Return On Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring, and Influence Marketing

by Mark W. Schaefer

Return on Influence is the first book to explore how brands are identifying and leveraging the world’s most powerful bloggers, tweeters, and YouTube celebrities to build product awareness, brand buzz, and new sales.

In this revolutionary book, renowned marketing consultant and college educator Mark W. Schaefer shows you how to use the latest breakthroughs in social networking and influence marketing to achieve your goals through:

In-depth explanations of the sources of online influence—and how they can work for or against you
Interviews with more than 50 experts, including tech blogger Robert Scoble, Influence author Robert Cialdini, and industry thought leaders such as Mitch Joel, Jay Baer, and Christopher S. Penn
An insider’s look at the controversial social scoring company Klout and its process for assigning influence numbers to everyone
Practical, actionable tips to increase your own personal power and online influence
More than a dozen original social influence marketing case studies
Even if you already use social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, or blogging to maintain an online presence, this eye-opening, action-ready guide shows you how to reach the “superconnectors” who ignite epidemics through word-of-mouth influence . . . and become one yourself.

This is the future of marketing at your fingertips: low-cost, high-speed, influence driven, and powerful. Filled with fascinating case studies, interviews, and insider advice, this essential guide prepares you for the next wave of social networking. This is how to win friends and influence people in the digital age—with a Return on Influence.

Return On Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring, and Influence Marketing

Genres: Business, Social Media, Management

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2012

Reviews

[Dmitry · Rating 1 out of 5]

(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)

Всё то, что я смог прочитать, напоминало мне ситуацию, когда я пришёл на вечеринку, на которой собрались люди, хорошо знающие друг друга, но которые были совершенно не известны мне. Такое ощущение возникло у меня из-за того, что автор приводит в пример только тех людей, кто так или иначе заинтересован в продвижении идей автора, т.е. для кого это бизнес, кто финансово заинтересован в успехе книги. Как говорится, рука руку моет. Вот эта фраза будет самым точным определением этой книги.

Не знаю почему, но на протяжении всей книги автор продвигает только один ресурс, который занимается подсчитыванием репутации в Интернете – Klout. В России я о нём совершенно ничего не слышал, поэтому книга становится вдвойне не актуальной для российской аудитории. Хотя, я не специалист в социальных медиа или как некоторые даже отваживаются называть эту область – social media marketing. И тут нужно сразу сказать, что я решил прочитать эту книгу по той причине, что я крайне скептически отношусь ко всем этим SMM, маркетингу в социальных сетях и пр. Эта книга должна была расшатать моё убеждение, что это направления является типичным аналогом Золотой лихорадки, когда главными бенефициарами становятся фирмы предлагающие инструменты (кирки, лопаты, одежду), а не непосредственно занимающиеся работой в этой области люди (золотоискателями). Книга не только не пошатнула мои воззрения, но наоборот только укрепила. Причина? Книга не только не предлагает хоть какие-то доказательства на этой счёт, но даже обычных аргументов в ней не содержится. Да-да, книга исходит из того, что читатель уже изначально верит во всесилие социальных медиа и блоги в особенности. Выглядит это красиво, да. Однако я всегда задаю вопрос: а есть ли хоть одна компания, которая стала такой же прибыльной и известной как компания Zara или BMW или Microsoft или Apple? О компании Apple в этой связи стоит сказать отдельно. Компания Apple стала высокоприбыльной, успешной и знаменитой не тогда, когда начала выпускать свои первые компьютеры Macintosh, а когда начала выпускать действительно революционный товар - iPod и в особенности iPhone. До этого момента компания находилась в ужасно финансовом положении и даже была спасена компанией Билла Гейтса Microsoft от полного и окончательного банкротства (Microsoft купила некоторое количество акций Apple, чтобы та не была признана банкротом). Что я хочу этим сказать? А то, что та рекламная/PR кампания, которая позиционировала Apple в качестве уникальной, неповторимой, творческой (в противовес механической Microsoft) и инновационной, не смогла спасти компанию Apple от участи банкротства (от которого Apple спас Билл Гейтс). Я хочу сказать, что можно сколько угодно говорить и писать, что ваш товар уникальный, но если клиенты, приходя в магазин, так не считают, то никакой PR и никакая реклама вам не поможет. Все эти блоги и посты в социальных медиа ровным счётом ничего не значат, до той поры пока ваш товар не обладает конкурентные преимущества. Ну не сможет толпа блогеров вывести ваш товар в лидеры, если вы производите говно. Не получится и всё тут! Это пробовали многие компании и ни у кого это не получилось. Т.е. в краткосрочной перспективе вы можете использовать такую стратегию, но обман очень скоро раскроется и тогда банкротство неизбежно, что и показала эпоха доткомов. Именно с этой проблемой и не ладит эта книга. Более того, она как бы от неё отмахивается. Автор книги приводит малозначимые факторы, которые могут помочь в малом бизнесе, но с очень и очень большим количеством «если». Если конкуренты слабы или не обращают на вас никакого внимания; если у конкурентов слабые бренды на вашем рынке; если они совершенно не проводят рекламу и PR акции на рынке, на котором оперирует ваш продукт и так далее. Всё это просто обязан учитывать каждый маркетолог, который решается на использование маркетинговых инструментов связанных с Интернетом в целом и социальными сетями/блогами в частности. Это не значит, что их не стоит вообще использовать. Это значит, что это слабый инструмент, который, для своей эффективности, должен использоваться со всем комплексом маркетинга. Как я сказал, не существует компаний, которые стали успешными используя только Интернет и ничего более. Компания BMW может вообще отказаться от социальных сетей и блогеров и её продажи от этого не упадут. Успех BMW зависит от модельного ряда автомобилей, от ценообразования, от действия конкурентов, но он точно не зависит от того, что написал тот или иной блогер (за очень редким исключением). Люди, которые могут позволить себе автомобиль BMW руководствуются другими принципами выбора товара, нежели страницы в социальных сетях или записи каких-то блогов. Другой вопрос, если мы имеем практически равные компании, предлагающие практически равные товары (Nvidia vs AMD). Вот тут мнения блогеров может склонить чашу весов в ту или иную сторону. Но даже в этой ситуации всё зависит от комплексной работы всего комплекса маркетинга. Особое внимание я бы посоветовал обратить на потребительские рейтинги и за статьи в профильных журналах, в которых публикуются профессиональные обзоры. В любом случаи, всё решает комплексный подход.

