Only a few days into the new year and there are already many things to look forward to in the world of social media and public relations.  More and more brands are abandoning traditional promotional outlets in favor of more social ones. With companies like Pepsi forking over $20m to step into the online arena, measuring a campaign’s success in the social media realm is more relevant than ever before. Assessing audience “engagement” will undoubtedly be a hot topic in 2010.

Traditionally, PR agencies have relied on ad equivalency rates to put a value on the coverage received for their clients.  While the accuracy of this method is highly debatable, it has provided a way to quantitatively assess the impact of a campaign and track its progress.  Agencies that solely rely on these metrics will have to start monitoring and evaluating social media efforts. It no longer matters how many people see a communication about your brand, it’s only important if you are part of the conversation. Consumers now demand direct contact with their favorite brands via social media outlets. Engagement is what needs to be measured, and the next year will likely bring further debate on how a consumer’s relationship with a brand can be assessed.

How does one measure engagement? Is an audience engaged when they comment on a brand’s fan page on Facebook, interact with them on Twitter, respond to a blog entry or watch a YouTube video? How many times do they have to interact with a brand in order to be considered “engaged”? Brands like Pepsi have hopefully asked themselves similar questions. The company is generating lots of buzz after they announced their decision to forgo traditional Super Bowl ads to focus on the launch of a new social media campaign, “The Pepsi Refresh Project.” The campaign is a huge move for the company. With all this money at stake and the world watching, it will be necessary to evaluate the level of engagement their audience has with their communication efforts.

Since the success of any marketing campaign has to be compared to its unique goals and objectives, do not expect to see a formulaic method for measuring social media activity; it is impossible to have a “one-size-fits-all” philosophy when it comes to consumer engagement. However, 2010 should bring advancements in evaluating a brand’s social media efforts.  Keep a look out for how major brands like Pepsi address this issue in the next year.