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Our Klout Stars series highlights top influencers and how they got to where they are today.

About: Tom H. C. Anderson is managing partner of research consultancy and text analytics firm Anderson Analytics (OdinText). A pioneer in text mining, he is an award winning blogger and frequent speaker at voice of customer industry events. Tom manages one of the largest discussion groups on LinkedIn related to ‘Next Gen’ market research and has almost 50,000 followers on Twitter.

1.How did you get started in social media?

While I’ve always believed in the power of networking, my original reason for blogging and tweeting was solely to better understand online sentiment from the perspective of the very consumers our clients were asking us to analyze. I really had no idea of the opportunities it would eventually lead to. It turns out that when you study what other brands and online influencers do it’s hard not to get kind of good at it yourself.

2. What does influence mean to you? Who influences you the most online?

I think influence means different things to different people. Initially bloggers were credited with an undue level of influence. As the social web has matured I think everyone is contributing and shaping products, services and brands via their networks.

However certain people are definitely more influential in specific areas than others. When I first started using Twitter for Instance, Guy Kawasaki @GuyKawasaki was a huge inspiration in how I started using Twitter. I was also impressed by how approachable he was, and I reached out to him on several occasions for advice.

These days I’m influenced by hundreds of colleagues within my network on a daily basis as they share their own thoughts and experiences as well as relevant articles, many from sources I would not have been likely to come across myself.

3. What advice do you have for someone who wants to take their online presence to the next level?

Interestingly my advice to someone starting out is really the same whether they are an individual or larger brand. Pick one or two examples you admire and look at what they are doing. When you first start out you’re not going to have a large following, just a small group of people who already know you. If you over think it and worry too much about the content initially chances are you’ll never get much out there. Choose one or two channels that are easiest for you whether it’s a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter and start there. Don’t overthink it initially and allow yourself to make some mistakes, you’ll find the social web is rather forgiving if intentions are pure.

As you get more comfortable sharing a lot more ideas and opportunities will arise. This is when you may want to fine tune your strategy. Online strategy by the way is something that necessarily should evolve over time as your options and experience change.

I find online influence, even if it’s a personal brand is a lot like formal marketing. It’s about quality content (honesty), frequency and reach. That’s one of the great things about what Klout is doing, it takes into account the fact that YouTube, LinkedIn, facebook etc. are really concentric circles of influence. Those that understand this can relatively easily increase both their reach and frequency and eventually their overall influence.

But you should never forget that listening is at least as important as talking when it comes to online influence.

Connect with Tom on Twitter at @TomHCAnderson

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Our Klout Stars series highlights top influencers and how they got to where they are today.

About: John is a creative thinker who has achieved significant accomplishments in science, medicine, marketing, and the creative arts. He has been published in the American Heart Association and The American Journal of Physiology and has lectured at Harvard Medical School and The Fashion Institute of Technology. John blogs at http://www.johnnosta.com/ and is an Executive Vice President at Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide

1. How did you get started in social media?

My involvement in social media was a very deliberate choice on my part. As a Chief Creative Officer for a large advertising agency, the digital writing was on the wall and it was essential that I embraced these changes. There were two key drivers. First off, it allowed my competence to grow and become more conversant in new media. Additionally, my involvement gave me a “stronger voice” in the advertising community and resulted in a direct increase in my value in the marketplace. The second driver was the business itself. My clients all were asking about web sites, Twitter, smart phones and alike and I felt that my responses were somewhat removed from the reality of the media–my replies were often canned and not based on direct experience. It became obvious to me that I needed to walk the walk and tweet the tweet. Finally, healthcare was a dynamic and growing part of our economy and business. It was a perfect market where ground-breaking innovations could provide powerful interactions and tools to save lives!

2. What does influence mean to you? Who influences you the most online?

Influence, for me, is the unspoken volume of your communication. And by volume, I mean the “intellectual loudness”. It’s the respect that you’ve earned by providing great content and value over time. And that’s important because the perception of WHO you are can be as important as WHAT you say. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there…is analogous to a brilliant blog post or tweet that no one reads!

