Perhaps because it's still a relatively new field, interactive marketers seriously lack confidence in their ability to measure the relative effectiveness of social media campaigns, according to a new study by Forrester Research. 

Of 119 interactive marketers asked between May and June of this year to rank such measurement capabilities on a scale of 1 to 10 - 1 being novice and 10 being expert - the average response was 4.5. Considering that social marketing is only a few years old, this may be a bit optimistic. 

Most marketers reported that they had yet to develop any meaningful reporting mechanisms for gauging the success of social media programs, adding to their lack of confidence. The author of the study, Forrester analyst Emily Riley, suggests that marketers need to move beyond traditional online metrics such as clicks and impressions, and towards more sophisticated ones like brand affinity and return on investment. 

Only 14% of the respondents reported tracking brand awareness as a key performance indicator, while 35% used clicks. How does one measure brand-oriented performance indicators? Riley suggested that companies create listening platforms and conduct focus groups and surveys to measure consumer sentiment. 

With consumers spending more time with social media, it is vital that companies develop strategies geared towards this emerging channel. As a supplement to traditional media relations, social media can become an effective and useful arrow in the communication professional's quiver.