The honest answer? Almost. They have been dying a slow death because of the unpopular way advertisers have been using them. QR Codes are a smart technology so they have to be used in a smart way.
When we first saw this new way of targeting a young tech-based audience digital marketers went mad and crammed a scan code onto everything in a 10 mile radius of anyone under 30! But it was too much. It wasn’t how these small pieces of printed technology were supposed to work.
This is a specific medium for a specific audience. Some may think this niche reach is a bad thing but it gives you a chance to really hone in on who is going to be looking at your content. Not everyone has a smartphone and not all of those who do have an app to read QR codes. Are QR codes the right thing for a nursing home? Probably not. An electronics convention? Probably yes!
QR codes can often over-complicate a simple thing. Don’t have a clunky QR code that sends someone to your homepage. They are called Quick Response codes for a reason. That’s lame and a waste of time. Do something cool with it. Have it add an event to a calendar, send an email, download an app, phone a number. A QR code can command a smart phone to do almost anything. Impress your modern, tech-savvy audience with your actual knowledge of QR codes instead of just trying to fit in.
Places to use them: Business cards, magazines, products, flyers, things you can hold in your hand.
Places we’ve seen them where they just don’t belong: Billboards, Buses (seriously?), basically any public space or moving object where users don’t want people to see them trying to scan a QR Code. And of course websites, I’m already online!
So now you know QR codes are still a viable option for your business. See what you can do with them in our guide to using QR codes.
Bigwave media can create QR codes for all of the above purposes and more. We also have access to detailed analytics which tell you how often the code has been scanned, what devices were used to scan and the location of where it was scanned. If you’re interested in using QR codes for your business get in touch with [email protected]