believe we can be very influential to others and the analytics don’t show that. It’s a fine line.

  24. Numbers, in all aspects of life, can really mess with a persons head (if we let them) and blogging and Klout (which I’m not on and have never even looked at) are no exceptions. I constantly have to remind myself that my daily blog hits do not mean I’m a success or failure. Sometimes I wish the analytical side of blogging would just disappear 🙂

  25. I just learned about Klout scores a little while ago… the whole blogging analytics debate is a hot one. There are so many different types of measurement…and every brand weighs them differently. I am just working to build a quality site and community. Thinking about the numbers drives me nuts! lol

  27. I know pretty much nothing about klout except that you endorse me which makes me smile every time that i see that. But I love your perspective on what it is indicative of. Power to small tribes!

  28. I do not give a crap about Klout or analytics or any of that…I’ve been blogging for nearly 5 1/2 years, consistently and true to myself, and if a company can’t see that vs. a bunch of numbers, then too bad for them.

  29. I keep an eye on my number but I don’t go crazy about ensuring it goes up. I find that when I really pay attention to blogging and engaging, my numbers go up automatically. There’s really more to a successful blog than good numbers.

  30. As a blogger who works full time plus carries outside clients, coaches high school students, not to mention cooks dinner most nights, I have to just do what I can with the time that I have. I already spend time writing, I try to follow, read, and comment on other blogs, I do the standard social media when I can. I already spend too much tine worrying about all of the above. Klout score, not so much (though I do like it when my score goes up 🙂 ).

  31. I love that more than anything else you remind people that what we do is important regardless of the numbers and that being who you are is more valuable than any views. One of my favorite quotes is do you want 1000 likes or 100 customers, i think it’s the same with engaging our readers

  32. I do have a distaste for the focus on the number of pageviews, uniques, etc when working with brands. Perhaps its just because I’m a newbie.

    But I look at it this way– I don’t let my self-worth body-wise become determined by the number on a scale, so why would I let my self-worth as a blogger be determined by statistics?

    I love and appreciate my readers, and especially love receiving comments and interaction with my folks. I write for me, but love when I’ve moved someone enough to interact with me. To me it means I’ve made myself APPROACHABLE, in what can sometimes be such an impersonal venue.

    And I think that’s what I like about Klout. It’s based on your interactions more so than your “stats”.

  33. I love your statement, my klout score is indicative of nothing and everything.

    I agree with you about the brand fit. I don’t usually like to work with brands that first ask for metrics. Not gonna work. Sorry.

  34. I really don’t quite understand Klout, but I love it because the occasionally send me random perks. For example, the other day I received toothpaste as a klout perk, just when our toothpaste was about to run out. It’s the little things that make my day 😉

    Oh and I TOTALLY agree that blogging and brand relationships are just like dating: totally awkward in the beginning.

  35. I don’t interact on social media with the specific thought or intent of increasing my Klout score. It’s nice to know and see that when I am fully engaged with my friends & followers, that it’s reflected in my Klout score.

  37. I personally think KLOUT is important. However, the way that it is measured can sometimes seem flawed, however – YOU ALWAYS promote me on KLOUT and I love you for that… And of course, SO MANY OTHER THINGS!

  39. I haven’t paid too much attention to Klout, and I’m with you on how old it gets spouting out numbers. I blog for so many other reasons- but the numbers piece is hard to avoid in blog work activities.

  40. All I know is because of you I eat Eggland’s Best Eggs, bought new Birks and own a kickass YMX Yellowman tank top.

    I don’t know your numbers.
    I just trust you.

  42. i think klout is like any measurement. you can’t give it too much clout (ha) but you also shouldn’t completely discount it because brands ARE looking at it! it’s like “calories burned” on a heart rate monitor. they alone do not define your workout BUT may indicate something.

    • and does the +k “do” anything?!
      I love it as a non-intrusive way to tell someone Im thinking about them…but that’s it

  45. Honestly, I didn’t know klout was a highly debated topic. 🙂 Most of the social media apps leave me feeling a bit too much a part of a carefully manipulated herd, so I’m better off avoiding them. Seems to be great for other people, just not for me. If I had to choose, I’d rather have clout, than klout. 🙂

  46. I have no Klout of any type!!! I have no clue about any of it – I guess that’s why I don’t have any affiliations. But, I do feel like I have a nice tribe!!

  47. I so agree! Numbers certainly don’t tell the whole story, but I would imagine your awesome blog does have kick-but numbers!

  48. You wise misfit, you. I don’t quite know how Klout works, but I do know it keeps track of when I do lots of interaction, or when people share what I share, which is — as you say — not related to a blog pageview count. I guess it measure more of your impact as a brand, and not as much how many views a single post they sponsor will get.

    Interesting food for thought. I’ll explore klout more.

    Happy to be part of your tribe.

  49. I agree that analytics are important, but it’s not to cool when they ask for it on your first encounter. Especially when they haven’t even taken the time to get to know me or my blog.

  50. About a year ago, I really tried to boost my Klout score. Giving it out, etc. But then I read that it really doesn’t matter what your score is so I stopped dishing it out and just did my thing. I’ve never understood it so I’m just doing my thing helping to support the tribe!

  51. I’m so late to the conversation.. been not good at the reading these past few days – just got behind & kept getting further behind but I knew I had to get to this post…

    I am not sure I even want to know some of the numbers… the stress of all that is out there in terms of numbers can be overwhelming yet I know companies want it.. and now with FF – they ask for unique which I do not have so I don’t seem to get picked for campaigns any more….

    I like your take on this & for me.. I think I just do my thing & hope for the best yet I know the numbers game is in the back of my head… Honestly, not sure what to do.. thinking again about it – BUT I see what you have done & I agree – the tiny tribe is great & what matters….

    Off to think again…. I already had shit pounding away in my brain on stuff & this adds to it in a good way…. I hope! 😉

  52. I have hundreds of personal interactions with kids/parents and staff members at my work place. We work as a team and support and lift each other through the day in real time over and over again and at the end of the day feel an energy and exhaustion that only those who work with special needs preschoolers can feel.
    Wouldn’t change it for the world.
    So glad I am am clueless of “klout” and other aspects of social media that only touches on real. (my opinion)

  53. It is all ridiculous. KLOUT is very heavy on Twitter, so if you do not perform well on Twitter, you will not have a high score. It also does not really take Facebook fanpages into account as much as it should. I did a test for a month and every night I promoted Instagram. I raised my KLOUT from a 56 to a 68. Not that I do not do that, it is a 60.

    I 100000% agree with companies. Companies should be looking more into how they can promote a blogger rather than what a blogger can do for them. They pay so little compared to the real world, if they pay at all. Most companies think they are doing a favor by “letting us” share a like of theirs.

    Analytics are ridiculous as well. My blog never performed like it should. Yet, I was able to make three stories go viral in two months. So to put it in perspective, I did a post on Lululemon that went into Huffington Post. It has had more views than my blog has had in five years.

  56. I think engagement is the true measure of an “influencer”, and that so many people call themselves influencers when it is not the case. I am striving for quality writing and not being a shill to sponsors. Therefore, I believe my readers know that I am choosy and stand for integrity. I don’t really go around sharing my analytics (certainly they aren’t as high as a deal blogger), but I will share the growth in readership and page views on my blog readily.
    Estelle

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