Archive for category Social Media Marketing
QRiouser and QRiouser | QR Codes
Posted by James in Hints and Tips, Internet Marketing, Online Learning, QR Codes, Social Media Marketing on June 24, 2011
Nope, it’s not from Alice in Wonderland, it’s a reference to the upsurge in the use of QR codes in the marketplace.
If you are unfamiliar with QR codes here is a quick primer from Jeff Korhan.
How QR Codes Can Grow Your Business
By Jeff Korhan
Quick Response codes (QR codes) and other two-dimensional codes are expected to achieve widespread use this year – and for good reason. Consumers want immediate access to what’s relevant and QR codes are being used to make that possible.
QR Codes 101
If you’re not yet familiar with QR codes, they’re similar to the barcodes used by retailers to track inventory and price products at the point of sale. The key difference between the two is the amount of data they can hold or share.
Bar codes are linear one-dimensional codes and can only hold up to 20 numerical digits, whereas QR codes are two-dimensional (2D) matrix barcodes that can hold thousands of alphanumeric characters of information. Their ability to hold more information and their ease of use makes them practical for small businesses.
When you scan or read a QR code with your iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone, you can link to digital content on the web; activate a number of phone functions including email, IM and SMS; and connect the mobile device to a web browser.
Any of these desired functions are easily achieved by properly creating your QR code.
The ability of QR codes to connect people with each other and to multimedia digital content is very useful for businesses and consumers alike.
The Origins of QR Codes
While QR codes are still considered a novelty here in the United States, they’ve been actively used for over a decade in Japan where they were invented. QR is a registered trademark of Denso Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota. Denso Wave has elected not to exercise their patent rights of QR codes and that has encouraged their widespread use.
There are other software companies that have created 2D codes that work much like QR codes, with Microsoft being the most notable. Microsoft developed their own proprietary software to create codes known as MS tags. Unlike QR codes, which can be read by a number of different readers, MS tags can only be read by the Microsoft Tag Reader.
MS tag to Microsoft Tag Reader app.
Choosing to use QR codes or MS tags is a personal choice. It seems that MS tags presently allow for more possibilities for creative graphic designs, such as incorporating images and logos into the tag. Nevertheless, those capabilities have to be weighed against the reach and ease of use of open-source QR codes.
Practical Uses of QR Codes
Here are some ways for using QR codes that are mostly in practice now, as well as a few that I believe we will be seeing in the very near future.
Where
QR Codes could be used:
- The back (or front and back) of your business card.
- Your brochures and other marketing materials.
- The sides of trucks and trailers.
- Product tags and packaging
- Convention and event nametags
- Restaurant menus
- Event ticket stubs
- Point-of-sale receipts
QR Code at the Naperville, IL Public Library assists visitors with helpful advice.
What
QR Codes could link to:
- Installation instructions
- Sources for replacement parts and service
- Directions to your business
- The process for hiring your professional services
- Valuable coupons and special offers
- Recommendations for complementary products and services
- Free mp3 downloads
- Customer feedback forms
A QR code on a café in Seattle, WA links to Google Places and reviews on Yelp and around the web.
How you can you maximize your effectiveness with QR codes:
- Provide explanations about their use and benefits
- Encourage actions that support your marketing plan
- Assuage the fears of the technically challenged
- Give reasons to come back
- Experiment with the size, location, and color of your QR codes
- Study your analytics
- Make the process fun, such as a QR code scavenger hunt
- Experiment
The Images Group will be running a workshop on creating and using QR codes in August 2011, so if you would to know more, please email us on james@theimagesroup.co.uk and we will give you the time and date for this event.
or try scanning this:
About the Author, Jeff Korhan
Jeff Korhan is a professional speaker, consultant, and columnist on new media and small business marketing. Other posts by Jeff Korhan »
Auto Tagging by Default on Facebook? How to Change Your Privacy Settings
Posted by James in Hints and Tips, Important Notice, Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing on June 8, 2011
Our friends at Mashable have highlighted another area you should be aware of with the new Facebook ‘Autotag’ feature.
Read on….
If you have a bunch of tag-happy Facebook friends, you may want to read this. Facebook has been rolling out a facial recognition feature that makes it easier to tag friends in snaps, and it has introduced this feature as a default setting.
We first heard about Tag Suggestions back in December.
The feature basically means that whenever you’re offered the chance to tag groups of your friends in an album, Facebook will use its facial recognition technology to group similar faces together and automatically suggest the friend you should tag them with.
The option has been rolling out to international users over the past few months, and according to a report from Sophos, the social networking site has been making the facial recognition feature a default setting. Facebook explained the rollout in a post on Tuesday.
If you don’t want Facebook to suggest you when your friends go to tag everyone in that picture from last week’s naked mud-wrestling pool party, here’s how you disable the feature:
- Go to your privacy settings.
- Click “Customize settings.”
- Scroll down to “Things others share.”
- Find “Suggest photos of me to friends.”
- Edit accordingly.
A few Facebook users have quit the platform over this latest Privacy invasion, how do you feel about it?
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