T- Shaped on Twitter, and in Life

#UsBlogs week 3 theme: “How to Build Your Offline Klout?”

Online, the klout score is measured through a combination of different variables to measure reach, amplification and network score – when we take these offline we start to see how T-shaped people are a clear winner to building clout.

True Reach: Driving reach offline is more difficult without the platform of the web, in our day to day lives it is the extent to which our message can reach those around us – hence the ability to be published or speak to large groups can drive it and this seems to come down to papers and books for publishing and conferences for the spoken word.

Amplification Probability: The chance that our content will be repeated or shared – the amplification – is (normally) in direct correlation to the quality and interest that it creates and hence looking back at reach it depends on our ability to choose the right audience and deliver our subject matter in a way that engages them.

Network Score: Finally the network score looks at how much action we create within those exposed to the message – potentially the most difficult in an offline world, as it is simply harder to measure interactions and engagement.

So how can T-shaped people build their Klout better than others? This analogy is becoming all the rage in a number of different sectors (see my post on why marketing services should have acquired advertising) and this is clear when we look at how klout works offline; the ability to have a broad reach but also specific depth means that we can engage with a variety of different audiences and when necessary dig deep on a particular subject. If you are someone who can interact with a variety of different audiences (the horizontal bar of the T) and yet have strength in the detail of your field to deliver something that is engaging (the vertical bar) then you are likely to have reach and engagement.

T-shaped personalities are great for everything we do, as technology, marketing, and research become closely intertwined, and people can no longer simply hide out in their silos – particularly those that want to influence others.

So how do we build our offline clout? In much the same way as we do online – through creating valuable content and making it available to the largest group possible so that they can act on it – probably why those who are influential on Twitter are also asked to speak at a number of conferences.

For success in your field, be T-shaped on Twitter, and in life.

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WEEK 3 ROUND-UP  – BUILDING YOUR OFFLINE KLOUT

By Lex Bradshaw-Zanger

A digital native and integrated brand marketer with a passion for marketing-communications and product design, Lex has a truly international outlook and experience, having worked both in major marketing agencies and client-side brands across Europe, the US and the Middle East.

6 comments

  1. Interesting analogy Lex! Depth of expertise in a focused area is key, as is the ability to relate to a broad spectrum of people across a range of interest areas. I really liked the Tim Brown article as a deeper explanation of the concept of T-Shaped. You definitely need both the horizontal and the vertical to be both credible and engaging. Nice spin on the topic.

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