Итак, книга не предлагает ничего существенного, кроме как создавать аккаунты в социальных сетях, писать в них по несколько раз в день и стараться получить максимальное количество фолловеров. Если такое произойдёт и у вас будет огромное количество фолловеров, то насколько вы будете полезны крупным корпорациям и фирмам среднего размера, автор не говорит. Т.е. возможно во второй части он и говорит, но меня на неё просто не хватило. А в первой части автор ограничивается общими словами и верой, что это сработает. Возможно, в каких-то отдельный случаях это и сработает, однако за всё то время пока Интернет развивается, я не увидел ни одно исследование, которое бы с цифрами и фактами доказывало бы, что социальные сети и блоги являются реально работающим инструментом способный приносить реальную прибыль. Пока же, все позиции заняты традиционными компаниями, и они ни на миллиметр не подвинулись, чтобы дать дорогу компаниям полностью использующие социальные сети и блоги.

All that I could read reminded me of the situation when I went to a party where people gathered who knew each other well but who was unknown to me. I got that feeling from the fact that the author cites only those people who are somehow interested in promoting the author's ideas, i.e., for whom it is a business, who are financially interested in the success of the book. As the saying goes, one hand washes the other. This phrase would be the most accurate definition of this book.

I don't know why, but throughout the book, the author promotes only one resource that deals with counting reputation on the Internet - Klout. I have not heard anything at all about it in Russia, so the book becomes doubly irrelevant to the Russian audience. Although, I am not an expert in social media or, as some even dare to call this area, social media marketing. And here it should be said right away that I decided to read this book for the reason that I am extremely skeptical about all this SMM, social media marketing, etc. This book was meant to shake my conviction that this trend was a typical Gold Rush analogy, with the main beneficiaries being firms offering tools (picks, shovels, clothing) rather than the people directly involved in the field (gold diggers). Not only did the book not shake my views, but on the contrary, it only strengthened them. What is the reason? Not only does the book not offer any evidence on the subject, but it doesn't even contain the usual arguments. Yes-yes, the book assumes that the reader already believes in the omnipotence of social media and blogs in particular. It looks nice, yes. But I always ask the question: Is there a single company that has become as profitable and famous as Zara or BMW or Microsoft or Apple? Apple is worth mentioning separately. Apple became highly profitable, successful, and famous not when it launched its first Macintosh computers but when it launched a truly revolutionary product - the iPod and especially the iPhone. Up to that point, the company was in terrible financial shape and had even been saved from total and complete bankruptcy by Bill Gates' company Microsoft (Microsoft bought some shares of Apple so that it would not be declared bankrupt). What do I mean by that? That the advertising/PR campaign that positioned Apple as unique, special, creative (as opposed to the mechanical Microsoft), and innovative could not save Apple from the fate of bankruptcy (from which Apple was saved by Bill Gates). I want to say that you can say and write that your product is unique as much as you want, but if customers coming into the store don't think so, then no PR and no advertising will help you. All these blogs and social media posts do not mean anything as long as your product does not have competitive advantages. Well, a bunch of bloggers can not bring your product to the leaders if you produce crap. It won't work, that's all! Many companies have tried it, and no one has succeeded. That is, in the short term, you can use such a strategy, but the deception very soon will be revealed, and then bankruptcy is inevitable, as the dot-com era showed. That's exactly the problem this book doesn't get along with. It kind of brushes it off. The author of the book cites a few factors that can help a small business, but with a very, very large number