Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Get your QR code on

Well, here it is, the real skinny on QR codes. QR (Quick Response) codes, which were actually created 17 years ago in Japan by a Toyota subsidiary, are becoming a big trend in marketing. All you need is a simple QR code reader (I use TapMedia LTD on my iPhone). We've been finding these codes in grocery stores, on movie posters and in our mail. When you use your phone to scan these codes they will normally take you a URL. Example: I found a QR code in the grocery store on cream cheese. When I scanned it, the code directed me to a site with a Philadelphia cream cheese recipe. YUM! So we thought, why not update you on how to use it for yearbook? Here are a few cool ways to use QR codes for yearbook this year and next...
  • Use a QR code for your Facebook fan page. (If you scan the QR code above, it will take you to our MetroYearbooks Fan Page.)
  • Everyone needs a good, funny, marketing idea. Make a QR code that goes to YearbookForever.com or the link to your online ordering, then print it on the iron on paper that you find at Staples or Michael's and press them onto your yearbook staff t-shirts. Anyone with a QR code reader will be able to use it.
  • Don't just stop at t-shirts! Put a QR code on your own personal Facebook or on posters around the school promoting buying a yearbook.
  • It doesn't just have to be a URL that your QR code takes you to. It can be a phone number or text. For example, go to http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ and enter in text like BUY A YEARBOOK and then when they use their reader it will come up in the Notes App on an iPhone, but I'm not sure about any other phones just yet.
But how can you use QR codes directly in your yearbook? Try these great ideas:
  • Did you have a funny video during a pep rally, or a fantastic goal from your star lacrosse player that you have a video of? You can create a QR code and place it in your yearbook that takes your readers to a URL of that YouTube video.
  • You don't have to stop with videos, what about that spring sport that hasn't quite finished yet and you couldn't get the entire scoreboard on your spread before the final deadline? Just create a QR code and place it under the "Scores" area on your page so that they can scan it and find out the final scores that link right to your schools website.
  • When selling business ADs, tell them that for an extra $10, $25, (enter your amount here) you will put a QR code in for a direct link to their website. 
QR Code Generator that we like: http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

EVERYONE CAN DO THIS! Try it now!

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