Klout Perks: Higher Klout doesn’t equal More Perks

With the social web going crazy for influence metrics like Klout and PeerIndex, I still feel quite uncomfortable with the idea of marketers targeting people based purely on their assumed online influence. The Klout Perks programme, where people with a certain Klout score or influence profile receive discounts or free gifts, has drawn as much criticism as praise and it’s unclear yet whether it can be proven a reliable channel for marketing.

But here’s a fact: you don’t need a super-high Klout score to receive a Klout Perk. Here’s proof, showing Klout scores of 15 and 70 receiving the exact same free perk today:

Klout Perks go to people with a wide range of Klout scores

In fact, if anything, the higher your Klout score, the less likely you are to get a perk because advertisers may assume that you either already have access to whatever they have to offer or are too busy to tell others about your perk. The sweet spot seems to lie in the range 40-60; if you want maximum perks try to stay in that zone.

But far more important than your arbitrary Klout score are your interests and the type of people who follow you. If you write regularly about movies and are followed by likeminded people, chance are you’ll be first in line for some movie perks when some become available.

So stop obsessing about maximising your Klout score, and get back to what the social web’s really made for: having great conversations online.