Remember the old days (2008) when so many brands were trying to decide whether or not to engage in social media?  Today, the hot question on the minds of brand managers is “Now that we are here, how do we measure and increase brand value from these investments?”

According to the latest report from eMarketer.com, most have a long way to go.

Despite widespread adoption of social media, measurement still lags. Only 16% of those polled said they currently measured ROI for their social media programs. More than four in 10 respondents did not even know whether the social tools they were using had ROI measurement capabilities.

Measuring the success of social media marketing can be difficult, but using a variety of hard and soft ROI metrics is one solution. For example, distributing a coupon via a social network and monitoring its redemption can put a concrete number on social success. And marketers can also assign a dollar value to soft metrics, such as number of fans or followers, to measure ROI.

Unlike many agencies that lead with a creative tool or campaign, we lead with a focus on defining metrics. Creating value in social media is less about one big idea and more about pointing a thousand little ideas in the direction of unified metrics. This is impossible to do without a clear vision of how to define that value upfront.

How clear are you on how social media can and should be used to drive measurable value for your brand?