Digital Marketing Agency | Barracuda Digital

Ever seen a Quick Response (QR) Code on a magazine ad? They look like this:

These are basically paper-based hyperlinks. You take a photo of them with your smartphone  QR Reader App and you are redirected to a website. The website can contain more information about a product or offer. QR codes are a great call to action for print ads. And they are a great step forward in connecting your print and online marketing campaigns.

QR codes can link to any of the following:

*Contact information
*A website where users can get more information, detail and reviews about a product,
*A physical address on a Google Map
*An app within either iTunes or Andriod
*A YouTube video
*A phone number which can be called directly from the phone
*A URL or including a company fan page
*An RSS feed
*An event which can schedule with your phone’s calendar

So when should you be using a QR code?

*On your business card. To save recipients typing your web addres into their phone’s browser, include a QR code that allows them to connect with your website, shows them where you are on the map; and allows them to call you.
*On your print ads. Give each of your print ads a different QR code, and link these to different URLs that include appended tracking strings. This is a real step forward in working out response levels from print ads.
*On reciepts. Encourage repeat purchasing by including a QR code on your reciepts. They’re a low cost addition that will intrigue your customers and get them coming back to your store – or your website.
*On your email marketing. I know we’ve talked about print here, but why not test this on your emails? It gives your email standout and users will enjoy the novelty of interactiing with you in a new way, especially if they get access t exclusive offers and discounts.
*Quizes. One of the biggest challenges with quizzes is to get people to take part. If you ask your users to take a photo of the QR code by the correct answer, uptake will be boosted.
*On Twitter. Get your users re-engaged with your brand by tweeting a link to your QR code. Users can follow the trail of Tweet to link to landing page to QR code and then back to website and be rewarded by their efforts with an exclusive discount.
*On Menus. Allow customers to read more about a menu item including nutrition, origin and so forth, without cluttering the design of the original document.

Try it out

You can generate your own QR codes for free. Here’s a few websites where you can do that.

http://www.qrstuff.com/

http://invx.com/

That’s it for now

QR codes are an effective link between your online and offline activity. They are an easy way to engage with customers and give them more information about a product, or reward them with exclusive offers. If you want Barracuda Digital to help set up a QR campaign then get in touch. Otherwise that’s it…. or is it:

So you gave our QR code a try and here you are, recipient of a £50 AdWords voucher! Contact your account manager to have this placed against your account.