Meet Miriam Slozberg, Author and Social Media Expert

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Miriam Slozberg is a married mother of two children, and she works as a social media and SEO expert. She is the author of a new e-book, The Secret to High Social Media Rankings: How to Get Klout.

1. What is Klout, and why is it important?

Klout is a social scoring system that measures your social media activity such as how often other people engage with what you post on Facebook and Google Plus and what you tweet on Twitter. If others engage with you often, you are considered to be influential online, and the more influential you are, the higher your score is.

Klout is important because your score can be a huge determining factor as to whether you get a job or not (especially if you are in marketing), and if you get speaking engagements, guest blogging opportunities, and free upgrades. It's also important just in terms of naturally attracting new fans and followers.

2. What motivated you to write an e-book about Klout?

I felt that there happen to be a lot of people misunderstanding the truth behind Klout. My purpose of my e-book was to not only show the true picture of Klout but to teach those who are active online to increase their scores properly. I also wanted to stress that it is very important for business owners; marketers; anyone working in PR, social media, and SEO; coaches; authors; or really anyone working with the public professionally to have a high Klout score and to earn it properly.

3. What are a couple of (relatively) easy things anyone can do right now to increase his or her social influence online?

Be sure to post eye-catching material on your social networks. Tweet anything that you know that others would be interested in. But stay within your own niche for the most part. Be consistent with your activities, and eventually you will gain plenty of friends and followers who will want to share your posts and other information you provide.

4. From a long-range perspective, what are some good practices for working with social media tools to create and maintain strong connections with other people?

If you are going to network properly, you have to show interest in those whom you are networking with. Share their blogs on your own social networks. Like their posts on Facebook and Google Plus. Retweet their tweets, and they will respect you for it and do the same for you. Their followers and friends will eventually want to network with you as well. In other words, be social online. Don't use social media to only talk about your business; use it to network properly.

5. As an author, how are you utilizing your own marketing know-how to spread the word about your latest book, and what can other authors learn from your experience?

I have been telling my friends and followers about my work, and I ask them to kindly spread it across their own networks, and at the same time I help them with their own needs. It does work.

At the same time, I also am constantly writing blog posts about my work, and having them shared on networks. If you do this for months beforehand, it will create a lot of buzz and interest. But again it is important to help your friends and followers in whatever their needs are. You will be seen not only influential in your field but as a great networker.

Thanks, Miriam!