The initial release of the Social Essentials tool only covers Facebook, but ComScore said subsequent versions will also look at other social media channels including Twitter.

The tool aims to allow marketers to quantify the impact of social media using traditional media-planning metrics including reach, frequency and GRPs, so that they can incorporate it into marketing mix measurement. It takes into account brand impressions initiated by the brand itself, by consumers or by paid third parties, and clients can look at the demographic composition of audiences and their levels of engagement with a brand.

Lisa Brende, director of marketing analytics for Bing & MSN at Microsoft, said the tool was “the first social marketing measurement capability we’ve seen that enables brands to understand social media impressions and the corresponding attributes and behaviours of those reached”.