Contractors in marketing should use a combination of search and social media platforms, one expert has said.

Andrew Girdwood, head of strategy at bigmouthmedia, said that when it comes to advertising, social media should be integrated with search.

He explained that when it comes to search engines, people go with the intention of looking for one specific thing, whereas web users choose to use social media which suggests products to them.

"That's the main strategic difference between a Promoted Tweet and a promotion on Google. But then you've got something like YouTube, which again is more attention media - people happily go to YouTube to pass time and see what suggests itself," he added.

Meanwhile, research by several communications agencies, found that older digital marketing methods such as search engine optimisation and pay-per-click advertising are still seen as more effective than social media, when it comes to brand building and driving sales leads.