of "ifs. If your competitors are weak or don't pay any attention to you; if your competitors have weak brands in your market; if they have no advertising and PR campaigns in the market in which your product operates and so on. All this must be taken into consideration by every marketer who decides to use Internet marketing tools in general and social networks/blogs in particular. This does not mean that they should not be used at all. It means that it is a weak tool, which, for its effectiveness, should be used with the whole complex of marketing. As I said, there are no companies that have become successful using only the Internet and nothing else. BMW can do away with social media and bloggers altogether, and its sales will not drop as a result. BMW's success depends on the range of cars, pricing, and the actions of competitors, but it certainly does not depend on what one blogger or another writes (with very few exceptions). People who can afford a BMW car are guided by other principles of product selection than pages on social networks or some blog posts. Another question is if we have almost equal companies offering almost equal products (Nvidia vs. AMD). Here bloggers' opinions can tip the scales in one direction or another. But even in this situation, it all depends on the complex work of the whole marketing mix. I would advise paying special attention to the consumer ratings and the articles in specialized magazines which publish professional reviews. In any case, everything is determined by an integrated approach.

So, the book offers nothing substantive except to create social media accounts, post to them several times a day, and try to get as many followers as possible. If that happens and you will have a huge number of followers, then how useful you will be for large corporations and medium-sized firms, the author does not say. I mean, maybe in the second part of the book, he talks about it, but I have no desire to read any further. And in the first part, the author limits himself to generalities and the belief that it will work. Perhaps in some individual cases, it will work, but in all the time that the Internet has evolved, I have not seen a single study that would prove with figures and facts that social media and blogs are real working tools that can bring real profit. So far, all the positions are taken by traditional companies, and they have not moved a millimeter to make way for companies that use social networks and blogs exclusively.

[Nate Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure -- Mark is a friend of mine in the conference speaking circles and I have a few pages in this book in terms of a paper on Klout scores. Still, I think Mark hit the head on the nail with Return on Influence. The entire idea of online influence and measuring influence in general is very much a cradle idea that needs YEARS of development. Mark was the first on the scene to put down his ideas -- real, research and founded ideas as opposed to simple marketing gobbledigook -- on paper. With that, there's a reason that ROI was a fast best seller.

In this book, Mark succeeds at establishing what I feel is a very strong baseline in terms of how online influence is developed, viewed by individuals and brands and rewarded on the social web. Mark also outlines the heightened controversy that currently surrounds the topic in general and offers explanations, case studies, interviews and a variety of other supporting materials that put a visible mark in the sand in terms of where we are as marketers and businesses as these new influencers continue to rise. He wisely chose to build off of Cialdini's original 6 principles of Influence, adding a 7th principal to the mix -- Online Content. That forsight alone is brilliant, and why this book is worth a read.

[David Rosen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Answers All Your Questions on the New Science of Social Scoring

We're lucky to live in an age where squishy words like "influence" are acquiring mathematical meaning. We're very lucky that someone recognized this development early and wrote a book about it. And we're very, very lucky that person is Mark Schaefer, a marketer who is as comfortable with business metrics as he is the human elements that make them move.

