In the social media world, a lot of time spent thinking about, writing about and attempting to develop this elusive thing called “influence”.
Some people have it, many people want it and it seems, we all want to know how to measure it. But, of course, this “influence” is really about an individual’s ability online to:
- Create a topic of conversation
- Get others to talk about a topic of conversation
- Generate click throughs on a topic
Does this really equate to “influence”? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Regardless, a number of companies have been developing ranking and measurement systems that assess your online influence. They take into account a variety of factors – counting your number of followers on Twitter, your “friends” on Facebook and even connections on LinkedIn. Their systems analyse your online activities, arriving at a “score” which you can proudly place on your website or blog.
But the real question is not “what is your score?” – but “what is theirs?”. Which of these tools are worth spending some with? Which yield the most useful information from a business and individual level?
The RabbitAgency has put together a great newsletter teasing out some of the differences between the major players. It turns the microscope around and assesses Klout, PeerIndex and Kred, leaving you with plenty of food for thought.
If you worry too much about what your supposed influence score is you will go crazy. Instead, focus on making the right connections and sharing the right kind of content with those connections. Over time, your social media presence will grow and improve leading to new opportunities.