As one of the most prominent social networks, Instagram is at the top of every digital marketer’s mind. If this rings true for you, we’ve listed a few of the top tools and hacks to start using. Check them out below:

Host An Event

If you’re going to gain prominence on Instagram, sometimes you have to step outside what you can do on the platform. A solid first step is hosting a public event. This doesn’t mean throwing a large-scale concert or parade; just using your office as a community space can go a long way on Instagram. As noted by SplashThat, 69 percent of b2b marketers consider in-person events an effective means of marketing, which makes sense. People not only feel included but can also put a face to a name. If you’ve been looking at what you can do outside Instagram, this is the perfect solution.

Come up with a few events you can do solo or partner with someone to get the ball rolling on community engagement. This could include a speaker series, happy hour, networking event, or a product showcase. When you do get the ball rolling, make sure to market this on Instagram by including tagging, creating pre-event materials, doing live event coverage, and recapping after the event.

Hashtags For Likes

A more predictable tool than an event, Hashtags for Likes is one of the most prominent Instagram tools for gaining engagement. According to Brand24, posts with hashtags receive 12.6 percent more engagement, so it’s easy to see why utilising the right strategy can pay off. However, a big part of this is utilising hashtags that are going to give you ROI–which is exactly what Hashtags for Likes can do.

With an intuitive and easy-to-use platform, Hashtags for Likes is one of the best aggregators of hashtag information. A platform used by brands big and small, this is definitely one to throw in the mix to give yourself the best chance of increasing visibility in the right market. No matter how long you’ve been managing your brand’s Instagram account, we can’t recommend Hashtags for Likes enough for that extra boost.

Bringing On An Influencer Campaign

We’ve all heard about the success of influencer campaigns on Instagram, but actually going through and running the numbers is an entirely different beast. On average, an influencer campaign brings $6.50 for every dollar spent; however, there are several factors involved. For example, some influencers charge solely based on their follower count (for example, every 10,000 followers is $100), while some are able to charge more because of their local influence. Looking into how you can strategise an influencer campaign can be quite advantageous.

In looking for an influencer, decide what type of market you’d like to tap. Some niche businesses have a limited scope with the type of influencer they can pursue (for example, there’s a limited number of fishing influencers versus contemporary fashion ones). Determine the quality of their followers and the average ROI. It’s also not a bad idea to ask the influencer what results they’ve seen in terms of response and average revenues from campaigns. Even if they don’t have this information off the top, the ultimate goal for any influencer campaign is finding someone you think represents your brand well and gives what you consider a satisfying return.

VSCO

A core component of Instagram is visual consistency. Not only will this help with keeping the identity of your brand, but it will also signal people to associate different colours with your aesthetic. As noted by Zimmer Communications, colour increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent, which means that if your brand maintains a colour scheme, it could help you to grow on Instagram. The best Instagram tools teach you visual tricks and cues to help you keep it consistent.

VSCO is a filter and photo editing app. Lauded for its simplicity and functionality, VSCO makes it easy to save preset filters as well as create and save your own adjustments. Considered one of the best photo editing apps, check out VSCO if you’re looking for a solution to keeping your visuals consistent.

Linkin.bio

Linkin.bio might be the most common call-to-action on Instagram, which is why the team over at Later created Linkin.bio–a solution that does exactly what it says. By utilising a tile format that mirrors an Instagram page, users have found it useful to link to outside content–a key part of any social media plan. The other half of the equation is knowing the best time to reach your base. SproutSocial recommends Tuesday between 9 am and 6 pm. Whatever you end up choosing, Linkin.bio is an excellent tool to gain more traction with your posts.

What are some tools and tricks you use to boost your Instagram presence? Comment with your insights below!

Medical equipment is used in a number of different environments, including hospitals, hospices, ambulances and even in home care settings. Used by professionals and those who have been trained, the right medical equipment can quite literally be lifesaving. 

Whether it’s an emergency or a long-term illness, the use of medical equipment happens every day across the world.

One particularly important piece of medical equipment is a syringe driver, or syringe pump. They are used to gradually administer the right amount of fluids or medicine to a patient. Often used in the environments mentioned previously, they are designed to help safe and simple administration of medication, often amongst cancer patients. 

Important features of syringe drivers

Syringe drivers are used by the NHS and hospices around the UK. They are created with some highly beneficial features that make administrating medicine as straightforward as possible. They are often used to help manage pain, sickness or agitation.

Syringe drivers work by delivering the medicine at a constant rate. They can be used if patients find it difficult to take medicine orally, or if your symptoms simply can’t be managed with tablets or injections. Syringe drivers are also often used in the last weeks of life.

With that in mind, they are incredibly important in medicating patients and managing symptoms. Many syringe drivers are equipped with automatic calculation and volume detection features to make sure the medicine is administered correctly. A lot of them will also have an in-built computer and a display screen so you can see exactly what is being prescribed and if there are any problems with the driver itself.

The computer and screen may also allow you to view the infusion history and pump event log, which can be very helpful. Without the screen, which is powered by the battery, administrators could miss crucial data about the infusion and other related information.

Using the right battery

A syringe driver is powered by a battery, which allows the pump to work correctly and also mean that the driver is a portable device. The right battery for most syringe drivers is known as a 6LR61; a version of the 9V battery. It’s crucial to remember this when replacing the battery, as there is also a 9V 6LP3146 battery which is bigger and won’t fit in the device.

