Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+… the social media list goes on. As a business, you should be engaging in as many of these networks as you possibly can find time for. Why? Well, just because you’re not on social media doesn’t mean your clients (and potential clients) also aren’t.

We can tell you now even if you think clients aren’t looking for you on social media, they are! If you don’t have an online presence, which extends past your website to social media, you are invisible to a very, very large audience.

You really need to tap into this audience and engage with them. It’s not necessarily all about selling either – it’s about brand awareness and building relationships with your customers. Social media is all about connecting, and for your business, connecting with existing clients and reaching new ones is invaluable.

Social media is the strongest free marketing tool available, the possibilities are endless and everyday there are new advancements.

You don’t have to be technologically gifted to take advantage, you just have to make the time to do it and make it compelling enough for your followers to not only read, but engage with the material you’re putting out.

A recent advancement in the world of social media comes from enormously popular photo application Instagram. Approximately 16 billion photos are shared daily on Instagram – to put that into perspective, as of 2012 the World Bank reported the world’s population to be at just over 7 billion. That’s equates to more than two photos a day, per person, in the whole world.

Does your business have an Instagram account? You might want to consider it – out of the billions of images uploaded; some of them could be of your coffee, shoes, shop front… Are you connecting with the consumer audience? Visuals are powerful, but what is more powerful is seeing how your consumers see you!

In July, Instagram announced that you can now embed Instagram photos and videos on your website, Facebook, blog, in an article…etc. They released their embed code to the public, so anyone can now grab Instagram photos and videos and use the content elsewhere.

If your Instagram profile is on private, no one can embed your content elsewhere, if it’s not set to private, anyone can embed your content, not just you.

This has advantages for businesses by making it easier to cross-promote between your social media platforms. Why should you cross-promote? To reach a larger audience!

If you see your social media accounts as being separate entities – and you never link between them – you are potentially losing new clients.

It’s not about ‘being everywhere’ (although that’s not necessarily a bad thing); it’s about reaching friends of friends who are potentially interested in your products or services. Some people actively use Facebook more, others use Instagram, and others Twitter. If you’re using all of them and linking between them, you’re giving your business the best possible chance of reaching a bigger audience and building your brand awareness even further.

To grab an Instagram photo or video and paste it into your website/blog/Facebook page, etc. click on the new button which is located under the comments button. Click ‘embed’ and then copy and paste the code where you want to publish it.

The embedded photos will include all comments, likes and tags and will update with any new activity!

Your embedded photo or video appears with your Instagram username, and clicking on the Instagram logo will take people to your page on Instagram.com where they can see more of your photos and videos and potentially choose to follow your account.

Why not try the new embed code today and promote your businesses Instagram account on your blog or Facebook page? Take a picture of your shop, logo, website, something interesting, and let people know how integrated you are!

Read the Instagram announcement here.

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