QR Codes: Bridging the Gap between Online and Offline Advertising

Over the last few years you may have seen the proliferation of funny-looking boxes on print media that look like scrambled bar codes but don’t quite look like they could represent anything logical. If you have, then you’ve been looking at QR codes. These ‘quick response codes’ are all the rage today - and with good reason, too: they are probably the most convenient interface between offline (such as print) media and the online world of web advertising.

How Versatile are QR Codes?

These QR codes are easy to generate, but they have one major drawback: they need to lead to a website landing page that is compatible with the smartphones on which they’re being viewed. The way they work is simple, too. The phone needs to have a camera and a QR conversion application, which is available for free on most mobile operating systems. When you take a snapshot of a QR code – and the best part is, it can be on practically any surface, such as a t-shirt, a coffee mug, a newspaper, a magazine or even on a wall – and the application converts that into - and this is the important part – an actionable object on your smartphone. It could be a text message or a mobile website, but the important part is that it encourages the user to take action on the object. This is why it is called a ‘quick response’ code.

Are they Effective?

The advantage of using QR codes is obvious – it gets your message to your target audience in the fraction of the time that other media or web advertising methods can. In that sense, it is the nexus between print and web media. Now, consider what you can do with a tool like that for your company website and the tremendous opportunity is equally obvious. Here is a virtually untapped resource, leading people directly to your website by using the power of visual content in a mass medium that has been around for centuries. What better way to put it than to say that QR codes are truly the bridge between print media and web advertising?

Go Mobile for QR

Now you know the power of QR codes, the next step would be to go mobile Optimize your website so people arriving at the landing page

aren’t frustrated by load times, alignment and other issues that put people off visiting regular websites on their smartphones. With stats leaning heavily against websites that don’t have mobile versions, this is something you cannot afford to ignore. QR codes are what empower people to take action - and if that action is favorable to your business, wouldn’t you want to be in on the game?

http://www.mobileoptimizenow.com