Getting Smart About #QR Codes

While Matus acknowledges that QR codes are still relatively unknown, he says that will change quickly if marketers get creative with where they send people once they scan. Too often, he said, businesses use a code to send someone to a homepage. That is a mistake.

“Have you seen what those websites look like on mobile phones?” he asked. The answer, of course, is not good. And they also take forever to load. Give a person one bad experience with a QR code and you’re going to have a very hard time getting them to try it again.

That’s why Matus is a proponent of using the codes to link to videos. Clips hosted on YouTube are mobile ready, so your user is guaranteed to have a positive experience.

But if you don’t have the budget to work with an outside video producer, like MetroWest and Tufts did, you don’t have to give up. Video cameras are pretty cheap, and a quick clip of your CEO talking about your company’s mission might just do the trick. If not, Matus says marketers should focus on providing information. For a restaurant, that may be as simple as linking a QR Code to a list of the day’s specials.

The other key to making QR codes work, according to Matus, is placement and frequency. Make sure the QR code is obvious in your ad and use it over and over again in a million different places. Eventually, you’ll peak the consumer’s curiosity. It’s also important to give people instructions. Tell them what the code is, how to scan it and if they need to use a specific reader.

QR codes have a lot of potential, but it will take a lot of education for that potential to be realized. Read More