What are QR codes and do people know how to use them? Can people really be bothered in using them? QR codes have been around for a while but they are only becoming popular now. QR codes are often used by billboard advertising and magazines.
If you are considering to integrate your digital marketing with your offline marketing strategy, QR codes can come in handy. The nice thing about using QR codes is the power that you can direct someone to any part of your website. If you have a long URL on your website that points to a specific service or product, by using a QR code for the URL, you can direct them straight to that page without having them to enter the URL on their browser.
The only problem with using QR codes in a marketing strategy is to make them stand out as they are quite dull to look at. In my opinion, they look quite ugly on an advert but some brands have pushed the boundaries to create interactive, creative and engaging strategies in using QR codes.
How to create a QR code?
It is very easy to create a QR code. The easiest method that I have found so far is that if you visit the Google link shortener – Goo.gl and you shorten a URL, add the .qr at the end of the URL and voilla – a new QR code is created. Have a look at the featured image of this post where I have added the Goo.gl URL shortner to create the QR code for my blog.
Using QR codes with social media
Directing users to your Web 2.0 profiles such as Twitter and Facebook enhances the exposure of your brand and company. Brands all over the world are directing users to their social media profiles and this is now seen as a core part of their digital marketing strategy. Why not integrate this strategy with QR codes to help these users get to your social media profiles faster?
There’s a 30% overhead error correction built into QR codes, so you can actually embed some art to make it look a bit better
http://contentdeveloper.com/2010/01/how-to-customize-qr-codes-with-your-brands-identity/
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Jacques
I attended a workshop at the APC in Nashville, TN earlier this month. This information was just the tip of the iceberg in what was disclosed during that hour and a half. I noticed in a photo of the presidential candidate Cain, that he had one on the side of his campaign bus. He is a smart business man and is on top of this trend. It is certainly the choice of media for the mobile youth of today and the older generation needs to get onboard or get left behind. Thanks for your post!
Thanks Walt
More creative QR codes http://mashable.com/2011/07/23/creative-qr-codes/
Thanks Jacques. I saw that post on Mashable and I’m starting to implement them on a couple of my SMM strategies. Will be posting a followup post in the next few weeks.