I’m influenced by a lot of people and engagement peaks my interest right away. People who retweet or comment on my posts / blogs always get my undivided attention. It might spark a relationship or just fade, but you have to “be there” and “be social”. I’m also greatly influenced by “thought-leaders” in various areas. These are the big thinkers and have the established equity that draws me in. And the secret here is that I don’t limit these personal influencers to a specific topic or category. I get great ideas from physics, art and news—all applied to my area of healthcare communications. The real magic for me is when I make a connection with a thought-leader and build a new relationship. And marketing tells us that the most powerful influencer is one in your specific social network. That’s certainly true for me! Today, I have a robust relationship with physicians, patients, scientists, creative thinkers to names a few. And this makes me a much more informed healthcare marketer.

3. What advice do you have for someone who wants to take their online presence to the next level?

Taking your online presence to the next level is all about building your own personal brand! And branding is something we actually do every day. From the clothes we wear to the words we voice–it all builds a personality that we project into the world. In traditional brand-building, typography is sometimes referred to as the “voice of the brand”. The type face becomes the deep and credible voice of a news reporter or the light and airy tone of a small child. Each word strikes a creative cord that defines us. After all, different people can utter the exact phrase yet articulate completely different messages! Now today, we see the emergence of the e-brand–an electronic personality that establishes you (and your brand) in the e-world…and by extension, the real world (if there really is any difference!). Twitter is your speaking voice, in real-time and broken up in short conversations. It’s not your college essay, it’s not your carefully worded press-release, it’s your short burst of personality.

Connect with John on Twitter at @JohnNosta

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Our Klout Stars series highlights top influencers and how they got to where they are today.

About: Jessica Gottlieb is an award winning mom blogger in Los Angeles. You may have read about Jessica in the New York Times, LA Times, or the Wall Street Journal. You might have heard Jessica on NPR or seen her on The Daily Show. She is a featured panelist on the web series Momversation and a YouTube partner. Jessica has a robust following on Twitter and Google Plus.

1. How did you get started in social media?

I’m not sure that I ever “started” in social media. When I was in college (and dinosaurs roamed the earth) we had an intranet with some pretty fun usergroups. I suppose that’s the baby pool for social media.

Before moving to professional blogging I was an eBay Powerseller. In order to make the most of my time on eBay I had created communities both within eBay’s walled garden (eBay groups) and outside (email marketing and forum participation). I’m not convinced that Social Media is a recent trend so much as that it’s a recent name.

2. What does influence mean to you? Who influences you the most online?

Influence can be positive or negative. For instance, this week a Girl Scout video influenced me to buy Girl Scout Cookies. I HATE girl scout cookies, but I hate the message of the proposed boycott more. Influence is an unwieldy sword and trying to manage it could be a full-time job. It’s probably best to respect the fact that we all influence someone and trying to not be a jerk is a good start.

My mother is my biggest online influence. She’s a voracious reader and before I wake up in the morning, she’s already found the best news stories of the day and delivered them to my inbox.

3. What advice do you have for someone who wants to take their online presence to the next level?

I’d advise you to think about WHY you want to have more online influence. Do you have something to sell? Do you have a political agenda? Is it just feeding your ego? There’s got to be an endgame to all of this, and if you don’t have a goal in mind it’s easy to spin out of control. Spend your energy wisely.

Connect with Jessica on Twitter at @JessicaGottlieb

Why do you want to increase your online influence?

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Our Klout Stars series highlights top influencers and how they got to where they are today.

About Alister: I’m Alister Cameron and I call myself a Blogologist. I’m an Aussie who grew up on US air bases in West Germany (among other places). I’m on the wrong side of 40 and I’ve been into computers since 1984, when I was recording BASIC onto cassette tape on my trusty VIC-20. I’ve been working online since 1995, when I built my first website (it was awful!). I’ve built a stack more awful websites since then, and a few good ones too. After many years of consulting, I’ve just started as the Head of Digital for WorldVision Australia, which I’m really excited about. I’ve been a child sponsor since 1989 (hint: they need the money more than you do!).

