A Triple QR Code Post

Hello!

A while back I posted about what exactly QR codes were and how to use them – I was thinking more about them the other day and how to use them in marketing endeavours for my clients and for my business, so I thought I’d repost. Sure enough yesterday morning I came across a post on QR codes on Rebecca Coleman‘s blog, and that night a piece in the Globe and Mail.

I think we`re now at the point where QR codes are ubiquitous – more than enough companies are using them so that they are no longer mysterious. So let`s get on with it.

I present to you – a lot of information on QR Codes.

What’s a QR Code?

What’s a QR Code – Part Two

How to Use QR Codes

Ten Steps for a Successful QR Code Campaign

 

Sunday Roundup – August 14

Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

What’s a QR Code?  – First in a series of marketing posts, as per a request from the survey. I’ll try to do more of these than I have been – you like them and it’s good for me too.

What’s a QR Code, Part Two – pretty self-explanatory. I got good results with these posts. Am glad.

There Will be No Cooking Posts, Part One – in all honesty, I have no idea why I labelled this Part One. That infers there will be more parts. We’ll see. On that note I did make awesome peach bourbon tarts yesterday – always fun to cook with Wild Turkey at seven in the morning. Found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen, which is another good recipe blog. Oh and another good book I forgot to mention on the topics is The Art of Eating In. That links to the blog that inspired the book.

PSA #2 – writing, drawing, looking, listening – a lot of interesting opportunities on the radar this week so thought I’d share. Also posted permanently in the PSA/What’s On? section of the website.

That’s the week in a nutshell.

Lockout at the St. Lawrence Centre.  Here’s why. I hope things are resolved soon, and as satisfactorily as possible for all concerned.

What’s a QR Code? Part Two

So yesterday I talked a bit about QR codes, what they are, where we’re seeing them, and posted a handy infograph from mashable to explain what folks seem to be doing with them.

So what can you do with them?

I look at QR codes as a way to get even more info on to your poster or flyer. Hard copy collateral holds a certain amount of information (both sides) but a QR code allows you to bring your audience even further into the project.

I wrote about one of the best QR code non-marketing uses I’ve seen. Good read, good use, good art.

Okay. So the most basic use is to send people to your website. Backing  up a bit – does your audience know what a QR code is and how to use one? A bit of knowledge goes a long way.

I hope we’ll be seeing this a lot in the future

 

 

 

similar to the way the image below became ubiquitous.

 

 

 

Hand people the tools they need at the moment they need them.

 

So you could send them to your website. Fair enough, here we go:

 

 

You’re now at the homepage of sueedworthy.ca. So?

 

 

 

 

Maybe I should have been more specific – brought you to something new I wanted you to see.

 

You’re now on the new blog page. See where I’m going? Direct them specifically to something you want them to see. Why did I want you to see this? Because in the survey, it was a hands down fact that most of you were here to read the day’s blog post. The last layout wasn’t very laid out – so I’ve got a new design that allows you to see multiple posts with a little less searching. I thought it might make it easier for you to read and search previous articles. That’s right – something else I played with. You bet I read your survey comments.

 

 

Other uses? If you’re in the middle of a fundraising campaign, a QR code directly to your on-line donation page is handy. If you want traffic to a specific production, send them to that page. An audience member should never scan a QR code only to ask, “why am I here?”

My favourite use thus far is the QR coupon. Five bucks off the show. Scan the code, be taken to a page with a coupon code. Dead easy. And TRACKABLE. Because now not only can you tell who got a coupon, but where they got it from many places – put your QR codes in very specific places so you can determine which of your advertising efforts worked. Maybe there’s a split run of flyers and posters and you track where you put the coded ones. Maybe the code only goes in every second ad in the paper. Maybe you send it only to donors and subscribers first, then branch it out as you see how it’s working. I am a firm believer (data geek, stats slut, whatever) in knowing exactly how my marketing is working. QR codes are an amazing way to track. And yes – “nobody used it” is a tracking statement.

I’d like to see them in print newsletters, “scan here to read more“.  I’d like to see them added to/in place of the teasers on envelopes. I’d like to see blurbs on your sites letting people know you’re going to start using them, and what they can expect.

 

And honestly? Make it an actual rewarded effort. A straight up one. Make them part of the QR club – they got something good for a little effort. A call to action that is rewarded is a call to action that will be heeded again.

Remember this? Not a reward.

 

 

What’s a QR Code?

More and more organizations are starting to use QR codes in their promo materials. QR codes, or quick response codes, is a type of 2D bar code that can be decoded using your smartphone with a QR code reader.    recently, we’ve seen QR codes show up on marketing materials such as  posters, promotional posters for various products, billboards and flyers, among other things.  These have also been seen on newspaper ads, business cards, artwork, and other everyday things.

But do they really work – and when? Or why? Found a great infograph on the mashable site (another site I love)  – it’s pasted below, but click on it to see the information in greater detail.

Are you using QR codes? How? Aer they working? Are you tracking your results? Love to hear more – I’ll be talking more about QR code uses in tomorrow’s post.