tweetlevel screengrabAlmost a month and a half ago (yikes!), Jonny Bentwood, the creator of TweetLevel, appeared as the guest on #measurePR. Jen Zingsheim, who guest-moderated the chat, provided the following recap. And even though this is posting late, I’m going ahead with it since I know the transcript will be useful to you.

On August 30, the #MeasurePR chat had a terrific chat with guest Jonny Bentwood of Edelman Digital, who is the brains behind the TweetLevel influence tool.

  • Jonny started off by pointing out that influence without context is irrelevant (And Angels sang! Okay, maybe just the ones in my head). Explaining further, he noted that TweetLevel uses share of voice to determine who has influence, particularly within any given topic area, which provides the context necessary to find influencers.
  • TweetLevel has access to the Twitter fire hose, and goes back beyond two weeks for added dimension to their data and scores.
  • Typically, they advise clients to focus on a “sweet spot” of scores, from 65-85. Beyond an 85, those influencers are in “Today Show” area, and those influencers can be difficult to engage.
  • Interestingly, even those with low popularity rankings can be influencers and have high influence scores. TweetLevel suggests looking at scores in this way: those with high influence and high popularity scores are good amplifiers, and those with high influence but low popularity scores are idea starters.
  • The tool is free, and anyone can review the algorithm. Now that’s transparent!

You can download this transcript of Jen talking to Jonny Bentwood on #measurePR, if you like. And don’t miss the next #measurePR chat on Tuesday, October 11, 12-1 pm ET (yes, this coming week) when Jen will return to guest-host the chat with special guest Don Bartholomew of Fleishman-Hillard.

Image: Beth Kanter via Flickr, CC 2.0

Jen Zingsheim is Vice President of Products and Services forCustomScoop, driving product development plans to better meet the needs of public relations and marketing professionals. In addition, Jen oversees CustomScoop’s media analysis offerings, including BuzzPerception Reports, which track messages and trends in social media for Fortune 500 clients. Prior to CustomScoop, Jen worked at Fleishman-Hillard’s St. Louis headquarters, and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.