Good stuff, Michael. These are all great points. Some are easier than others to implement, but all are important. The only thing I’d add is to keep Klout and all these other ratings/rankings in context. It’s important to keep your “end goals” in mind, whatever they may be. Most of the “real” business and deals I’ve done online have come from people who would not know what Klout and Alexa are. That said, the points you make above help to enhance your online presence and establish you as an expert, which certainly DOES matter to any prospective client or business associate. Great article. Stumbled, Tweeted and FB’d. Paul

Question:

Create content every day. What does that entail? Are we talking Tweets or other fast-to-produce content or are we talking bigger pieces like Blog, podcast, YouTube?

My big challenge started right at the top with #1. I’m a huge sports fan and I like to engage socially around the topic I most enjoy so many of my posts pertain to that. Life has also taken me in some odd directions. I own two companies in completely separate industries. So that’s three areas of expertise that I could talk about. And finally, I just want to be myself online which means talking about whatever I want, whenever I want. I don’t want to have to stick to a particular area of expertise. I also don’t want to maintain multiple Twitter accounts. It’s been fun to watch Klout evolve, but this is an area that they (and Twitter) really need to address. (Twitter lists have helped to an extent, but ideally, it would be nice if I could select a niche when making a post. Then people could either choose to follow me in general or just follow a particular niche of mine.)

Thank you so much for this advice. I’ve got a question, maybe you can answer? You mentioned making sure to thank all who mention you. Well, what would you suggest to someone who gets mentioned hundreds and hundreds of times a day…now I’m certainly not being conceited here bc these ‘mentions’ are no more than just that, users who group my name with a bunch of others (using automated shout out helpers). These ‘shouts’ are usually nothing more than a way to get followers. I used to feel obligated to thank each and every one but I realized by doing so, I just brought on more of these types of mentions (clutter). I still thank every 1 out of 10 (which has lessened the craziness a bit) but I did realize that since I have stopped cluttering my own stream with these Thank You’s, my Klout score has in fact dropped. As well, I have started following more people back…this too has lowered my Klout score. So basically, your tips are great but I feel like I’ve gotten myself into a unusual situation that I can’t seem to figure out the best way to ‘exit’…any suggestions?