1. How did you get started in social media?

In late 2006, I made a spontaneous decision to get serious about blogging, which I had been doing very casually since about 1998.

On the day in December that Time Magazine announced their 2006 Person of the Year (if you recall, it was “you”), I came up with the idea of creating an unofficial Person of the Year seal, which a whole bunch of other bloggers happily pasted into their blog sidebars and webpages. Not being a complete fool, I created a cool-looking graphic and ready-to-copy HTML code, which included a couple of links back to my own blog. Within a week Google found hundreds of blogs with the Person of the Year seal linking back to my blog. Google started ranking my blog for pretty much anything I blogged about, and I was immediately hooked on blogging as a way of doing effective SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Not long after that I registered a Twitter account and did nothing with it for a couple of years. Then at some point in 2008 I decided I needed to grow my Twitter account and have been consumed with Twitter ever since. I have well over 300,000 followers now, but who’s counting?!

2. What does influence mean to you? Who influences you the most online?

An old mentor of mine once made the very profound point that the more influential you want to be, the more narrowly you have to focus. I guess parenting is the ultimate supporting evidence of the wisdom of that statement. In my case, I’m a single parent of four kids, and I am completely sold on the idea that my best chance to change the world is to establish four young lives on a solid footing.

Strategically, I teach business to build their brand and buzz in a very broad and indiscriminate way, while at the same time laser-focusing on those few individuals or stakeholders who matter the most. Social media lets you do both incredibly well!

In my early days of blogging, when I felt like a total newbie, I was blessed to have a few leading bloggers who took the time to encourage me and help me make sense of things. Darren Rowse and Liz Strauss were both very kind to me, and years later, you can see what quality thought leaders and “stayers” they both are.

3. What advice do you have for someone who wants to take their online presence to the next level?

There is so much I might like to say but let me make just two obvious points.

Firstly, obsess more about your customer/reader/follower than your product/blog/content. One thing I wrote many years ago hit a nerve and I’m proud of it. It’s in reference to blogging, but it applies to everything online. I said at the time, “The real reason why nobody reads your blog is this: massively successful blogging is about establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships. It’s all about who you know.” So take the time to be personal. Engage the little people. Be kind. Listen.

Secondly, I’d remind you of what the sociologists call “participational observation”. This is the idea that you can’t really properly (and deeply) understand something unless you, as it were, roll up your sleeves and get stuck into it… personally. So everywhere I go, and everyone I talk to, I ask the same questions. Are you actively on Facebook? Do you have a YouTube account and have you tried creating silly personal videos? The social web is passing many people by simply because they’re not getting close enough to it to ever understand it. And when authenticity means everything (and it does), looking and sounding like a faker is not good enough.

Connect with Alister on Twitter at @alicam

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Our Klout Stars series highlights top influencers and how they got to where they are today.

About Ashley: Ashley Hayes is the San Francisco Community Manager for Google Places, hosting events for Google Places, Offers, Ventures and Zagat. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a double major in Political Science and History, and has lived in San Francisco for six years. Prior to Google, she was the Community Manager for The Go Game, and handled Corporate Communications for AMB Property Corporation. Ashley is incredibly active in the local philanthropic organizations, serving as President for the Spinsters of San Francisco, and member of Symphonix League, Encore, Zoo II, and the California Alumni Association.

1. How did you get started in social media? 

I was an early adopter of social networks in college, which organically fostered my passion and knowledge in social media. There were several times in past jobs when I was the only one with experience of social network websites, allowing me to represent the company and/or product via social channels. In turn, this led to an extensive social media professional experience, achieved by researching, conferences, connections, and simple trial and error.

