I have received a number of requests on how I managed to take my Klout score from 39 to a whopping 72 in less than a week. Here’s how I did it.

First off, you’re going to need a base network of approximately 1000 or so Twitter followers, a couple hundred Facebook friends and a few hundred Linkedin connections. Any accounts you don’t already have…you’ll need to get them. The following accounts are supported by Klout – SIGN UP FOR THEM.

Twitter

Facebook

Google+

Linkedin

Foursquare

YouTube

Instagram

Tumblr

Blogger

WordPress

Last.FM

Flickr

Once you’re all set then you’ll want to install Tweetdeck or Hootsuite. They are Adobe Air installs via the web so there is no concern over your computer platform whether Mac or Win. Essentially they help you keep tabs on your social network.

Engagement is the #1 Klout score increasing factor. If you constantly @mention and retweet others, you’ll certainly see your Klout score begin to rise.

Write unique and creative content. If you can manage to write content that induces thought, people will engage you and we all know what that means – engagement means people are talking and when the social web is buzzing with your content…you’ll benefit.

However the #1 way to game Klout and increase your score exponentially is to purchase retweets. Drop $5 on Fiverr and get yourself 25-40 retweets. What this will do is create the illusion that you are reaching a good number of people outside of your own personal network.

When I did this I had about 200 retweets of a very well written (if I may say so myself) article. The article had already shown signs of popularity so this is the reason I selected it. As a matter of fact, to this day I still get about 5000 unique visits a month to that one article alone.

Although it may seem rather straight forward, if you follow these steps then you’ll blow the lid off your Klout score.

PS: now you might be wondering why my Klout score is rather weak to say the least – the truth of it is – I don’t have the time to “engage” anymore. In order to sustain the ranking once you get it, you’ll have to be active throughout your social web each and every day. Primarily this is Twitter because it appears Klout gives the most weight to your level of engagement on Twitter.

As an expert in…well…any SEO, it just so happens that my primary target is Costa Rica – I am faced with challenges every single day. One of them being the social media aspects of SEO. It can really f*$# with your head to be honest.

Like a stock ticker – buzzing away and scrolling/streaming endless lines of statistical information before you…the social media can be the same. My weapon of choice is TweetDeck.

TweetDeck is a tool that allows you to monitor your entire ‘social network’ from a bird’s eye perspective.

The tool is laid out much like a day trader might have whereas it is all displayed in columns for each individual network like Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter to name a few. Then, as updates come in, you will receive Growl or popup notifications of activity pertaining to your accounts. And so the cookoo bird starts to sing.

You might be wondering why, if any, is it so important to tie so closely in with your social network. Well heres the thing…

These days more and more people are turning to the social web for questions and answers. Actually, I bet you didn’t know that YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world and only surpassed by it’s owner, Google. Earlier this year Twitter announced their intentions of denting the search market also. The point is…more and more social oriented sites are gaining ground in to our mainstream digital lives.

Enter Klout.

Klout is the universally accepted social gauge on how far your word can reach. This little sucker will keep you wanting more.

If you are anything like me – and I’m assuming you are after all you are here – then you like a challenge. And when you involve a judge or prize to gauge your efforts…ITS GAME ON BABY!

So now thanks to finding my way on to Klout, I’ve found myself obsessing with my social reach. Now although I accept that Klout is slow moving, I still am trying my best to “help it along”. One of the steps I took was joining the invitation only, Triberr site. In my last post I outlined what this little sucker can do for your Twitter and blogging efforts so we’ll leave it at that. (Want an invite? Click Here Now)

And then of course there are the iOS devices we all own or crave to own. I’m talking iPhones and iPads. These don’t help. With options like “Push Notifications”, these devices are sure to notify you of every mention of yourself within your social network. Sure you can turn this off…but I’m willing to bet you don’t.

A friend asked me just today,

How do you keep tabs on all the incoming email, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Triberr, Klout…yadda yadda yadda…?

…and I answered, “I don’t.”

I followed that by telling him that I probably miss about 85-90% of my notifications etc. But then again…will the world end? Highly unlikely.

One thing is for certain, and that is if you intend on competing with the ‘big boys’ of social, you’d best be prepared to A.) drive yourself crazy and B.) have no life outside your ‘virtual social existence’.

So do yourself a favor and approach social media in moderation and whatever you do…understand that competing in this arena…YOU WILL GO CRAZY.