Know the Code

If you haven't noticed QR (Quick Response) codes yet, keep your eyes open- you're going to start seeing them everywhere, including magazines, flyers and conference materials.

These little black and white markings are two-dimensional bar code images that, when scanned by a camera on a smartphone, open a link to a website, send an SMS or dial a phone number. QR codes are becoming widely used to supplement marketing efforts, and they're being used in ads in newspapers, magazines or even in the window of businesses. They can basically link everything in the physical world to electronic information immediately.

The cool thing is, you can create QR codes for free. Do a search on "QR Codes" and you'll find several website that will generate a code for a particular website address or piece of text, at no cost to you. The best format to get for print quality is a website that offers a tiffs option.


That means that the only cost associated is the printing, and if you're creating an ad or direct mail, you're likely printing anyway.


If you use QR codes, keep in mind that they and the apps that scan them are still foreign to most people. You will want to make a point to spell out how to scan the code and help instruct customers on where they can grab scanner apps.

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