2. What does influence mean to you? Who influences you the most online?

Social media influence is incredibly important in our current marketplace, regardless on whether or not your current position acutely focuses on social media. Without establishing long-term connections with local peers and influencers, many opportunities for future employment, collaborations, and quite simply, friendship, would be missed. As for those that influence me the most, I usually look to my fellow community managers, social media and marketing professionals. Since social media is an evolving platform, its important to stay relevant with other experts in the field.

3. What advice do you have for someone who wants to take their online presence to the next level?

Obviously strong social media and networking presence is incredibly important, hence the popularity and necessity of Klout! Google +, Facebook, and Twitter are all essential platforms to utilize with consistent, engaging conversations. LinkedIn is also fantastic to craft professional connections and relationships. But quite honestly, meeting people in person and developing rapport face to face truly is what creates strong, local connections, thereby allowing a more natural investment in your network. 

Connect with Ashley on Twitter at @AshesHayes

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Our Klout Stars series highlights top influencers and how they got to where they are today.

About Alison: Have you ever been picked up on in a bar by a stranger who has seen you before and rightfully accused you of being that girl who “reads TechCrunch on her phone every single day–without lifting her head”?

Yeah, I am guilty of being that girl.

My name is Ali and I am the Community Manager at BranchOut. When I am not busy nerding out on the bus and making awkward first impressions, I love going to concerts, spending time outside and indulging in far too much Mexican food. I am a self-proclaimed “Nor Cal convert”. Having grown up in Los Angeles, I am proud to call San Francisco my home. I enjoy learning about why people make the social and spending decisions that they do, how trends evolve and why technology influences these choices. You can learn more about me here: alisonhillman.com and connect with me here: http://www.twitter.com/alihillman

2. How did you get started in social media?

If you consider yourself “normal” you are already boring me. Let’s face it; I probably wouldn’t follow you on Twitter. So in the spirit of being attracted to oddballs and progressive thinkers, I picked a major that most people have never heard of, I graduated UC Davis with a B.A. in American Studies. You can pretty much do anything with that major; I interpreted it as being the sociology of American culture and studied mass marketing and technocultural studies. After graduation, I landed a sweet gig at Yelp where I happily stayed for several years. I developed a huge crush on web 2.0 trends. From Yelp, I spent some time doing Digital PR for Levi’s. Now I work for BranchOut, the largest professional network on Facebook. I am responsible for BranchOut’s social media, voice and brand…not to mention the consumption of all the M&M’s out of the trail mix in the kitchen.

3. What’s your strategy for the content you produce and share on social media?

I care about what you are saying why? Being a Community Manager means having a pulse on the goals and needs of your users at all times. Before producing any content, I think to myself, why does anyone care? How am I making a user’s experience not only easier, but also more valuable? BranchOut is only sixteen-ish months old, so I am literally paving a brand new path. My content strategy ranges from being very basic and instructional to innovative contests and brand-centric posts.

Share everything! Okay fine, user digression is advised. People love to see the inside scoop at your company and get a glimpse of the people who build cool products. Make sure that your tweets, posts, and pictures stand “on brand” and engage both your users and the experts in your field by providing fresh and relevant content! I have found that our users and community really dig metrics, so I try and incorporate some stats in my messaging.

For my own personal brand, I like to include a bit of my work life because I spend more time at work than I do doing anything else and frankly, I love my job and company and take pride in helping to build my company’s success.

I am very active on most social media platforms and leverage my presence by commenting and sharing when I find something particularly awesome or unique that I think my network will also enjoy leaning about. I am hyper-aware of how over-saturated the space is, and oftentimes find myself putting a Hillman-esque spin on an idea.

4. What advice do you have for someone who wants to take their social media influence and presence to the next level?

Get active! Get curious! Get creative! Try new things and see what works for you and your own personal style. Practice building a brand on your own personal accounts rather than experimenting on a corporate account.

Find people and brands that you think are interesting and see what they are all about by observing how they share, interact and brand themselves. What works? What doesn’t? I enjoy engaging in Twitter chats, documenting my life via pictures and learning about new music. My interests are genuine and consistent, so my insights reflect my own understanding of the world around me.

