By Julie Larson
How to Stop Wasting Money on Advertising by Including QR Codes in Your Marketing Strategy
Unless you own a company like Apple where your logo is instantly recognized, you probably wouldn’t dream of leaving the name of your website off your business card or other marketing pieces. Well, with the advent of the SoLoMo (social, local and mobile) Marketing Age, having a QR code on your business card and other marketing materials is every bit as important as – if not, more important than – including your website and contact info! To understand the importance of QR codes and how they can impact your business, you first need an understanding of QR codes.
QR codes are a perfect opportunity to bring life to your offline printed ads by linking them online and (if done correctly) engaging consumers. QR codes are not just about getting the smart phone user to scan your code. They are about getting that same user to scan your code and giving them a good user experience. Reward that user for scanning your code by taking them to something of value. A good option is using a dynamic QR code to send them to a user friendly mobile landing page where they have choices. You might include a button to a video demonstrating your product or service. A button to download a coupon. Maybe they were looking for specific product information. If that’s the case, include a button to your product ingredients or specifications. Include a button to your mobile formatted website and a contact button. If your product or service is something that can be purchased online, by all means, include a “Buy Now” button! Make it easy for the mobile user to engage and do what it is they scanned your code for in the first place.
How can using QR codes save money?
Getting back to the original interest of saving money on advertising by including QR codes in your marketing strategy. There are different types of QR codes. You can learn more about dynamic vs static QR codes. When printing any marketing materials, be it print ads, car wraps, business cards, flyers, etc, controlling where that code takes the user is paramount. Static codes don’t give you the flexibility to edit and make changes. With dynamic QR codes you can change where the code links without disrupting the actual code. When printing QR codes, in most cases, you would be smart to use a dynamic code so if you need to change or edit your links, you don’t have to go to the expense of reprinting your marketing pieces.
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This QR Diva was pleasantly surprised to see a nice big, bold QR code on the tailgate of this truck while driving in Sarasota today. Luckily I was able to catch up with them at a stop light and snap this photo as well as scan the code. Since it was a big QR code, I was able to easily scan it from my car. When the light turned green I pulled over into a parking lot to see that the code had taken me to the SRQ Marine website. In this case it was not a mobile website and I would definitely make that suggestion to them, but I do commend SRQ Marine for including QR codes in their marketing efforts!
