Got any Klout?

I seem to have some. At least that's what this web service seems to think based on some interesting factors like my "influence style." How do they determine this you might wonder?

(taken right from the source)

• The Klout Score is the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 1-100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence.
• The Klout Score is a factor of over 35 variables broken into three categories; True Reach, Amplification Score and Network Score.
• True Reach is the size of your engaged audience and is based on the followers and friends who actively listen and react to your messages. Amplification Score is the likelihood that your messages will generate actions (retweets, @messages, likes and comments) and is on a scale of 1 to 100. Network score indicates how influential your engaged audience is, also on a scale of 1 to 100. The Klout score is highly correlated to clicks, comments and retweets.

So based on that, Klout says the following things about me as an "influencer."

• Style - BJ Cook is a Celebrity. You can't get any more influential than this. People hang on your every word, and share your content like no other. You're probably famous in real life and your fans simply can't get enough.
• Overall Online Influence - 22 (out of 100 that seems way low to be considered a Celebrity, right?)
• True Reach - 788 ( Guessing I most likely will reach 788 people when I post something.)
• Amplification - 17 (out of 100 seems low)
• Network - 35 (overall influence of people I'm connected to. So I know lots of influential people, but I'm not as high as them.)

What I see in the trends is the following:

• There is a lot of correlation to being "active." When I'm active my Klout score goes up.
• As more people come on these networks, the noise increases. I used to have a Klout as high as 63 in February 2009 and as low as 22 in July 2010.
• My true reach was 3,500 in June 2009 and has dropped a lot.
• On average my tweets tend to get about a 10% RT or response rate. (Some Bit.ly tracking I do.)

I want to hear your thoughts on this Klout service.

Sound Startup Advice

Whether we like it or not, as startup founders, business owners, CEO's, leaders; we sometimes get all caught up in the day-to-day tasks and forget about the basic business details that keep us afloat. After reading the following posts, I was reminded how important these things are on a daily basis. From managing your financials to customer service to ritualizing the workplace environment. These posts have some great little gold nuggets, enjoy.

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  10 Things MBA Schools Won’t Teach You About Managing Your Agency 

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  Eight Business Processes Every Startup Must Have

   

Power of Customer Service and Reviews

So today I went to my favorite acai bowl spot here in San Diego called The Big Squeeze. Like any local business the people are always nice, their product is consistent and you feel good about giving your money to a small business owner as opposed to some chain. Well today was a bit different because what went from waiting 15 minutes lead me to Yelp to write a very authentic, unhappy review. So how did I get there?

• Waiting Time - 15 to 20 minutes is ridiculous for an acai bowl
• Unaware Employees - I not only waited, but the girl who was supposed to be making my acai bowl, continued to look over at me as she made 4 items for people who weren't even there.
• Incorrect Order - As she wrapped up my bowl, she forgot the blueberries that I now have to pay extra for.
• Cost - It's almost $8 for a large bowl now and they still charge you $0.30 for credit card transactions.
• Not Environmentally Friendly - They still use styrofoam bowls/cups on top of wasting 4-5 sheets of aluminum foil to try to wrap up my overflowing, soupy acai bowl

So would I have gone and made a positive review on Yelp if everything went fine? Most likely not and here's why. I've been going here for 6 years and I have expectations, not just because I'm a loyal customer, but because I'm a part of a generation that expects things done right and if not, for someone to at least be accountable and aware. So when I left I was empowered by this poor customer service experience and driven to log into my Yelp account. I read a few other posts which validated what I was feeling and decided to write up my own review, giving them 3 stars and explaining what went wrong.

Here are a couple tips for small business owners:

• Customer Service is King right now
• Be aware of the online review websites
• Engage your customers online
• Actively seek feedback to improve business operations
• Monitor your online reputation
• Think about the current economy and how you can ensure your loyal customers keep coming back

Our Agency nominated as Agency of the Year

It's been awhile since I last posted, but for anyone who's been following me throughout my career, this is a great honor in the community of San Diego. Digital Operative was nominated as Agency of the Year in the influenceSD awards. It's based on teams that have been innovative in the space of social media over the past year. I'd love to show you some of the things we've done and if you think they're unique, please click on the link here to vote: http://bit.ly/vote-for-DO  (We're #34 Doodles)

Gaki Attack - This was a minisite that integrates with Twitter that we packaged to introduce this JApanese TV network's video content on Hulu to the US market. The result was hundreds of attacks, 200,000 views and over 65 blog posts about the campaign plus a featured post on Hulu.com.

Holiday Cardr - This was a Facebook App we built that connects to your Facebook account, extracts photos and creates a custom holiday card colage that you can then send to friends on Facebook and Twitter.

#DOStream - This hashtag has collected the tweets of our team for over 1.5 yrs now and we share it directly on our homepage of our agency's website.

Social Media Breakfast San Diego - This is a San Diego monthly series that we took over after its second event and grew from 90 to 290 members and are now on event #13. We've installed a solid structure that offers real case studies, news from around social media landscape, an active project where the group donates its time to a nonprofit and a feedback section for anyone who has challenges. Last month, we did a session on social media and hospitality featuring JPR, Hard Rock Hotel and Croce's Restaurant and Jazz Bar.

There's actually a lot more than that and a social mobile game on the rise. IF you ike what you see, love to get your vote:  http://bit.ly/vote-for-DO  (We're #34 Doodles)