Schaefer's book, "Return on Influence" pierces the veil that shrouds social scoring tools like Klout, Kred and PeerIndex. He points out that for the first time ever, marketers -- whether from the business, government or NGO world -- can see the people who hold the most sway online about their brands. This evolutionary leap forward in our field is hard to understand without context, and that's where the author's research shines. From the 1840s to the 1960s, Schaefer looks at how influence has played a role in marketing goods and services. He fast forwards to today, serving up case studies of how scoring tools are being used to find brand advocates, boost impressions, improve consumer feedback, launch products, and (my favorite) advance thought leadership in the B2B world.

Schaefer explores the two opposing schools of thought on how these new metrics will impact society. The first foresees an Eden of influence where everyone gets treated as a celebrity in their niche topic. The second predicts a caste system where elite thought leaders keep everyone else down, especially the young who haven't built up their reputations yet. He takes an unflinching look at where scoring systems have work to do, such as accounting for people who enjoy larger amounts of influence offline than they do online.

When picking up the book, a question that's sure to be top-of-mind is, "will this teach me how to raise my Klout score?" The short answer is "yes." Based on his extensive research and unprecedented access to the people who create social score algorythyms, Schaefer provides an in-depth guide to growing your score.

But more valuable than putting points on the board is knowing how to actually become more influential. For that, Schaefer draws on principles developed by Dr. Robert Caldini, the author of "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion." Caldini's six principles of what makes people influential -- consistency, social proof, authority, likability, scarcity and reciprocity -- are all explored through the social media and social scoring lenses.

Historical perspective, explanations of scoring methodologies and PhD-level psychological insights: Schaefer has stirred these ingredients into a potent potion. Bottoms up.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The business world are belong to us. That is what this book made me think.

I didn't really grok what a Klout score was from this nattering but maybe one of you business tycoons out there might have a better chance at understanding what this guy was talking about. (Wikipedia clarified what it was later.)

This book reminded me of playing Sim Tower when I was twelve or thirteen, in trying to maximise my profit margin every quarter. (This book does not talk about that, it goes on about other perhaps more interesting things like Cirque Du Soleil &c, you'll see!)

You will only see what it is talking about if you choose to shrink your remaining time on this planet with picking it up. Do you want to? Or would you prefer to take a walk? Maybe have some water? Play some music?

[Cinthia Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is quite repetitive. It focuses too much on convincing the reader that Klout score is important and too little on how to actually work on improving it.

[Sajan Gaba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simply Outdated.

[Nikki Milton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clearly should've read this one when it was new. Much of the information in this book is outdated. I'm certain it was brilliant at the time Klout was getting big.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less relevant in 2021 than when it was published, but this still has some interesting case studies that could be applicable to digital marketing today.

[Billy Adam James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little outdated. The first few chapters were great but then it went off on a tangent about Klout. A failed idea and business. The first few chapters are still relevant.

[Wendy H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having recently read Mark W. Schaefer's book The Tao of Twitter I was really keen to read this one. I will start by saying that this book did not let me down. It is a fascinating and highly readable insight into the world of social scoring and the effect this can have on an individual or business. Most people now are using Social Networking Sites as part of their everyday lives, but many will be surprised at how much influence their updates or tweets may have on the people who read them. This influence can extend much further than we can ever envsion. Social Influence sites such as Klout provide a mechanism for measuring this influence, and the book outlines how this might happen. Schaefer uses Case Studies to good effect to demonstrate how this might happen. There are contributions from key influencers in Social Media talking about how this influence happened. Anyone who wants to generate influence in their chosen field and use it to good effect to drive marketing strategies should read this book. It is excellent, well written and will help you develop the ways in which you may influence those around you.

I was given a free copy of this book as a gift from the Author and was not expected to provide any review in return for this. The review is fair and objective adn one which I felt I had to write given my enjoyment of the book.

[Chris Jennings · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another required book for a social media course. Most of this book was focussed on Klout and other social influence scoring platforms, but you get more out of this if you look at the bigger picture. Klout isn't as influential as it was a few years ago an its recent acquisition could diminish it even further. But this concept is about way more than one company or algorithm. It just helps illustrate how influential almost anyone can become if they have an opinion and a soapbox to speak it from. Would love to see an updated version of this book that addresses the demise of Klout and what impact the rise of the sharing economy may have on social influence. Would someone be more influential if they've received 5 star Airbnb reviews around the world, or less influential if they've pissed off Lyft & Uber drivers in several cities?

