In an ever-changing marketing world, the word ‘Clout’ should mean something to a growing business. Clout means power and influence. As a business, having the power TO influence is what building an effective marketing campaign is all about. So how do you determine if your marketing campaign is doing what it should? You can begin by finding out your ‘Klout’ score.
What is Klout?
Klout, a company founded in 2009, analyzes your individual or company data from social media platforms in order to help you determine how much influence you have within your social networks. Klout assigns each user a score, between one and 100. It is proposed that the higher you score with Klout, the more influence you have in your social media presence.
Social Media Doesn’t Matter That Much, Does It?
Yes, it does. One of the most effective tools for growing a business is worth of mouth. In fact, it is one of the leading reasons consumers give for purchasing a product or investing in a service. Social media matters more than ever to a growing business, because it can give your business credibility, generate great reviews, and spread awareness.
I Don’t Have Time For Social Media?
Social media is about creating connections and building relationships. Creating an effective social media marketing plan can seem overwhelming with the addition of more and more social media outlets. So how do you begin to narrow down where to place your efforts?
Begin by working smarter, not harder. Centralize your social media marketing efforts in one place. There are a wide variety of programs that allow you to create a branding campaign for your social media outlets in one location. Some examples of this would be HootSuite, Sprout Social, or Shoutlet.
How Do I Know What To Say?
Creating effective and meaningful social content is a lot easier than you might realize. When creating social media content, go back to your ABC’s.
Use an AUTHENTIC voice. No one wants be blasted with your marketing prowess. They want to connect. Find your own voice and use it to build that connection.
Build your BRAND. Branding consistently across your social media platforms helps your followers to understand who they are interacting with.
COMMUNICATE CONSISTENTLY. Followers want to know what to expect. They want to feel acknowledged in their efforts to interact with you. Following up on comments and questions allows that engagement to happen. It doesn’t pay to build a platform for your business, and then ignore your customers.
Social media can be great for your marketing toolkit, engaging for your customers and cost-effective for your business. By using tools available to you to evaluate your effectiveness in using social media, you can begin to take some of the fear out of whether or not you are ‘doing it right.’ So how much ‘Klout’ does your business have?
