You may have heard of a Klout score before, but what is it exactly? Basically, it is a score from 1-100 that measures your social influence on others based on your web interactions. The higher your score, the greater your influence.

It is made up of three things:

• True Reach (the amount of people you influence): this evaluates how many people respond or share your content
• Amplification (how much you influence them): Do people often share your content or hardly ever respond?
• Network Impact (your networks influence): How often do “top influencers” in your true reach share your content?

So what is the point of this score? Well, as a business owner it may be a good way to evaluate your impact on your current and potential customers. If your score is really low, it may be time to assess your efforts and make some changes. As an average individual, you may aim for a high Klout score in order to receive perks and freebies. You can get anything from gift cards, free products, or concert/movie tickets according to how high your score is. The better your score, the more influence you have, and the more perks you can get. The hope is that you will get these freebies and talk about them which will influence your network to try out these products as well.

So how can you raise your Klout score?
Inc.com gives us a list of ways to get a higher score.

1. Schedule your Posts
You can use scheduling tools to manage your social media posts that will publish your content on a schedule. It is very important that you stay active and always post updates, so when you are out of town or just busy in general it may become difficult. That is when writing posts in advance and posting on a schedule comes in handy.

2.Converse with Klout leaders & Those in your Network
If you engage people with high Klout scores, it will raise yours. Just be sure you are genuine in your comments and not striking up conversation just for score purposes. In the same way, be sure to engage those who respond to you. So if someone retweets something you wrote, make sure to retweet or reply to their posts too. It is important to stay connected to your network instead of replying to random people.

3. Give Users +Ks
This is equivalent to a “like” on Facebook or a “+1” on Google Plus. If you give this to Klout users, they may return the favor which will raise your score. If you want to find people who give out +Ks consistently, search the terms “I gave +K about ____” on Twitter and fill in the blank on a specific topic. This will help you see who is influential on Klout and who you may want to converse with.

4. Share pictures, not just words
People respond greater to an interesting photo over a random thought. Pictures can reap higher scores, so be sure to add some to your social networks.

No one knows exactly what algorithms Klout uses to decide your score, but these tips should give you an extra boost. Of course a great website is the most important element since it will speak volumes about your business. If you have a well developed website you will get more traffic and create more conversation. We may not be able to guarantee you the highest Klout score, but we can certainly create a killer website for you.

To find out your score, visit Klout.com

image source: wired.com