QR or “quick response” codes, which were initially created to track parts during vehicle manufacturing, are now being used for a much wider range of applications. From newspaper ad’s and business cards, all the way to TV commercials and restaurant menu’s, these small 2 dimensional bar codes can be found just about anywhere now-a-days and anyone with a smart phone can use them! Check out these nine inventive yet resourceful ways to use QR codes.
1. On Your Business Cards: One of the most obvious and simple ways to use a QR code is to place one on your business card. Instead of trying to squeeze all of your contact information onto one tiny card, why not replace it with a QR code. There are many ways to get creative with QR codes on business cards, but depending on how you actually want people to view your information, it can link to your Facebook profile, your Twitter, a YouTube video, or however else you wish. Yet, the most obvious and reasonable approach that most people seem to take for this specific purpose is to use a QR code that leads to the persons’ contact page on a company website, an email address, or their LinkedIn account. However if you do choose to have the code open up your companies website, you must make sure your company has a mobile website or at least a landing page that has been optimized for mobile use.
2. Mobile Ticketing: Whether you are checking in for a flight, going to a concert, or even just heading to a movie, with QR codes and mobile ticketing, you’ll never have to worry about forgetting or losing your paper ticket ever again. Mobile ticketing is not only extremely convenient for the consumer but it is also great for the environment, with the potential to possibly eliminate tons of paper waste. Airlines like United now allow you to board your flight by scanning a QR code that they offer to send you when you check in online. United uses an actual scanner for the tickets, but companies like MogoTix allow events to use a virtual ticketing system which utilize individualized QR codes that can be scanned right from another smartphone. Why would you want to use a crumpled up piece of paper when you could access your ticket right from your phone.
3. In Your Store Front: There are a few different ways for stores to use QR codes in their front windows. The first way is to draw customers into the store during normal store hours. By placing QR codes in the front windows that offer customers specials or discounts to give them incentive head inside the store and possibly purchase something. Another way stores could use QR codes is during their non-operating hours. When stores are closed, they can place QR codes in their windows that bring people to their mobile site to prompt people to still buy their product despite the fact that the actual store is closed.
4. In a Museum: Whether it’s a historical site, an exhibit at a museum, an art gallery, or an animal at the zoo, QR codes are a great for museum’s to enhance a visitor’s experience. Who needs a tour guide when you can simply scan a QR code and get an audio tour. QR codes are a great way to bring an exhibit to life, get feedback from visitors, or just provide some supplementary data about the exhibit. These codes could also include images, documents, sound, and video and the best part about them is that they are free for anyone to us. This is an easy and inexpensive asset that all museums could benefit from.
5. In a Television Commercial: Companies are now integrating QR code advertising into their pre-existing television advertising. There are a few ways companies do this. Companies like AXA and Scott Select create their entire commercial to focus around the QR code, which eventually takes the viewer to their mobile site. Other types of commercials provide QR codes near the end or at the bottom of the commercial along, with something like “scan this code to see more”. These commercials are basically providing viewers with an extension of the commercial via their smart phones.
6. On Your Resume: People try all different sorts of things in attempts to make their resume stand out from everyone else. One way of doing this is embedding a QR code for your potential future employee to scan. Like in a business card, there are many different ways to approach this. The code could scan to your blog, you LinkedIn profile, your portfolio, you could even get really creative and create a video to go along with tour resume; there are countless possibilities so it’s up to you how you want to use your QR code in your resume.
7. In the Classroom: QR codes are great resources for the classroom setting and there are dozens of ways for both teacher and students alike to take advantage of using QR. Teachers can have students scan a QR code that will upload their contact info into their phone’s contact list. The QR code can also give a teacher office hours, upload a classroom calendar, link to supplementary class materials, create a mobile reminder, and the list goes on and on. The QR code possibilities for the classroom seem to be endless.
8. In Real Estate: Real Estate is another platform that can benefit from QR codes in many different ways. The first and most obvious way would be to place QR codes on property flyers or on yard signs. These QR codes can link to a ton of information such as images, a walk through of the property, Google maps and street views, local school information, any other listing information the agent wants to share, and then links for the agent’s contact info. With QR codes, agents aren’t bombarded with people asking simple questions regarding listing info. People can get all the information they need from the QR code and then decide whether or not they want to contact the agent.
9. With your Food: Perhaps the most unique way to use QR codes on this list is using them with food. One chef even went so far as too create edible QR codes made out of calamari ink. When these edible codes are scanned, the customer can see more info about the food they are about to eat. However there are ways to use QR codes with food that don’t require you to create them out of edible ink. For example, at the grocery store, QR codes can be placed next to packaged foods with different recipes for things you can make with that product. They can also be on produce tags to give you info on where the produce came from. Similar codes can go on bottles of wine, on coffee, and on liquor. One Japanese company actually created an entire store out of QR codes. There are tons of possibilities for the food industry to utilize QR codes.
Tags: IL, MA Interactive Group, Mobile Internet, Mobile Marketing, Northfield, QR Codes
