If you’re in the Social Media Industry you have heard of the social measuring sites, Klout or Empire Avenue, sure there are other ones that exist and that you should or could be on, but these two seem to have gained more recognition within the Industry, either good or bad.
Some may say that either site is merely an ego booster and nothing more, others may think that they serve no true purpose and then there are the rest of us, who see these two particular sites to be what a future boss might see, your current boss is seeing and who to network with within the Industry.
Depending on how you see it, even though you may be on both sites there is usually a preferred site, are you team Klout or Team Empire Avenue?
What are Klout and Empire Avenue?
If you have not heard of either, both are social measuring sites of your efforts made on specific social sites that you are able to link, like Facebook, G+, LinkedIn etc.
Klout
Klout in particular has fewer sites that it allows you to link to but that will be changing in the near future since they are going to be releasing new features as well as allowing its users to expand on the social sites that can be measured.
The measurements provide a single number out of one hundred that is formulated from the amount of activities you do or don’t do which is then calculated into three graphs that show your activities, true reach and amplification.
These of course will fluctuate regularly as will your Klout overall number, since you’re sharing and interactions will vary. Klout; however seems to be more Twitter heavy compared to Empire Avenue. The benefits of Klout are that more businesses are using Klout as a Marketing platform by rewarding high scoring Klout members with gifts as rewards.
Empire Avenue
Empire Avenue is different altogether, this measuring site is also a social network made up in a gaming style format. It pulls data from an array of social sites as well as the activity you do on the site itself. This then creates numbers for each site that are based out of one hundred as well as detailed information from your social activities. This is a great spot to just view what your top Facebook post was or which of your tweets was the most retweeted etc. It also creates a Wall Street type of trading for people to invest in those that due to their high scores from their social activities will generate eaves (eaves are the currency on Empire Avenue). However, you can still use the site without taking part in the game, but the game is fun.
If you are within the Social Media Industry or are looking to measure your Social Media efforts both sites are recommended. Businesses are encouraged to use these sites as well and setting them up are easy as approving the connection with each social site you are active on.
Companies are using such sites to evaluate who they want to hire as well as aware of these sites when doing business with you. The growth of social measurement is on the rise and more businesses will expect others to be using these sites, yes even those not within the Social Media Industry, so give them a try and if you are already on them, which team do you root for more?
Empire Avenue is my preferred choice. Klout has many glitches and is just not accurate in their methods of reporting.
Thanks for your input @AjarnDonald:disqus I like them both and totally agree that Klout can be glitchy but after all it is still in beta.
Socially Yours,
Erin Ryan