See Alison in action by following @AliHillman on Twitter!

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Our Klout Stars series highlights top influencers and how they got to where they are today.

About Joel: Joel Libava, The Franchise King®, is a brutally honest, mostly non-politically correct entrepreneur, who’s hyper-focused on teaching would-be franchise owners how to become wildly successful as franchise owners, and not lose their money. Joel’s book, Become a Franchise Owner! The Start-Up Guide to Lowering Risk, Making Money, and Owning What You Do, was just released. (John Wiley & Sons, Publisher) (www.becomeafranchiseowner.biz)

1. How did you get started in social media?

In 2006, I met George Nemeth, (www.georgenemeth.com) one of Cleveland’s first bloggers.

I started to leave comments on George’s “Brewed Fresh Daily” blog, and felt that I had known him just enough to ask him to have breakfast with me one morning. (I was starting to get fascinated with the whole “blogging” thing.)

We met at a Cleveland, Ohio area café, and talked for about 2 hours. He shared his views on blogging, and during that conversation, he helped convince me to start one up, myself. So, I did. (Thanks, George!)

I felt that if I was among the first to set-up a blog about franchising, it would really help me long-term. I looked at it as a way to differentiate myself. I also felt that it would help me build real credibility in my field. I was correct about both items.

I started one of the first-ever blogs on franchising (http://www.blogster.com/ohiofranchisecenter) in 2006. It was a great learning experience. I started to meet other bloggers in my local area, and attended some blogger “meet-ups.” All of us shared what we were learning, and as each one of us perfected a skill needed to improve on what we were doing, we freely shared our knowledge with each other.

My current blog, The Franchise King Blog, (http://www.thefranchiseking.com/blog) has been going strong ever since. It’s been a game-changer for me, and it’s even won some awards for content and influence.

Facebook was the first social network I joined after starting The Franchise King Blog, and I opened up a Twitter account a while later. LinkedIn followed, and now of course, I’m on Google+, also.

2. What’s your strategy for the content you produce and share on social media?

I write a post about franchising, small business, or both, and hit the “Publish button.” That starts everything in motion. If my post was written on any of my own web properties, it’s automatically sent out to all the major social networks. After about an hour, I check these networks, (Twitter, FB, and LinkedIn) to make sure the post went out. Later on that day, I send the post to bizSugar, a small business bookmarking website. (Full disclosure; I’m on the advisory board for the site.) I also send it to a couple of other social bookmarking sites that are a bit under the radar. Finally, I go back to Twitter a couple of more times that day, and send the post out again, but with different post titles. I’m a true believer of the GKTT. (Guy Kawasaki Twitter Technique.) Guy suggests that we make sure to send our posts out on Twitter several times a day. (I tend to overdo things, so his technique fits well with me.)

3. What advice do you have for someone who wants to take their social media influence and presence to the next level?

The way to take things to the next level, social media marketing wise, is to always be on the cutting edge of things. If you can be the first one in your circle to use a new software tool, or a new social media platform-successfully, you’ll be looked upon as an innovator….as someone to watch…to follow.

While I know in my heart that social media is really not about “the tools,” the reality is that lots of people are attracted to the newest shiny, bright objects. If you can find a way to use of the newer tools, and even teach others how to use them also, it could be a game-changer for you.

Look what Lewis Howes has done with LinkedIn. Chris Brogan took the time to learn how to use Google+, and secured a 5-figure book deal in the process. Several people have written books about how to use Twitter. If you want to learn about Facebook, who are you going to follow? Mari Smith!

Finally, if you want to increase your influence, and presence, stand for something! That’ll give you some Klout. People that know me, and have followed me on all of the social media channels that I’m on, know what I stand for. Some of the things that I’m passionate about (when it comes to my industry) don’t always make me the most popular guy at parties. And you know what? I don’t care. Some of my blog posts are controversial, and tend to piss some of the folks in my industry off. That’s okay. I speak my mind, and I don’t back off of things that I really, really, believe in.

