In the above image from AdWeek, the sudden availability of many new influence measurement tools presents quite a selection of options to choose from when seeking to determine the reach of your social media activities.
Klout. Kred. PeerIndex. PROskore. SocMetrics. Traackr. TweetLevel. Twitalyzer.
Wait — we’re not done yet.
Argyle Social. CrowdBooster. Empire Avenue. My Web Career. PostRank. Sprout Social. TweetGrader. TweetStats. Twenty Feet. Twitaholic. Twitter Counter. Twylah. Who Say.
OK. Now that we have a good — but still incomplete — list going, which one is right for you?
Most of these platforms give some sort of score or idea of your reach. Some just let you compare yourself against other industry users. But each takes different bits of information into account when calculating. Past job titles. Audience size. Tweets, retweets, favorites, likes, tags, etc.
The list of criteria goes on.
But as organizations spread out over all these platforms and begin using their services, the facts and figures that come from each start to lose their importance. Does a Klout score of 54.8 (rounded up to 55) stand up against a Kred score of 548? This presents some problems for organizations that sell social media services, or for social media specialists that are required to provide metrics regarding the impact of their endeavors.
So, which influence measurement tool should you choose?
Any of them, really. Sure, some will come under fire for how they calculate social influence. They always will. Whether it’s from competition or social watchdogs, these tools will continue to be scrutinized. And they’ll continue to defend themselves because they have a product to sell.
But your role in this mayhem is to keep moving forward. Using Klout? Aim to improve your score. Engage more and share more. Using Kred? It’s the same situation — just keep building up your organization’s social presence.
And if anyone shuns your Kred score with their Klout score, just ask them what their scores or metrics are for each of the 21 influence measurement tools mentioned above. All 21 of them — one by one.
The C4:
- Many social influence measurement tools are available, and each offers scoring or measurement in either similar or vastly different ways.
- Choosing the right tool for you depends on how you're going to use it.
- You must determine the value of having a measurement tool — what does this information mean to you and what will it mean to those you serve?
- Comparing scores from different tools is pointless; instead, compare what you hear back from your audience. That will determine who's doing things right.
Image Source: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/million-little-klouts-137032
