5 Creative Ways to use QR Codes

QR codes can be a great tool to get your marketing message across as well as connect with consumers via their mobile devices. Especially if you are looking for something out of the box QR codes can connect you with your target audience at places you'd normally not be able to interact with them.

The beauty of QR codes is that they can be placed anywhere and people already got creative with how to carve them in sand, stone, posters and print them on all sorts of physical objects.

While QR codes can be a very useful tool for things like contact details, website links or tracking purposes; it's really about the surprise factor and how to use QR codes in a creative way.

Here are our top 5 examples of QR code use.

   1. Video Linking
   Your QR code simply links to a video or interactive mobile site. Imagine customers visiting your store and want to get more info on a certain product. By scanning a QR code they get redirected to a video that explains more about the product.

2. Signups and Surveys
   Instead of using papers or machines for users to provide customer feedback the QR code can link to a mobile form were users can enter feedback, sign-up for updates or take a survey.

3. Point of Interest
   if it's a museum, public building or sight you don't need a tour guide to get interesting information about a place or an object. This also works great to update content frequently or adding multiple languages without the need to re-print anything.

4. Instruction Material
   Ever searched for your washing machine manual? QR codes on products that provide you with support information are a great idea in the digital age.

5. Analytics
   Technically any of the above actions can be measured which makes it quite powerful already, but by integrating the results of scanning a code into other marketing initiatives you can measure online to offline conversions. For example you could track how many people visit your store based on a very specific marketing effort that involves scanning a code.

   Unfortunately, regionally QR Codes have not made the impact that they were supposed to as most marketers used them to simply link to their own sites; this in itself created a negative perception and people nowadays think QR Codes are that 'unnecessary' gimmick that not really ads value.

   All it will take to change this perception, is for a few brands to use QR Codes properly and to their full potential and create a positive affinity for the technology.

   This would also result in QR codes being used in more interactive and engaging marketing campaigns and truly connecting digital, mobile and the real world.