You shouldn’t either.

Follow @FranchiseKing on Twitter!

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Our Klout Stars series highlights top influencers and how they got to where they are today.

About Scott: Scott Kleinberg lives life in 140 characters or less. As social media consultant for the Chicago Tribune Media Group, his days are packed with all kinds of online goodness, but he especially enjoys focusing on the role of social networks in breaking news as well as meaningful and entertaining engagement and conversation. It’s better to ask Scott which social networks he’s not on, because the list is pretty extensive. Follow Scott on Twitter at @scottkleinberg. You can also find him on Facebook and Quora. And if you’re really good, he’ll let you follow him on Foursquare.

1. How did you get started in social media?

It began in 2007 when my iPhone blog was exploding. I needed a way to curate questions and keep people informed about the latest iPhone updates. That’s how @iptib was born, but soon I was hooked on how cool tweeting was. I realized everything I tweeted didn’t have to be iPhone related, so I created @scottkleinberg and found my rhythm. Eventually the iPhone blog ran its course and I migrated everything over to @scottkleinberg. In 2008, I was working at RedEye, the Chicago Tribune’s tabloid edition for young urban professionals, when I saw other media outlets trying to stake their claim on Twitter. Most didn’t really know what they were supposed to do, but then it hit me. RedEye’s audience of nontraditional newspaper readers was special. These were the early adopters embracing social media in a big way, so I conceived, created and launched RedEye’s entire social media campaign, starting @redeyechicago in 2008. To this day, it’s one of the most fun places to be online in Chicago. I left there for my current job at the Tribune in early September of this year, but not before building a network of just shy of 40,000 highly-engaged friends – I never call them followers.

2. What’s your strategy for the content you produce and share on social media?

Variety is the spice of life, so I’m always thinking about the kinds of things I find interesting online. While I have my favorites (Apple, photography, etc.,) I really enjoy a little of everything. So that’s how I approach my social media content and curation, but I’m careful to not repeat too much on different platforms. I know each place has a different audience, but I want to give people a reason to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Also, I make the most of each of my 140 characters. As long as the subject matter allows, my tweets are written in a fun way – perfectly sized and ready for retweeting. And while I like posting content from the Chicago Tribune because it’s where I work, I search far and wide for the things I share. I also realize that sometimes a fun cartoon on Facebook can provide a much-needed afternoon boost. I take each day as it comes and just try to have fun.

3. What advice do you have for someone who wants to take their social media influence and presence to the next level?

Above all else, remember these words: Social media has to be social. Contrary to what I’ve heard from all over the social media universe – even among my circle of friends – there is no such thing as a social media platform that serves solely as a loudspeaker. There are opportunities everywhere to engage with your audience and you need to do that to stand out from the crowd. That means no automatic direct messages when someone follows you on Twitter. (Please!) Take 30 seconds and thank that person in real time with a personal message. First impressions mean everything. Be passionate, be real and be yourself, and you’ll go far. Let Follow Friday love shower the people who engage with you most. Oh, and make sure you check Klout every day and give lots of +K.

If you’d like to hear more from Scott, you can follow him as @scottkleinberg on Twitter.

Let us know what you think of our Klout Star! If you’d like to be considered for a future Klout Stars post about your influence please email contact@klout.com.

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Our Klout Stars series highlights top influencers and how they got to where they are today.

About Michael: Michael Brandvold is a freelance music industry consultant based in Northern California. Having launched Michael Brandvold Marketing to leverage his years of experience to provide direction to large and small clients in the areas of online & social marketing as well as e-commerce and customer acquisition and retention. Michael has also managed the online efforts for KISS, Greg Kihn, Motley Crüe, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne, Madonna and Britney Spears to name only a few.

