There's a lot of talk about being able to measure the return on a social media spend no matter how big or small. Presumably you'd set the metrics ahead of time and know when you'd reached your goal. Douglas Karr brings up an interesting point that social networks charge advertisers based on how many users are on a network, but marketers could be allocating their hard-earned budget on disengaged (i.e. inactive) users who aren't actually eye-balling their wares.
Of course, measurement of brand equity, how consumers think about your brand relative to other brand choices, consumers' behaviour toward your brand and their perceived future behaviour toward your brand can seem foggy at best. This is why clear-cut measurement, including people attending your events, creating local buzz about your company (comments on your company/personal blog), engaging potential customers (link click-throughs readership/conversion), can help tell you where that budget is going. Hopefully not down the tubes!
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Thanks for the mention! I would add that "intent" is missing from social networks as well! People don't visit a social network to research offerings and make purchase decisions.
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