As QR Codes become increasingly more abundant. They are not only used in the advertising marketplace but many other places also. When used in advertising it is important to make sure to utilize best practices. Here are some best practices for how to advertise using QR codes. These tips will help you keep your ads effective and engaging.
What to consider if you want to adhere to Best Practices for how to advertise using QR codes
Size
The longer your url is, the more difficult the code is to scan. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that your code is at least 1” X 1”. If the code is still not easily scanning at this size, try using a URL shortener like bit.ly or goo.gl.
Track your codes
Before you shorten your url, why not add tracking to it? Set up a custom url in Google Analytics. This way you can see how many people are scanning the code. If you are unable to set up a custom url, sign up for an account with bit.ly to create your codes. Your bit.ly account will track some basic but very useful information. This includes clicks and referring sites. This way you can see how often your code is being scanned.
Call to action
Make sure you include a message with each QR code. One that tells why they should scan. Here are a few examples of good QR call to actions. “Watch a behind-the-scenes video on your phone, scan here.” Or “Use your smartphone’s QR reader to scan and sign up for our free contest!”
Longevity
If you want your QR code to be effective for any amount of time, make sure that you are linking to a page that is going to be online. If someone comes across your QR code a few months after your campaign, the same page should still be available. For recruitment, QR codes can send readers to a job description. When doing this it is important to make sure that once the job is filled that you redirect the page to your careers home page instead of deleting it.
Make it Mobile friendly
Make sure the page you are linking to is mobile-friendly. Since readers will be scanning the code with their phones, make sure the page you are sending them to is optimized for small screens. Additionally you will need to test that the navigation still works, and page load times are not too long.
Stand out
Make sure you do something creative and memorable with your QR code. The reader took an extra step to scan your code with his or her phone because they are interested in what you have to say. Engage, entertain or inform them. And take advantage of receiving this attention with some creativity that they will remember and share.
Test your codes!
Make sure it sends people where you were expecting. Remember mistakes happen. and you want to make sure that before you submit a QR code to be included in your advertisement that it is working exactly how you expect.
For more information on how to follow best practices when using QR codes please see this additional post