Imagine driving down the street and seeing a billboard with a bar code on it, now imagine pulling out your phone and scanning that bar code like a candy bar at the grocery store, seconds later imagine pulling up the website of that billboard advertiser on your phone.
Now imagine advertising on a billboard with a bar code, imagine your best prospect driving by your billboard, whipping out his phone and scanning your code and immediately visiting your website where you give him a clear call to action.
Now imagine your bank account full of money from a successful marketing campaign! Ahhhh so good. Well let’s cut to the chase here… you don’t need to imagine it… it’s real, it’s possible, it’s doable.
We live in an era of instant gratification and we long for quick response. Being able to figure out what you need when you need it, being able to access it when you’d like to and how you’d like to is a must. It’s your responsibility as a business owner to supply your services and message in whichever way your clients and prospects demands it.
You know the bar code I mentioned in the paragraphs above? Well, it’s called a QR code – QR refers to ”Quick Response”, as it allows its contents to be decoded at high speed. Anyone with a camera phone can scan such codes and access it’s contents.
There are many applications for the codes, especially as companies look to make offline mediums more integrated with online efforts. Promote the code in offline mediums like magazines, outdoor, point of purchase, on signs, buses, business cards or just about any object that users might need information about! So cool!
To read the code, users must have a QR Code reader installed. The most compatible reader for mobile phones is provided by BeeTagg. Open a browser on your phone and go to http://get.beetagg.com and download the reader.
When you see a code open the BeeTag Reader and scan the image of the QR Code and unlock its meaning. This causes the phone’s browser to launch and redirect to the programmed URL, or to display any copy embedded in the code. This act of linking from physical world objects is known as a “hardlink” or “physical world hyperlinks.”
So, why wouldn’t you just state the URL in your promotion? A fair question. First, many URLs can be lengthy and impossible to remember, especially if part of a promotion with a landing page. It also requires the user can remember the URL with all of its words, punctuation, etc. A QR Code removes that room for error.
Secondly, it’s fun. Users view the QR Code as a game – a very high-tech, cool, cutting-edge game. It’s a mystery – the code could reveal anything. Cracking the code is fun and exciting and a great way to bring the interactivity of the web to your offline efforts.
Why not start a trend by dropping QR Codes into your business card or print advertisements. At the very least, people will ask what it is, inviting you to explain this new(-ish) technology and your company.
Try it out! Download the reader, take a picture of the code below, and see where it takes you!
