Social media has become one of the best marketing tools for businesses of all sizes. While Facebook is definitely the most popular network, the other networks that connect with it like Instagram are equally powerful. Instagram for example, is perfect for creating visual content that you can share on other platforms or even your website.

Here are three ways your company can leverage Instagram for better marketing.

1. Post at the most opportune time
Many social media platforms like Facebook, have a strategic time for you to post content in order to have a higher chance of getting your name and content in front of users. But with Instagram, the time is actually different.

Because Instagram is largely mobile based, users tend to be accessing the platform at nearly all hours. One would think that if users access the platform mainly from their mobile devices, optimal time to post content would be after working hours. But, most people use their phones throughout the day, so there really is no major difference; users are online at all hours.

Therefore, the best time to post is almost any time. This means you need to figure out when the best time to post is for your company. Try picking a time when you think your audience will be looking at their devices and post then. Keep track of how many shares, likes and comments you get. Be sure to do this for a few weeks, then try another time. Over time, you should find when you get the most interaction, which becomes the best time to post.

Also looking at your industry could help. If you are a restaurant who is only open for dinner, posting pictures in the evening may not be the best. Instead post in the afternoon, before you open.

2. Hashtag it!
Like Twitter and now Facebook, Instagram supports hashtags. By adding one in front of the terms in the image or video’s description, you will make your post searchable and could increase the chances others will see it. Unlike the other networks however, numerous hashtags could actually increase interactions.

That being said, not every word should have a hashtag. Instead, hashtag words related to the image or video and try to integrate them seamlessly into the description. By putting all of the tags at the bottom or first, you could risk driving users away, largely because they are jumbled.

3. Videos or photos?
Instagram recently introduced videos, which have proven to be useful for many marketers. While this is still a new feature, the bigger companies are using it while the smaller ones haven’t begun to adopt it.

If you can find a use for your 15 second videos, for example how to use your product, you could see an increase in traffic and interactions. Because you can also upload or link these to your Facebook and even your website, Instagram could turn out to be a valuable tool for short video promotions.

Of course, you can do this with photos as well, so be sure to try incorporate both features. There are also numerous filters you can apply to both your videos and photos, so be sure to look through them all to see what makes your content look the best.

If you are looking to learn more about Instagram and how it can help with your social media and marketing presence, please contact us today.

Digital technology has advanced at an astounding pace; we now have computers that fit into a small device we can hold in our hands. Looking at this, it’s kind of a shame to realize that we still rely on cords to charge devices and transfer data. If you have an Android tablet, there’s an app that lets you send files from your PC to your tablet without a cord.

To wirelessly share files from your PC to your Android tablet without a cord, you can use the ES File Explorer File Management – available for free on the Google Play Store. This app does a lot more than allow you to share files from your PC, in fact it’s main purpose is to access and maintain files on an Android device. There is a feature of this app which allows users to access files shared on their computer of a LAN – Local Area Network.

Here’s how you can set this up: Note: The following steps are for computers running Windows 7.

Set up both devices

1. Download and install the app on your Android tablet. It can be downloaded from here.
2. Start the app on your device and go through the overview and brief tutorial.
3. Navigate to the folder on your computer you would like to share with your device. You can also create a new folder on the desktop for files you want to access on your device.
4. Right-click on the folder and select Add a network location.
5. Click Next and a screen will display your computer’s IP address which you can jot down. If your computer is the only one on the network, there’s no need to do this, but if you have more than one, it’s a good idea to write this address down. It should look something like 192.168.1.107 – the IP will differ, depending on the network.
6. Set a Username and Password when you’re given the option. Then click Finish. Note, if you don’t set a username and password, anyone connected to the network will be able to access the folder.

Connect your Android device

1. Connect your Android device to the same Wi-Fi network the computer is connected to.
2. Select LAN in ES File Explorer on your Android device. It can be found by pressing the downward pointing blue arrow in the top-left side of the app.
3. Press Search on the app. It will search and display a list of devices currently connected to the LAN.
4. Tap the computer icon with the IP address that matches the one you jotted down above.
5. Enter the username and password you established earlier and select Connect.

Using ES to transfer/view files
After you have connected, you can tap on the icon again and you will be able to see the folder(s) you selected to share. To copy a file from your computer to your device:

1. Tap and hold the file for a second or two to get a list of options.
2. Press Copy to copy the file.
3. Navigate to /sdcard/ – by flicking to the left/right on your device.
4. Select the folder where you would like to place the file, and press and hold for a second until the menu comes up.
5. Press Paste.

If you want to move a file from your Android tablet to your computer, you can navigate to it’s location on the /sdcard/ section, then press and hold to select Copy and navigate to the LAN section. Select the folder, long-pressing on it and finally pick Paste.

There are many different apps out there that can help you integrate your Android tablet to your office. If you do choose to follow this method you should be aware that it may not be the most secure way to transfer files. It would be a good idea to contact us before you try this at the office, as we may have a solution for you that could make things even easier.