Can Klout scores help your business?
According to Klout, “Influence is the ability to drive action.” Great. So, let’s start with the basics – the higher your Klout score, the more influential you are. It’s essentially another way of inflating someone’s self-worth through their web presence, but ban you inflate the worth of a business through its web presence?
The company is about to roll out “Klout Experts.” When you have been deemed knowledgeable on a particular topic, you may be prompted to answer a question in 300 characters or less and if it is a “good” answer, it can boost your score even more. Eventually, other influential people on the same topic will be able to vote on your answer which, if done favorably, will further boost your credibility in the community.
Maybe yes
Could this be an opportunity for business professionals to become an “Expert” in their field?
I think it’s definitely worth a try. You want to sell yourself, your knowledge and expertise in your particular arena. You want your name known. Your business known. When someone does a Bing search, your answer may come up. Listing your Klout score will further deem you an expert on that topic. Per the Klout website, “Being active is different than being influential.” It effectively advertises your knowledge and your business… which can’t hurt, right?
Maybe no
Maybe it can’t, but will you being a Klout Expert actually help your business? We’re all familiar with ways to win, game, hack, & cheat yourself to a higher score. What does a higher score do for your business anyway? Besides give you Redbox discounts, it could turn a few eyeballs in your direction. But does a higher Klout score really deem you an expert?
The bottom line
Even still… exposure is exposure. If you become a Klout Expert, and someone else has more “expertise” than you in that particular area, then what? Maybe it’ll influence you to dig deeper, learn more, and really invest into minding your own business (pun intended).
The bottom line is that it’s a toss-up. You could become a Klout Expert and actually boost your score and potentially help your business, or use that same time using proven methods of actively marketing your business. Remember, according to Klout, “Influence is the ability to drive action.”
