(This post originally appeared June, 19th, 2014 on The Social Media Beat, International Association of Chiefs of Police)
The mighty QR code?
“Burrows has lost his marbles!” Well, that very well might be true but I’m serious…the mighty QR code. Please tell me anything else in the world of marketing and information sharing that is more mysterious?
A little square of black and white that can hold a virtual multimedia smorgasbord of creativity and content. Scan the matrix with your mobile device and who knows what wonders you are in store for…and therein lies the problem.
When QR codes went from the parts warehouse to the advertising agency someone got them really screwed up. QR codes on billboards, in subway tunnels beyond the 3rd rail, using them in digital platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Seriously, how did the mighty QR code stand a fighting chance when the simplicity of it got destroyed with stupidity? That is second reason that QR codes got a bad rap. People pointed the QR code at a website or location that shared no more information than the QR code itself did.
I still believe that QR codes have a great place in the future of communications and all it’s going to take is a concerted effort to use them properly. Consider what the real use of a QR code is. It replaces typing a URL on a little tiny keyboard by scanning a picture (barcode matrix) that directs your device to “Go There.”
Here is a simple but very effective way to use QR codes in your messaging. The picture below is for a hurricane awareness brochure. Three different QR codes have been used to replace URLs and text on the brochure.
The person knows exactly what they will be scanning when they pull out a smart device; videos, text, or maps. Three different kinds of content all accessible with a quick scan…it’s easier than reading all that information or trying to type in link addresses!
Add that kind of brochure to your department entranceway, on an information table, as a handout, or on an information tree. You could even build your own catalogue of resources for preparedness on one page that was all just a scan away.
In Florida, the Atlantic hurricane season has just begun. In the central U.S., tornadoes have been ripping up the mid-west and in California the drought has continued. That’s three campaigns right there that police and law enforcement agencies could already be talking about on a fairly regular basis all relating to emergency preparedness.
The problem has never been the QR code, it’s always been how it’s used. I believe the QR Code does have a vital role in messaging, especially with a community that desires less words and more pictures. Make good use of the technology. Just don’t tweet them or put them on the back of your police cars!
Five Places to Put QR Codes
- Business cards
- Flyers Brochures
- Hard copies of news releases
- Posters
Five Worst Place to Put QR Codes
- Driver’s side of cars
- In a tweet
- Digital press release
- On a billboard
- Banner pulled by a plane
What about you? Where are the worst places you have ever seen a QR Code used or what has driven you crazy about where they point? Let me know in the comments below!
Here is also what my fellow IACP Blogger wrote about a great use of QR codes before and here is a secret bonus code…
