The role of QR codes had subsided after their boom in 2011.
Until recently, QR codes had specific business-related purposes, mostly related to eCommerce and payment getaways. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic subsiding and businesses starting to open again, QR codes are making a comeback for various business purposes. Since they do not need to be touched to operate, QR codes are starting to get repurposed for different business purposes, from looking at restaurant menus to downloading e-business cards.
As the role of QR codes increases, a web development company can modify or transform a website to accommodate the facilitation of information about the scanned code. There are multiple apps for smartphones that can read QR codes, and thus it makes sense for businesses to enlist various channels for the marketing of their goods or services.
Quick response codes, popularly known as QR codes are two-dimensional graphics that get printed in various geometrical patterns. These patterns need to be scanned by a mobile phone’s camera using an app that takes the user to a particular web page. The information can be of various types, such as:
- Options and availability of products
- Product information
- Point is sale
- Payment getaways
- Contact information
Other than the above-mentioned user-specific functions of QR codes, they can also get used in many ways for the digital marketing of a brand. Along with placing QR codes in strategic places, a business must make various changes to the website so that the link is adequately optimized to provide what the user requires.
What Kind of Adjustments Will Websites Need to Make up Accommodate QR Links?
QR codes can get placed at various digital marketing avenues such as mailers, newsletters, magazines, or posters. Since most people are not comfortable touching things outside their homes at the moment, they can scan the QR codes to get the information they require, or the information businesses want to provide to the potential customer. For example, mailers can contain QR codes with links of a promotional offer that can get downloaded from the company’s website.
QR codes can also facilitate social media networking and marketing by guiding a customer to the brand’s page. Landing customers on the social media page can increase the brand’s social networking and help the business grow. Web developers will need to create links between the social media pages and the company’s website. In recent times, QR scanning apps were not used frequently in America. As more and more people start using QR codes in the current scenario, the business will have to provide clear instructions on how to use them on the printed as well as online media, including the name of the app required to scan the QR codes. That will help the business expedite the customer’s learning curve while elevating their user experience as well as time spent on the web page. In the case of digital marketing, a business will have to provide some kind of promotional perks to ensure that the user takes the time to download an app or scan a QR code to see what it is about.
Since the QR codes get scanned through mobile phones, businesses will have to make mobile-friendly websites and links for each aspect of their web pages and the corresponding contents. The visual appearance of mobile-friendly websites, as well as their functionality, will determine the success of the digital marketing strategy. Every information available on the regular website will need to be converted into a mobile web page, emphasizing the products or services the brand provides. QR codes can also be used to add products and direct users to the shopping carts in stores or e-commerce websites. It will generate convenience for a customer while elevating their user experience.
Using QR Codes to Steer Traffic Towards the Brand’s Website
Intelligent placements can get utilized to direct user traffic towards the company’s website. Usually, to attract more traffic, businesses have to invest in various search engine optimization methods to gain a higher ranking on search engines. Since these tactics get used by almost every brand, the competition to promote organic ranking and attract customers is very stiff. However, with the clever placements of QR codes in print and online media, a brand can bypass the optimizations for search engines and gather customer traffic directly. More traffic on the website also means higher ranking on search engines, which can bring in even more customers to the webpage.
The best advantage of using QR codes for digital marketing is that they can be printed and put up anywhere. Brands will have to find creative spots to attract the attention of potential customers. QR codes can also get placed on online media and social networking sites. Changes in the website design will not only make the user experience better but prove beneficial for the digital marketing strategies of a brand.