[Jumali Ariadinata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apakah hal yang membuat konten dibicarakan dan "menular"? Schaefer, dalam buku ini menjelaskan bahwa pada dasarnya, ada 6 formula yang membuat sebuah konten menghasilkan influence atau pengaruh. Formula tersebut ia kembangkan dari teori yang diciptakan oleh Dr. Robert Cialdini yaitu authority, likeability, reciprocity, concistency, consensus, dan scarcity. Namun, selain keenam prinsip tersebut, Schaefer menyebutkan bahwa senjata ketujuh untuk menghasilkan pengaruh adalah KONTEN. Dalam buku ini disebutkan bahwa content is the seventh weapon to influence. Dengan menciptakan konten dengan formula RITE (relevant, interesting, timely, dan entertaining), akan membantu sebuah produk, merek, atau seorang pemasar untuk menghasilkan perbincangan yang akhirnya akan berdampak beberapa hal, termasuk sales.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my continuing search for books to help me understand the power of social media in the real world, this contribution was better than I initially thought.

The beginning of the book read like just another propaganda piece for Klout, the company that seeks to reduce to a single number the amount of influence any Internet user has. But Schaefer eventually gets to asking the harder questions about the value of Klout's algorithmic approach. I will recommend the book, but suggest that you start with Chapters 7-9 in Part 2: "Klout and the Social Scoring Revolution." Then you can return to the general principles of determining influence, finishing with Schaefer's practical advice at the end of the book.

[Daniel Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Know you have a Klout score but unsure what it means?

Aimed at entrepreneurs and marketers, Schaefer's book teaches you basic principles of engaging people through social media and then shows some specific strategies to improve your Klout score. There's also a chapter on the history of Klout.

I started applying these strategies immediately and am happy that I'm adding useful and entertaining Tweets and Facebook updates, rather than joining the social media clutter.

If you want to use social media better, get this book.

[Eddie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthy survey of the idea of Klout and the way marketing has changed over the last several years. Marketing is changing at an exponential rate with the advances in technology and social media. If you are still sending mailers and not harnessing the power of social media, you are waaaaaay behind.

Klout is an interesting idea as well. People are now including their klout scores on their resumes. Intersting to see where it will all lead and if Klout will have staying power. Regardless, inlfuence from social media is here to stay

[Vivienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and essential book for anyone involved or interested in the social media space and how social influencing, in particular Klout, can affect your business. The book is full or laugh out moments, incredible case studies from Global brands to sole entrepreneurs. Clever, insightful and bang on topical, a must for all involved in the marketing industry and beyond.

[Mick Say · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read, and some interesting facts in this book - I was pleased to receive this book from PeerIndex as a Peerperk more detail here http://www.onlinemarketingacademy.uk....

[Dr. Rae Baum · Rating 5 out of 5]

First impression...

Citizen influence, collaboration, and recognition are the cornerstone concepts of the new normal "for sales and marketing..."

What a coup for all of us to consider, embrace, and implement!

[Scott Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been working in this field for many years, but I still learned a few new things from this book. This book could have been dry, but the author is interesting and wrote a highly readable book. His topics were well organized and his references were excellent.

[Paul Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book for being right on trend and some great case studies. Not sure I agree with the conclusions that Klout is any kind of answer or meaningful measure. There's a risk that there are a few people building their Klout scores and enjoying the Perks but having no real influence.

[Brittany Podolak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more advanced read for those wanting to learn more about how to leverage social networks. This one gets into ths science and art of measuring social influence. I now find myself checking my KLOUT score more often.

[Amanda Grinavich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read on social influence. Though I think Klout's influence has died down a bit since this was published, the overarching theme of social influence is worth reading about.

It's also a bit alarming at what people will do to raise their Klout scores.

[Kevin Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent look at the world of social marketing and services like Klout. Will work on my Klout score as a result.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Very informative. You really learn the importance of social scoring and also how you can improve your score. I was surprised I had a score of 54. Now I will really focus on this.

[Jurgen Appelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been titled "The Why and How of Klout"

[Ron Mcintyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Klout is a good tool for measuring the amount of influence you may have on social media but it is game-able. There are some good basic ideas in this book but much has changed since it was written.

[Nicky Kriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

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