Have you ever seen a square like this before? (marketing campaign)
Today, QR Codes are a common mobile marketing tool utilised by businesses and marketers, but how did they get so popular?(marketing campaign)
The key reason, according to Scanova Blog, is that global smartphone penetration has increased dramatically in recent years, rising from 59.01 percent in 2017 to 78.05 percent in 2020. High-speed internet access increased from 48.8% in 2014 to 62.5 percent in 2022, and smartphone ownership increased by 92.1 percent.
According to a Blue Bite research on QR Code adoption from 2018 to 2020,
The number of interactions with each code increased by 98 percent.
There has been a 94% increase in their encounters.
The number of people who have seen a QR code has increased by 96%.
With all of this useful information, you might be asking how you can use these codes in your digital campaign, and we’ll explain everything. But first, let’s be clear.
What exactly is a QR Code and how does it function?(marketing campaign)
A QR Code (short for Quick Response Code) is a data-storage barcode that can be scanned.
These codes are divided into two categories based on their design and functionality:
QR code that is static: These can’t change the data they hold; any mistakes you make will force you to start over. Regardless, the upside is that it does not expire, so you can keep it indefinitely once you’ve finished it. They’re a great way to keep private information like passwords, access codes, and IDs safe.
Because the data isn’t included into the code, dynamic QR codes allow you to modify the information whenever you want. Instead, you can use this type to send clients to a specific URL. Restaurant menus are typically displayed using dynamic coding. However, maybe its most valuable feature is that it allows you to collect scanning analytics such as the location, time, and device that clients used to defraud.
QR Codes are similar to barcodes in that they contain information in the form of boxes and points. They display information of interest after being scanned with your smartphone. Users can scan with their cameras with the most recent system updates, such as IOS or Android. If yours can’t, try one of the following apps:
- NeoReader
- Scanner for QuickMark barcodes.
What’s the story behind QR Codes and why are they so popular in 2022?(marketing campaign)
Working with barcodes used to be a time-consuming chore in the 1990s since computers could only read 20 numbers at a time, and workers had to scan far too many to convey what was inside the boxes. Masahiro Hara, a Japanese engineer who worked with barcode scanning machines, was the first to tackle the challenge by designing a two-dimensional box that could carry more data. Its first application was to create a tracking system for automobiles.
So, when were we able to put them to use in marketing? (marketing campaign)
Well, until the emergence of smartphones, Quick Response codes were irrelevant; yet, in early 2011, most users had to download software in order to scan them, thus their time had not yet come. The scanning function was added to Apple’s camera in 2017, and while marketers reacted fast to this new modality, the flame was extinguished once more.
So, how did they come to be so important? Everything, after all, has to do with COVID-19’s arrival.
When physical contact between people was prohibited, QR codes provided a convenient way for many businesses to communicate without touching. These codes were applied by the food industry and even the hotel industry to show all of their possibilities to customers, and this method is being used today.
According to Statista, the number of QR codes issued during pandemics climbed from 9 million in 2018 to 11 million by 2020.
Marketers recognised these codes as a fantastic opportunity, just like the industries above did, because they are a communication channel that allows us to manage both online and offline.
Many businesses still use QR codes today, and Millenials have embraced them as a convenient way to shop.
We’ll go through some of the most effective ways to use these codes in digital marketing.
Digital marketing’s Best Uses of QR Codes
Customers should be redirected to your landing website or social media pages.
If you can make the process of getting to your landing page shorter, it’s beneficial for an amazing start to the client experience.
New users will be able to access with a single swipe thanks to the usage of a QR code, which is ideal for a fast-paced world like ours. To accurately measure it, make sure your URL code is unique and matches it.
These codes can also be useful if you want people to visit your social media pages. If a customer like your goods, you can include a Facebook QR code on the package so that they can stay up to date with your business.
We can use Qr codes to generate leads.
If your website’s email marketing techniques haven’t worked out, creating a list with a QR code is a great alternative.
Customers may be hesitant to subscribe to your newsletter or email list at times. To eventually persuade them, offer a specific “prize” that motivates them to scan, such as a little discount, a freestyle guide, or a free trial. It would be ideal to enhance your number of leads with an appealing call to action like “Scan and win a free trial.”
Bring clients to your place of business.
A scannable map within your website is an amazing idea if you want to bring more people to your business – literally. Allowing them to ponder things too much or wasting time guessing your whereabouts is not a good idea. Add a QR Code that, when scanned, takes the user directly to the GPS position using Google Maps.
Encourage people to download your app.
QR codes make it even faster and easier for your brand to get its software onto the devices of your target audience than the App Store. Platforms like Instagram and games like Angry Birds used these techniques to expand their subscriber numbers at the time. Because you may analyse consumers’ behaviours to give them customised products when you have an app for your business, you have a plethora of options to expand.
They should use QR codes on billboards and banners.
According to a Beaconstact post, 71% of people prefer a digital billboard than a traditional ad. If we combine this with a QR code that encourages people to contact or visit our location, the outcomes will be beneficial to us.
However, it is worth noting that QR codes can be much more effective on outdoor billboards. Despite the fact that practically everything is now digital, street advertisements have an impact on everybody.
The X Collective’s campaign with SQKII in Singapore, where the brand hosted an SG$100,000 treasure hunt, was an exceptional illustration of this. They encourage consumers to acquire clues by scanning QR codes put on billboards throughout the city to find out where the money was, which they could accomplish using the X Collective app. According to Jeslyn Tan, the company’s senior general manager of media and digital business:
“By combining their out-of-home advertising purchase with our app, they can engage the ordinary Singaporean through online-offline integration, putting XCO at the forefront of delivering campaigns with maximum impact.”
Read “Digital Space in Singapore: Everything You Need to Know in 2022” if you want to understand more about this.
Include them in your products to educate people about your company.
Including codes in your items can help you enhance the product experience while also educating your clients about your brand.
For example, if you sell technology products, instead of simply providing a handbook with too many words, you may submit a video in code that directs your customers to a product page with all the instructions.
These QR tags can aid cross-sell by proposing more products to complement the ones they already own, allowing them to get the most out of their purchase. If they bought an HDTV, give them a code for a discount on home theatre sound and keep them connected to your brand.
In your e-commerce, use QR code coupons.
QR codes have grown increasingly prominent in e-commerce platforms. Its most typical services include displaying more thorough information about your products, but there are other, more inventive uses for it.
Frequent customers have earned a special position in our companies, and rewarding them for their loyalty is a great way to keep them choosing us over the competition. This manner, you may provide them with discount coupons or any other unique offer for any new product you wish to advertise, and they will appreciate it.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
They called the ability to combine the real environment with the digital world in the form of movies, photos, and even games as augmented reality. With the announcements of what the Metaverse will be and future developments, it’s a good idea to start keeping up with what’s going on.
Fortunately, QR Codes can assist us in accessing this reality more rapidly; in fact, many businesses currently do so.
They expected the Augmented Reality market to be worth USD 75 billion by 2023, according to Scanova Blog. According to the Snap Consumer AR Global Report 2021, 75 percent of the global population will be frequent users of augmented reality by 2025. According to the same survey, this immersive technology increases consumer conversion rates by 94%.
QR Codes will become more popular in the future as a result of their technology and ability to run these applications more efficiently.
Let’s take a look at some of the top QR Code ads now that we’ve covered their best uses.