How Important are Social Media Backlinks?

I talked with my mentor who does coaching for local SEO consultants. He gave us a whole speech on how ever since Hummingbird update, Facebook and Twitter backlinks are having a growing importance on rankings.
I see a lot of people obsessing over PR this, PR that, but make sure at least 5% of your backlinks come from social media; especially Facebook and Twitter.
Tumblr is 3rd in importance.

How have you used social media in your backlinks?

 

Get a new mentor. They talking rubbish.

 

I don't consider social media as a backlinker because I use them for establishing my websites for the target members by providing them new and interesting features from my site.

 

You can create back links from Social Media Networks, but I wouldn't completely rely on them being your only source of back links.
I do use Social Media Networks to help supply content and traffic.

 

I think you change your mentor because they don't know about social media and backlinks

 

Social media only for Reputation on online.

 

Social media links are good for traffic and whatever brings traffic to your site is good idea. They indirectly helps organic ranks as well.

 

Please explain. Are you implying social signals are not important?

 

Social signal is important but high pr authority back link is more important than social signal.Like create a Signature in digital forum is more important than social i think.

 

Didn't say that. Read what the mentor allegedly said about the "hummingbird" update --

 

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As others have said, social signals are used for traffic, however, that does not
mean you will not pick up some backlinks along the way, and only think of google
traffic as a plus, and not rely on google to feed you, and that simply means use
social signals, and other link building sources to pick up more backlinks....

Social signals = fast traffic, less backlinks
Link building = slow links, and slow growth
In order to grow a site with links, then you should use
quality link builders, and use caution, if you end up doing
too much, then google will smell your fear in the wind...
growing any site with SEO should be natural, and slow.
(and it will be...)

and pray to google god that they continue to send
free traffic too, with google, it may not be forever...

There is no such thing "fast road to riches..."
google will smell what you are doing, then
you can kiss your serps google...

Do not be in a hurry, allow your website
to grow as google has commanded you...

Unless you get a million legit visitors,
then google can kiss your A%^

and do not waste your time using duplicate content, or thus
stealing it from other sites, unless you are friends with google,
your site will sooner or later be found, and deindexed, penalized, etc..

by doing so, you will just have wasted your efforts of getting ahead,
just ask those that are not only behind, but deindexed as well...