Connect with QR codes

• De Terence Eden
• 07 juin 2011

Why do you hand your Business Card out?

You do it because you want to connect with people, and you want to make it easy for a potential client or employer to find you, should they want to work with you.

Business Cards are great for making staying in contact easy. How can you make it even easier? By putting a QR code onto your cards!

So what are QR Codes?

QR Codes are two dimensional barcodes which can quickly and easily be scanned by most camera phones. They're free to create and really easy to use. You can find out what's available for your phone at GetReader.

How can having QR Codes help my business?

QR Codes can contain many different types of data - URL, phone number, SMS, and vCard. You can make your QR code work in a variety of ways, including pointing people directly to your blog or website, allowing them to send you an instant SMS, call your phone or upload their details to your address book. So if you meet a potential client, employer or employee, you've got a really quick and easy way to direct them to all your information without having to make them type anything into their phone.

How can I make one?

There are several free sites you can use to create your QR Codes. I like QRStuff, but you can also use Google Charts for QR Codes if you want dynamic, highly customised codes.

Finally, if you want to generate QR codes on your own site, there are several free resources. I use Swetake's QRCode v0.50.

Great! What else do I need to know?

- Here are some tips to make sure you get the most out of your QR codes.

- Use black ink on a white background to ensure the code is readable.

- Ensure there is some whitespace around the code.

- If you resize the QR codes, don't use any interpolation.

- QR Codes can have variable error-correction. Unless your codes are likely to get dirty, you can set this to "low".

- If you're pointing people to a URL, make sure it's mobile friendly.

- Make sure your phone numbers are in International Format (eg +44 for the UK or +1 for the US).

- Be creative! QR Codes are appearing on everything from advertising posters to urban graffiti - make sure yours stand out.

Terence Eden is a mobile communications and QR whizz. Have a look at his website for more detailed information on making QR Codes, and visit our blog on our favourite customer QR code cards for some inspiration.

Écrit sur :

07 juin 2011

Catégories :

SEO and the Web, Marketing