QR Codes 101 (Sales and Marketing 101 for Artists)

This is a rehash of a much older piece I wrote, but I recently revised it for a Ravenswood Artwalk RAWednsday meeting and it seemed pretty popular, so I thought I'd share it here as part of my ongoing sales and marketing 101.

I love QR Codes - in fact I'm probably wearing one somewhere on my clothing right now. If I was even 90% certain that they would become the dominant barcode technology of the next 10 years, I would give serious consideration to getting one tattooed on me. Really, I love them that much. Why, you might ask, am I so enamored by them? It's a smartphone scan-able code that's essentially a website address turned into a pattern of black and white cubes (a binary grid, 30 x 30 squares). What I find amazingly cool about it is that it's the missing link between connecting with people in person (at networking events or on the train, for example) and driving them to the website of your choice. Now, rather than have to give someone your site and hope that they'll remember it the next time they sit in front of a computer and type it in, they can simply scan it with the right technology and they're taken where you want them to be.

How do you create one?

First, there are a couple things you need including a computer with a printer (loaded with ink and paper), a website and a smartphone or device capable of scanning a code (including iPads and other tablet computers). Assuming you have all of these things, here is how you can create one for yourself:

1) Download any of the QR Code scanner applications for your phone - they should be free. You can download more than one scanning application if you like to test things in multiple ways, like me (it's an old habit from testing websites on different platforms). You can technically create a QR Code without this step, but I don't advise it. You don't want to send people to the wrong site, so testing it out is important in my humble opinion.
2) Go to Google and type in "QR code generator" - this will bring up several options for you (the one I use most is http://qrcode.kaywa.com/).
3) Follow the instructions which usually entail putting the desired website address into a field and then pressing a button.
4) Save the code and/or image that is generated to your desktop or somewhere that you won't forget it.
5) Print it out and test it with your smartphone.
6) Viola! You've just created a QR Code!

Are there limits to this marvelous technology?

Yes, the limiting factor is the necessity of having a smartphone or tablet computer capable of reading the code. If your market is technology company executives, than you are in luck - they will all probably have the right technology to scan the code. If your market is Amish farm owners, then a QR code probably isn't going to do you any good at all ("Ezekiel hath not such sinister sorcery").

Also...

I see a lot of people using QR codes online, say in social media website profile pictures. If the intention is to have people print these out and share or post them, that's one thing. Otherwise, since people will already be at their computers when they see your code, it's probably just redundant, possibly even counterproductive, since clicking on a link would be just as easy. Keep in mind that QR codes are ideal for when people are not right there at their desks or computers, but when you are sitting next to them on a train or at a crowded event.