By Simon Bream  for Imaginet

Read an interesting article today  entitled “Social Media May Soon Drive More Traffic to Your Website Than Search Engines” from http://m.entrepreneur.com/article/227178. The central point being made is:”  If your marketing strategy doesn’t have a serious social media component you should probably consider adding one. While most people in the U.S. still use traditional search engines such as Google to find what they’re looking for online, users — especially younger ones — are increasingly discovering websites by way of social networks”.

Social media or traditional search?

Simply put, the above  view is supported by a whole range of studies that place an increasing emphasis on the value and importance of social media in terms of search. However, there are just as many articles that refute this view and claim that  the furore about social media is more hype than reality. For sure, one can draw data from numerous sources on how traditional search is still predominant – just as one can find data that supports the opposing view that social search is becoming more popular. The reality lies, as usual, somewhere in-between. But what cannot be denied is that any marketing strategy that ignores social media and social networking is making a huge mistake. The value of social media has been shown time and again – here at Imaginet we have seen  how incoming traffic can been radically increased  through  working social networking sources.

So, is social  more more important for search?

The issue –  Will social media soon drive more traffic to your website than search engines – is one that is still to be  be determined; but what is very clear is that social media is becoming an increasingly important and valuable conduit of traffic sales and customer interaction – which, in our view, is sure to increase in the future.

View more insights into social media on our Imagi-nation blog