Gabba’s Paul Fabretti hosted a lunch at Thinking Digital in Gateshead today where author and social media marketing expert Brian Solis talked about his new book Engage.

Solis says that he wrote Engage as a means of explaining to his wife how he earns his living. He said that he intended it to be a handbook for anyone working in new media.

It’s an audacious challenge that led Solis to over shoot his publisher’s brief by 300-pages.

In a Q&A session after his talk Solis was asked how agencies and brands should measure the success of social media campaigns.

He said that it’s very easy to track cause and effect digitally – and that metrics should always be tied to objectives but also recognise intangible and serendipitous benefits.

But Solis cautioned companies to get their online housekeeping in order to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns.

“We’ve one click to get it right. We’re taking people from a rich social experience to web sites that are stuck in the nineties,” he said.