I monitor my Klout score and look out for significant changes, whether up or down. These shifts can sometimes show that I’m not paying enough attention to a network, or it might mean my recent actions are being received more positively. I recently saw a 4-point increase in my score, which is unusual. I didn’t notice any major changes in my online activity, nor did I find any updates or announcements from Klout about algorithm changes, so the new score puzzled me. Until today.
Klout announced in an official blog post that Instagram activity is now impacting your Klout Score. You may have already connected your Instagram account, and the changes are being rolled out gradually so some, like me, may have already noticed a change.
The Klout algorithm tries to assess your online influence by looking at your activity on important social media platforms and the responses it gets. Simply put, the idea is that the more likes, shares, and other social signals your posts receive, the more influence you have.
The latest change works to incorporate all of your Instagram activity into this score, so if you have been active on Instagram – making connections, posting images, and getting lots of comments and favorites – you probably noticed an uptick in your score like I did. You will also now see your most popular Instagram images in your Klout Moments dashboard.
Bing Integration
Another potentially huge announcement is that Bing and Klout are continuing to expand their integration. Klout is measuring Bing search results and those results will eventually become part of your Klout Score. More importantly, your Klout Score is now worked into Bing results.
It’s been noted recently that some Bing search results are starting to include what looked like author images much likeGoogle’s Authorship. It has been demonstrated that within Google search results, items that include the author’s name and picture stand out and are more likely to be clicked. It has been suggested that Bing may be bringing similar functionality to their search results, perhaps drawing on Facebook profiles and data.
Display of a Klout Score is an obvious attempt to personalize results and provide authority. Does it work for you? Are you more likely to read an article from someone with a high Klout score?