There is no question in any marketer's mind that social media has changed--probably forever--the way brands reach and engage with consumers. 

Stating an obvious fact, I know, but for all the opportunity and consternation it is causing, it is true that the notion of earned engagement--the active interaction between a consumer and a brand--throws into disarray all we have been taught about impression numbers and CPM, leaving the world of marketing scrambling to answer the questions on nearly every brand managers lips:

          What does all this social media stuff mean to me?

          What is the value?

          Are my results good? 

          How does it compare to other marketing?

These are great questions, even more so because as budgets continue to move to earned online engagement, the need to answer these questions will become even more urgent.  What this means is that we will all have to learn a new way of thinking.  Social media cannot be measured in terms of impressions, click-throughs, eye balls or any other "traditional" or transactional method.  This would discount the social nature of social media, and short-change the downstream impact earned engagement has on others within a fairly tight network.  A blogger doesn't just reach his or her audience, just as a Twitterer doesn't just reach his or her followers. It's also their followers followers that are impacted when they Re-Tweet or @sign the original author.  There is multiplicity in how people link to blog posts, re-tweet, and generally share information they find of interest, which, of course, is where the value lies. 

But how do you measure this value?

There are a number of great tools to measure the level of online conversation.   And there are a lot of companies that have a perspective of how to best measure the impact social media has on a brand's performance.  However, there has not been a comprehensive way to evaluate the impact a brand is having in earned social media channels.  In other words, how are people talking about a brand?  Where is it occurring?  What are they saying?  And, is the brand--and its competitors--impacting the conversation in a positive way? (and I use "conversation" very loosely in this context). 

In the coming weeks, Zócalo Group will be introducing a way of evaluating earned online conversations that goes a long way to answering those important--but difficult--questions we seem to hear in every conversation surrounding this space.  As with all things social media, it will evolve and change, but it helps marketers understand the value of their social media marketing programs.  And better yet, it provides insight into how to better calibrate efforts to increase effectiveness in near real time.

It's powerful stuff, so stay tuned...