6LR61 batteries are made of 6 x LR61 (AAAA) cylindrical cells, which allow the battery casing to wrap tighter around the construction. Being slightly smaller, the 6LR61 battery fits in the syringe driver compartment without getting stuck. The recommended battery for use is the Duracell Ultra 6LR61.

Architecture is an exciting field to be in because; it’s never static, it is always changing, and adjusting to whatever technological innovation is available during each era. You only have to take a brief walk through architecture’s history to see this in action. Take the case of the construction drawings which evolved from etchings in stone walls as evident in the temple of Apollo in Didyma to it being digitised and stored through a drawing management software for construction.

The way our houses were built also changed throughout the ages – from dwellings built from mud, wood, clay to modern houses and skyscrapers made from a combination of metal, bricks, and concrete.

But technology does not stop there; it is constantly evolving, and the field of Architecture is changing with it. Let’s take a look at the new technological innovation this 2019 that has the potential of changing architecture as we know it today.

New Material Innovations

New material innovations will change the way our structures which include commercial buildings, roads, and our houses. Below are some cutting edge materials; some still in the development stage, and some already available out in the market.

• ALON ( Transparent Aluminium)

If you are a fan of Star Trek; you’ll be familiar with Transparent Aluminium since this is the material that’s used to build the starship’s windows and portals. Today, it is a reality. Transparent aluminium, which is marketed under the name of ALON and sold by Sumet, is not metal; it is a form of ceramic.

ALON is incredibly hard ( scoring a 7.7 in the Moh’s hardness scale) and is bullet resistant.

• Graphene Bricks

If the word graphene seems vaguely familiar to you, it’s probably because it has the same composition as graphite or lead in your pencil. The difference lies in the atomic level, in how the carbon atom matrix is arranged. Graphene’s atoms are organised in what is termed as a single layer hexagonal matrix. It is in this matrix that makes graphene the lightest yet the strongest material on Earth.

Nanoscience professor, Monica Craciun, at the University of Exeter is experimenting with graphene by suspending it in water and using the liquid as a main ingredient to make concrete blocks. Tests that were made have shown that this material is stronger, more elastic, and more water resistant than regular concrete.

This material can change the way buildings are built in the future because structures can be built using half of the material needed and the buildings last longer to those made out of concrete.

• Self Healing Concrete

Self-healing concrete can repair micro cracks by itself. The technique was first discovered by a Henrik Jonkers, a Dutch microbiologist, when he added limestone (calcium carbonate) producing organisms to a concrete matrix. From this initial finding researchers and engineers have found new and better ways for concrete to self -heal; some of which are as follows:

• By Adding Hydrogels and Superabsorbent Polymers. The hydrogel is placed in a capsule, and when cracks happen, the capsule is exposed to moisture in the air and swells. The swell seals the crack and is followed by other chemical reactions that will fix the crack.
• Autogenous Healing or the ‘healing’ with the help of moisture. This is done by adding microfibers and dehydrated cement in the concrete matrix.
• The addition of organisms that produce calcium carbonate. By encapsulating these organisms, and adding them to the concrete mix; it allows them to heal the crack when the capsule is exposed to moisture in the air. Once water is introduced, these organisms will start to produce calcium carbonate and start the process of healing the crack.

Fairy Lights (Touchable Hologram) 

Fairy lights or touchable holograms was developed by a team led by Dr. Yoichi Ochiai from the Tsukuba University in Japan. To make it touchable, the research team used Femtosecond technology, derived from the same technology that bought about laser cataract surgery, to project 3D objects that can be controlled by touch.

The fairy light system emits a high-frequency laser in pulses that last one femtosecond, or a millionth of a billionth of a second. The holograms, described by people who have experienced it, are said to feel like sandpaper, while others likened it to a static shock.

Science fiction fans are particularly giddy about this technology because they think it’s a precursor to the realisation of the Holodeck – a part of the starship – where people can talk, touch, and interact with holograms. And, while this might sound a bit far-fetched for now, fairy lights have the possibility to change the way architects make and manage construction drawing. But at the very least, it can make for an incredibly amazing client presentation.

Robotics and 3D printing

3D printing, as a technology is not new, but with the addition of robotics; 3D printing is making it possible to print bigger life-size structures with new materials that were never thought of as being possible before.

Let’s take the example of 3D Metal Printing which was pioneered by a startup Dutch company under the name of MX3D.  The company developed a 3D printing method called WAAM (Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing) which ‘prints’ 3D structures made from metal (aluminum, bronze, Inconel) with the assistance of a 6-axis robot.

This company has printed out a 12 m long functional pedestrian steel bridge which is set to be installed in Oudezijds Achterburgwal Amsterdam sometime in 2019 bonus bez depozytu za rejestrację 2022. The metal printed bridge is now going through load tests which are conducted by the lead structural engineering firm, Arup. In addition to testing; the bridge is being equipped with sensors so that that it can gather data to be used to create the bridge’s digital twin which will eventually become the basis for the new design language that will run the new process.

Truly, it is an exciting time for Architecture given all the new technologies that are cropping up. And given the speed that these technologies are moving, we might just find ourselves passing through a metal printed bridge on the way to home to a house or building made from graphene.