Davis is unable to say at this stage how Jasu will utilise Klout once the launch phase of the site has finished, but says “we will work with our digital marketing team to come up other opportunities to use Klout in ways that could be quite creative.”
In the United States, businesses including Cathay Pacific Airways, Spotify and Virgin have all used Klout to target key customers.
The online influencing company partnered with Cathay Pacific so that those with a Klout score of 40 or higher could use the Cathay Pacific First and Business Class Lounge, even if they were not travelling with Cathay Pacific.
Last year Klout also teamed up with music streaming company Spotify for its launch in the United States, offering free invites to join Spotify for those with high scores in topics relevant to music and entertainment.
Geoff DeWeaver, chief executive of the Touchpoint Digital Group, told SmartCompany that Klout is commonly used by businesses to identify customers to give airline and hotel room upgrades to.
DeWeaver is an enthusiastic adopter of Klout thanks to his personal Klout score of 78 which puts him in the top 1% worldwide.
He says Klout is “growing and growing”, particularly in North America and the United Kingdom.
“Customers are not all equal and the smart marketers are realising if you are going to invest money why not do it with the customers who give you the biggest bang for your buck,” DeWeaver says.
“Just like banks look at credit scores, marketers are looking at people with social influence as their key people.”
DeWeaver says Klout’s key competitor is a company called Cred, which was founded by an Australian. Both companies are starting to move into the Australian and Asian markets.
“Klout does not reward as much or as often people internationally, but both Klout and Cred are moving to start to find marketers in Singapore and in Asia; that’s happening right now as they both expand,” he says.
“People who are smart marketers are the early adopters of this social media thinking.”
