Do you guys use QR codes to promote your sites?

Anyone using them for promotional purposes? How is it more convenient than typing a URL?

 

A number of years ago, QR codes were looking to be the next big thing in terms of driving traffic to products, services, etc. However, it does not seem to have gotten much traction over the years. This could be because when they were first announced, many smartphones did not have the ability to read them "natively." You had to download an app and if you hadn't, the QR code was useless. Not sure if smartphones all include this capability built in these days, but that would be key. I have never used one, myself, so I don't even know if my phone supports them.

 

My phone does something weird. You point it at a QR code it sort of downloads the link, then you still need to click on the link to go to the site. I wish it would take me directly there.

 

in china we usually like to use QR code

 

OK, didn't know that. I watched something about Japan the other day and they have stores selling products via QR codes. No sales people or managers inside, just customers. Payments done on the phones. Do you have those types of stores too?

 

So, there is a fairly good-sized medical equipment conference taking place, in-person, in California in August. 1,400 exhibitors and about 10,000 attendees expected. Pretty big post-Covid show (though I think CA is still in lockdown...) Anyway, your thread has had me thinking about QR codes so I perused the Exhibitor info (I had half-considered sending a small team to the show but ultimately decided against it) and there were 25 plus pages of ways I could promote my company at the show both online and at the actual show. You name it, they seemed to offer you the promotional opportunity. QR Codes were not mentioned anywhere in the piece. Just a single data point, but I do recall them being all over trade shows 8-10 years ago.

 

No, I perform Manual Activities to promote my Site.

 

I didn't use it yet, as I think they are a better solution for physical products and stores, as they can help identify faster all items that are available for selling. As I work only with online services, didn't see much use of QR codes here.

 

I tried using tracking codes, the result is almost the same as just a link

 

Watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, there was an ad that basically was a QR code floating around a blank screen (looked like the old video game, Pong, for a minute there.) It was an ad for Coinbase, the crypto currency. I did not use it, but apparently it took you to a page where you got $15 in free cryptocurrency from them. I heard that the surge in traffic crashed their servers.

Anyway, does this mean that others will now try QR codes and that the market might be opening up for them a bit?

 

I personally have never used QR codes to promote the services, but my close friend did. I remember how he told me that it would certainly increase the conversion, and actually he achieved the results. Not the results which were forecasted, but minor ones.

So, you can be sure that QR codes might be used as a good thing to engage customers into your services, but remember that not all of the people can use QR codes. For example, if your target audience - adults or even old people, then, it's not a very good idea, because despite the fact that almost all the people in the world know what is cellphone, not all of them can use camera to track QRs.