The typical measurement in PR circles — beyond height and good looks — has always been “impressions.” That’s historically been the way we in the agency world justify our existence to clients.

You land even a tiny mention in the New York Times Business Day section, and because circulation was 2 million — 2 million people saw and absorbed your client’s messaging.

Nonsense.

The dark little secret that we’ve always ignored is that NO ONE reads the entire paper. NO ONE reads every story or sees every ad. NO ONE.

Fast forward to today’s media market where most big agencies are having all of their senior people create unintentionally hilarious Facebook profiles (coat & tie sire!) and claiming expertise in social media.  The impressions are still a big piece of what’s being pitched to clients — not only in traditional media but in the blogosphere as well (where the linking and how a story spreads from blog to blog is really what matters).

But what’s really become the buzz of the sale in our Twitter-crazy world is “followers.” How many Twitter followers can we get? How many Facebook members can we sign up for a Fan Page.

The inexcusable Kim Kardashian has the most followers on her Twitter account as of this week with nearly 1.7 million followers. Delicious Pringles — fronted by a man with a stunning mustache — has more than 2.7 million fans on its Facebook Fan Page.

But what does this really mean? Does it equate to sales or the building of a brand?

Not if your not using the channels effectively — no.

And one way to ensure for the effective use of these channels is to gather qualified followers and fans. Yes, you can use services like Find Twits to add hundreds to the number of people you follow on Twitter each day with hopes they will follow you back. But really, “how much” is not the question. Sheer volume is not the answer.

The question you should be asking is “how qualified” are the fans and followers?

Because if there’s one certainty in business, it’s that quality will always be more valuable than quantity.