The Do’s, Don’ts, and I Can’t Believe They Did That’s of QR Codes | Business 2 Community

Maybe it’s just me, but putting QR codes on rooftops could be the silliest idea ever.

Apparently, the point is to get free advertising through Google Maps. In other words, if someone is viewing your building on Google Maps using the Earth View, they’ll see your QR code and scan it.

The logic behind it is that Google Earth has been downloaded 1 billion times, so there’s a huge audience. What’s even funnier about this idea: It takes a year for your QR code to show up on Google Earth. So stay patient.

Other really silly uses of QR codes that give what could be a useful content marketing tool a bad rap:

- What incentive is there for me to scan the QR code? None. I did for the heck of it, and it sent me to a mobile version of the website. But there was no promotion or special offer/incentive for my effort, beyond the normal promotion on the website.

- What do all of these bad uses of QR codes have in common? They all do not consider where people will be scanning the code, and, worst of all, they do not provide value for the effort.

Give people value.

Content marketing is all about giving people content that will benefit them in some way. So don’t ask people to scan your code, only to have them end up on your website. Where people end up not only should be optimized for mobile, it should also provide value.

The Do’s, Don’ts, and I Can’t Believe They Did That’s of QR Codes Business 2 Community