What is a QR code and why might it matter for nonprofit marketing?
- Sat, January 22 2011
- Filed under: Social networking and web 2.0
This is a guest post from Blase Ciabaton. It’s better that he answer these questions!
Smartphone ownership has exploded in North America and will only continue to accelerate. As a clever nonprofit, you need to recognize that the proliferation of smartphones offers a super-convenient way for volunteers, donors and fans to connect with your organization. QR codes represent the most hassle-free way for you to start interacting with smartphone users.
What’s a QR Code? A QR Code is a 2-dimensional barcode that was initially developed in Japan to track automotive parts. As the adoption of QR codes mushroomed, marketers quickly began to realize their potential not just in Asia but all over the world.
How Do QR Codes Work? When smartphone users snap (same mechanics as taking a smartphone photo) an image of a QR Code, they are pulled to a specific landing page designated by the creator of the QR Code. If you create a QR Code you can deliver smartphones users to a compelling video, your Facebook page, your blog or even to your organization’s donation page.
All of the newest generation smartphones come preloaded with QR Code reading software, including the iPhone and Android. A free app or software can be downloaded quickly and easily to enable QR Code reading in slightly older smartphones. I’ve included a QR Code in this post if you’d like to test out your smartphone. (Katya’s note: I have a Blackberry and did this via BB Messenger. Go under Scan a Group Barcode. It will then ask you permission to go to Blase’s website link.)
How can I use QR Codes in my Marketing?
Event Promotion & Registration: If you’re trying ramp up attendance for an event, then be sure to include QR Codes on all of your marketing materials. This is especially helpful if you want attendees to preregister or purchase tickets in advance. Smartphone users can scan a QR Code from a poster or flyer and be taken to the registration page for your event.
Fundraising: Why not include a QR Code in your next fundraising appeal? For donors who want to contribute online, let them scan a QR Code instead of making them type in a lengthy URL; the QR Code can deliver them to your online donation page. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to support your organization.
Promote Your Organization’s Online Presence: If you want to get more Facebook Fans, increase subscribers to your e-newsletter, or get people to follow you on Twitter then why not generate QR Codes that correspond to these and include them in your next print newsletter? This is a great example of integrating your traditional and online marketing.
Why are QR Codes Important Tools for Nonprofits?
1) They’re essentially free
2) They’re very easy to create
3) They’re measurable
4) You’re able to repurpose your marketing material, instead of having to create new material from scratch
5) They integrate your marketing across different channels
6) They’re not just for the big boys. In less than the time that it takes to read this short post, you could have already generated your first QR Code. Most QR Code generators are cloud-based and don’t require any sort of special training or loading of software on your computer.
How Can I create QR Codes? There are many free and paid QR Code generating websites. If you want to experiment by creating a free QR Code, you can click here to go to Google’s free QR Code generator. Please note, there are some limitations when using the free QR Code generators especially as it relates to image quality or tracking specific QR Code use.
If you’d like to see more examples of QR codes, get more information about how to create QR codes or download free QR Reader software for your smartphone, please visit my blog.
How have you seen examples of QR Codes incorporated in nonprofit marketing? Please share your comments below!
Blase Ciabaton has helped nonprofits launch successful direct mail fundraising campaigns every day for the last 7 years. In 2009, Blase Ciabaton launched the blog, http://www.TheDirectMailMan.com The .blog caters to the nonprofit community and tackles issues related to postage permits, mailing lists, returned mail and donor conversion. If you found this post valuable you may want to sign up for his weekly e-newsletter or following his blog’s rss feed.
Comments
One of the best examples I have seen is the integration of QR codes on to JustGiving fundraising pages.
I lifted this from their blog at http://blog.justgiving.com/community/new-fundraising-tools/:
If you print out a copy of your fundraising page, you’ll see that it has a great new hidden feature. Your page is now complete with it’s very own unique QR code. A QR code (much like a barcode) means that whenever you run into any potential donors, they can simply scan your page with their mobile phone and donate there and then. They will need a barcode reader application on their phone (there are tons of free apps available from all app stores) that they use to scan the QR code image on your page. Once scanned, a web page will open in their phone’s browser and the donation process has begun!
I am on the board of two non-profits. Good info. I have put in my social media file to discuss with them.
Rob
From the QRazyWorld of QR Codes, we have developed QR Tech which generates instants donations using PayPal or Google Checkout from a simple scan -give this one a go - http://twitpic.com/3s8n0q
Thanks Blaise (and Katya). Do you have any data on the number of people actually using QR codes? While it may only take a second to make - placement, updating, engagement, tracking, etc. is one more addition to the plate for small orgs trying to realistically manage their social media outlets, apps and other engagement tools. Where’s this fall on the list of ‘must-haves’?
Thanks!
Great comments all!
Nathan, in terms of QR Codes as a “must have,” I don’t think there’s any silver bullet for successful nonprofit marketing. I think the choice to include QR Codes depends on both your audience, and the type of campaign that you’re executing. I think they make a lot of sense for marketing an event/event awareness and potentially event registration. While I think it has the potential to increase awareness and generate a few more donations for a fundraising appeal, I think it would be naive to think that including a QR Code in an appeal would be make or break.
I agree that it’s important to always track results, and that it does take time to commit to do this. I think it could be tricky to just evaluate QR Code statistics in a vacuum. One campaign could make QR codes the sole focus, while another could just add a QR Code subtly in the corner. While both would be using QR Codes, the response rates would be quite different. Thanks for sharing and best of luck!
This is great info, as always Katya (and Blase - I’ve been following him since I first got on Twitter 
.
But I’m going to second Nathan here: where does creating and using a QR code fall in the task list of the one-person development office? You know, those peeps who are grant writers, marketing directors, individual giving managers, webmasters, graphic designers, database managers and chief bottle washers - all rolled into one.
I really felt glad reading this post. Using this QR code is another cool evolution of technology . Now, this code is not only used and popular in department stores’ bar codes. It is now available over the internet. For google places for instance, any of your business listing their can be send to you mobile phones by just using this QR codes.
Thanks Blase & Pamela. Great points, thanks!
P.S. @nonprofitorgs just posted a related article yesterday at http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/22-ways-nonprofits-can-use-qr-codes-for-fundraising-and-awareness-campaigns/
Thanks for the great post. QR codes could prove to be very helpful as we search for ways to make it as easy as possible for donors to give. This not only will allow nonprofits to connect more easily—it will also allow donors to make a one-step donation from their smartphones! http://bit.ly/fdwjhm
Nathan, thanks much for sharing the link to the nonprofit QR Post. Very good resource for readers of this post and really for any nonprofit thinking about incorporating QR Codes in their marketing mix. Excellent point too about making sure that your website and donation page are mobile-friendly. The good news is that most social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and the major blogging platforms, including Wordpress, are mobile-friendly by default-1 less think for nonprofits to worry about!
Pam, I think this is a tough one for the 1-person development office. Before a nonprofit can think about using QR Codes, they need to have a quality online presence established-this could be in a variety of forms like a website, blog or Facebook page. Then depending on the comfort-level of the 1-person development office he/she can consider experimenting with a campaign that includes QR Codes.
Thanks all for contributing! Blase
You should try www.SocialQRCode.com to create QR Codes for your business to promote your fan page or twitter page! You can also share content by creating a QR Code that will share an article with the scanners Facebook Friends and Twitter Followers. Users can also create sharable coupons that are extremely viral!
Please give it a try and let us know what you think!
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