We asked…

1. How did you get started in social media?

I got started in social media before that term even existed. In 1998 I was hired to build and manage KISSonline.com, the official website for KISS. From the beginning I wanted the fans deeply involved with the site and this meant developing techniques, tools and content that allowed for the fans to engage with each other, and for the band to engage with the fans through the website. I have taken that experience and applied it to everything moving forward. Social media is simply talking and listening to your fans or customers. More than anything they want to know they are being heard. Social media has always existed, but today sites such as Facebook and Twitter make it much easier to accomplish and manage.

2. What’s your strategy for the content you produce and share on social media?

I always put myself in the shoes of the user, the fan, the customer. Remembering what it is they are looking for, what they want to read about, the simple problems they want solved. And most importantly, what would it take for me to pull out my credit card and buy something or give someone my email address. If something is too complicated for me to deal
with, it will surely be above the heads of the average user. I may have worked with KISS, but the KISS principle is important… Keep It Simple Stupid. I like to deliver content that is easy to digest. Content that applies directly to a real problem or concern. Content that is easy to act upon. Don’t speak above the customer, speak to them.

3. What advice do you have for someone who wants to take their social media influence and presence to the next level?

I have six suggestions: Best advice I could give is do what you love, be passionate about what you do, and stick to what you believe in. I feel influence comes when others see you really believe in what you are talking about. As you get more influential you will find more people who don’t agree with you, that is fine, but you need to have the passion to stand up for what you say. I have always loved the George Bernard Shaw quote, The secret to success is to offend the greatest number of people.

If you’d like to hear more from Michael, you can follow him at @michaelsb on Twitter.

Let us know what you think of our Klout Star! If you’d like to be considered for a future Klout Stars post about your influence please email contact@klout.com.

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Our Klout Stars series highlights top influencers and how they got to where they are today.

About Katrina: Katrina Hill is, first and foremost, a lover of all things action. Since a young age she has been in love with the action genre, and has been influence by action stars both new and old, from Stallone and Schwarzeneggar to Statham and Butler, and even independent action stars such as Tony Jaa. Katrina Hill covers movie news and reviews on her website, www.actionflickchick.com, and writes freelance for other publications such as MTV geek and Newsarama. She has over 120,000 followers on twitter (@actionchick) and has given panel presentations in front of thousands at San Diego Comic-Con International.

We asked…

1. How did you get started in social media?

I first decided to start my website, actionflickchick.com, about 3 years ago because I had watched Rambo IV and was completely blown away by the action. I wanted to find some way to talk how awesome it was and decided to start a website where I talk about action first and foremost. That led to a slew of other things like youtube movie reviews and skits and being named G4TV’s Next Woman of the Web. I signed up for twitter and Facebook as a means to make connections with people and also as a way to distribute my work. Over the past 3 years I gained over 120,000 followers on twitter and have been hovering at close to the maximum number of friends on Facebook.

2. What’s your strategy for the content you produce and share on social media?

The things I am known for are talking about action, horror, and nerdy things as well as convention news. So, on twitter and Facebook, I try to think of fun questions in those areas that I feel people have wondered often or would just be a fun discussion topic. For example, “What would you do if bitten by a zombie?” I also pose questions about the relevant issues going on, like DC Comics’ New 52. This allows followers to voice their opinion and hear what a lot of others think about the topics as well, often leading to intriguing conversations. The answers to those questions also get compiled into one post on my website for everyone to read.
As for my website content, I post things that are all about action first, trying to remind people why action movies are so much fun and to inform the readers on what they can look forward to and whether or not some movie is worth watching or not. Then I just keep my eyes peeled for whatever hot, interesting things are being talked about and do my best to inform people about those.

3. What advice do you have for someone who wants to take their social media influence and presence to the next level?
Interact with people! Make friends and acquaintances from your contacts in social media. That will potentially lead to new awesome opportunities and new friends!
Also, stick to things you know and love. Your passion will shine through and attract more readers, and it will form a niche where you can be a known expert on that topic.

If you’d like to hear more from Katrina, you can follow her at @ActionChick on Twitter.

Let us know what you think of our Klout Star! If you’d like to be considered for a future Klout Stars post about your influence please email contact@klout.com.