QR Code Marketing: 5 Tips for a Successful Campaign

Mobile barcodes are appearing everywhere - buses, magazines, television, bar coasters. According to a recent study by comScore, 14 million mobile phone users to scan U.S. QR barcode or only in June, mostly through newspapers, magazines and product packaging, both at home and in the store. My company's own data reveals that the bar codes that allow access to a discount or coupon or that allow consumers to know more about a product or service is the most popular. Given that mobile barcodes finally crack the public, have huge potential to present brands with brilliant results. Here are five practices best mobile bar code to help ensure a successful campaign.

1. Be everywhere

Mobile barcodes should be incorporated into all digital and traditional media, so that the consumer has 360 degrees of exposure to mobile marketing campaign. This will also ensure that the consumer experience, dialogue and interactivity is at the heart of the campaign and not just an afterthought.

2. Promote the value and make it easier

Gifts, discounts, free tickets and exclusive access to oblige consumers to interact and explore their code. If your code simply gives the customer the opportunity to see a TV ad or a link to a website, it is best to try again. Scanning a bar code must provide consumers a brand experience that is unique, dynamic and interactive.

Note that a bar code is moving in the ad. Consumers should be able to find easily and quickly scan. For outdoor ads, place the code in the eye or arm level. In a print advertisement, the barcode must not fall on a fold of which hinder the scan. Be sure to leave space around the barcode mobile and use a minimum of a print specification x 1 inches. For television or film, the code must remain on screen long enough for the viewer to start the scanning application and scan the code.

3. Keep it simple

QR codes or custom brand are definitely getting some noise, but it is also important to create a code everyone can recognize. The production code in a simple format of black and white pictures will increase the number of phones and code readers that can be analyzed. Also, be sure to use global standards, open (ie, Datamatrix) to maximize the scope of the universal client and impact.

4. Build client affinity

Remember that the consumer who just scanned your code is in motion. She is branded content on a mobile screen and therefore, expects immediate results. Make sure the bar code through links to a Web-enabled phones instead of a PC site design. Remember that the "dead links" (codes that go nowhere or give incorrect information) are the equivalent of a slam - consumers do not try again.

Matthias Galica, ShareSquare general manager, offers advice for marketers and brands using QR codes, and specifically highlights the evidence for the functionality of a bar code across a variety of scanning devices and applications before launching. It is important, especially because consumers scan codes are likely familiar with the technology and voice - the kind of consumers who want on your side.

5. Account the objectives and Analytics

Boost sales, increase customer engagement, build brand loyalty, educate your audience. Whatever the goal of the campaign, be sure to define your objectives before you integrate mobile barcode. Consider monitoring the campaign through a management platform barcode. Your company will be able to draw on the expertise of the supplier, to better assess the effectiveness of campaigns and evaluate their success in real time through analysis.

Mistakes To Avoid in Your QR Code Marketing

Consumers from QR codes are hitting hard this summer of American society. Despite the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats, many well-intentioned sellers are crippling their campaigns with simple errors. This is a big reason why QR codes still have a bad reputation for some people. QR codes themselves are fundamentally good or bad, are only a means to an end: a mechanism for distributing offline to online. This is what is beyond the code that usually determines whether the experience will delight or disappoint. Unfortunately, many traders of the early adopters are not fully versed in best practices and optimal use cases. Adventurer who is the consumer suffers from growing pains.

Mistake 1: No Test Code
Law of common sense? Until it is able to read a QR code by looking at it, you should always test trials with a variety of smart phones and scanning applications before releasing a campaign.

This is the easiest way to detect problems scanning. For example, placement of small (less than one inch) will often be too dense to consider whether a URL is encoded longer, but goo.gl bit.ly or to automatically generate a short URL QR code is an easy solution .

Since QR codes according to an Mistake correction rate of 30%, there is flexibility to make creative adjustments. However, if the designer accidentally went too far, the screening test is an easy way to be the hero of the office that day.

For example, the picture above is taken from "15 beautiful and creative QR codes. "Although visually interesting, I'm pretty sure this is not scanable.

Mistake 2: Getting Too Fancy text

If your goal is to get people to a mobile Web experience, you should only ever a short URL code. It does not include any text, as many barcode scanners (including gold standards ShopSavvy) is not unravel the link. If you are expecting a user to copy / paste into a mobile device, do not bet on it.

Consider the QR code as a physical hyperlink all barcode scanners should be able to immediately "click". If the QR code requires the user to do much more than a point and exploration to reach the desired content, it probably is doing wrong.

Take the image above. I love the Olsen twins as much as anyone, but these results QR codes very problematic in string + combo link. No extra: The site always appears invalid security certificate Mistakes.

Mistake 3: Serving Non-Mobile Pages
Your explores QR code successfully, but you pointed out that the user to a standard desktop web site, where 99.9% of QR codes are scanned by a mobile device. No.

Familiar with HTML5 to give your mobile web application feel native application. You can hire a developer to build your mobile site or use a non-technical modular CMS (content management system) as Paperlinks if it suits the objectives of your campaign.

The heart of this QR code Coca-Cola is in the right place (the program MyCokeRewards), but the result mobile website is almost impossible to navigate.

Mistake 4: Put the QR codes, where no data signal

Where your ad is as important as how to implement it.

Recent QR code Tesco "supermarket" on the subway in Korea worked very well, because these platforms are Wi-Fi. This is not the case in the U.S. The placement of QR codes in places without Internet access is a safe way for your audience discomfort. Make sure you know which ads are, and if possible, conduct tests to ensure they are visible and continue to operate.

For example, QR code Red Bull last season was in the subway in New York, so I have no idea what it does.

Mistake 5: do not offer enough value

This point is very subjective, but also probably the most important. The proper mindset is to reward users to scan the QR code. This "reward", however, will change depending on what you're trying to promote.

Try to avoid redundancy (a digital copy of your steering wheel), irrelevance or clumsiness (company management of the street). Take the image above. U.S. Marine Corps. QR Code promises a great experience, but leads to a wallpaper download and a commercial.

When combined with a clearly articulated call to action near QR code, we found most attractive campaigns tend to offer one or more of the following:

Exclusive videos and photos Multimedia
Exclusive access or time-sensitive
Or booty free downloads
"Instant Win" contest
Special offers, coupons and gifts
"Secret" information
Deep integration with social networks to enable viral loops