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QR Code Déjà Vu

February 4, 2023 //
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Image by Xavier Turpain from Pixabay

Just stop it, okay?

Unless you have been living in an underground bunker for the past three years, not as unlikely as it might have seemed ten years ago, you might have noticed that QR codes are back.

Menus, adverts, buildings, and trade show booths are once again adorned with them.

Other than the pandemic, another reason for their renewal is the imbedding in the camera functions of most smart phones, a QR code reader allowing links to websites be opened by visually scanning the code with your phone.

What is also back; however, is bone headed implementations of QR codes because they are “cool.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen great implementations of QR codes. I have used them on ads and I used them extensively in the hardcover edition of my book. However, just like the article I wrote in 2012, which in turn was inspired by Scott Stratten’s rants on the subject, QR codes are a simple technology that often gets badly implemented and are used to cover up a multitude of other sins.

Please don’t put QR codes on websites

Mike’s Guide to QR Code Bliss

DO make sure that your website is mobile friendly if you are going to use QR codes. I can’t really believe I have to say this, or that anyone still does not have a mobile friendly website, but they do; and QR codes are a mobile technology. Therefore, as a mobile technology, if you are sending people to a website that is not mobile friendly all you are going to do is frustrate people who know how to use a technology better than you.  

DON’T put QR codes in emails. QR codes need to be scanned by a mobile device. Putting a QR code in a email which is then opened on a desktop requires the user to scan their computer monitor or laptop screen with their smartphone. This is nonsense. It is particularly nonsense because a QR code is just a fancy way of getting someone to click a link and links can be easily embedded directly into emails. Also, an email opened on a mobile device cannot read a QR code in that email. There are a few workarounds for this which I go into below; however, a link is simple straight forward, and we have been using them successfully for decades.  

DO make sure that the site your QR code links to is clear simple and easy to use. Having ambiguity on a target page, after someone has gone to the trouble of scanning your QR code, is just silly. It is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Test your QR codes. Make sure your landing pages are simple, easy to use, and above all, working. There is nothing wrong with having multiple QR codes when it comes to directing your target audience.

DON’T put QR codes in Instagram posts. For some phones this actually works – they have a built in QR code scanner for photos and there are also apps users can download to allow for the scanning of codes. However, one of the reasons why QR codes had such problems with adoption in the past was the need to download an app. But for most users, who almost exclusively looking at the platform on their smart phones, QR codes on Instagram are useless as there is no way to directly scan them. “Link in Bio,” which directs users to look at the Instagram bio, and click the link there, is a simple workaround for the Instagram imposed limitation of only allowing a single link in an Instagram users bio. There are also multiple tools, including just a website, which allows users to have that single link lead to a page where there are multiple link options. I should also add that all Instagram users can now just add links in their Stories negating the whole issue.

DO put QR codes on flyers for things that require a sign up. Flyers that get printed out and put on notice boards for meetings etc., that require an RSVP, are a great use of QR codes. Much easier than the target audience having to type in a URL or email address. Just ensure that the landing page is simple and easy to use. However…

DON’T make the QR code on a flyer the only way to RSVP / sign up. Flyers for meetings etc. are often emailed to multiple people. If a QR in a pdf document is the only way to access the link to sign up it is massive over complication for the end user. A link in an email works great. A link in the PDF also works. Hell, you could even make the QR code itself a clickable link (I don’t recommend this). QR codes are supposed to make things easier not harder.

DO make QR codes simple. The more complicated the URL that the QR code is linking to, the more complicated the QR code itself needs to be. URL shorteners can help here; however, one should use these sparingly as security conscious users may be unwilling to got to a site blindly.

DON’T make QR codes too small. The vast majority of sensible QR code implementations are to add links to paper. A user sees something that interests them on a piece of paper, and they can then scan the code for more information, to sign up for something, or even to buy something. However, tiny QR codes can be difficult for some smartphones, or users, to scan. Since QR codes are about reducing barriers to getting users to click on a link, making the link too small is just a case of shooting yourself in the foot.

DO put QR codes in videos and digital signage. But only if you are going to give users enough time to get out their smart phones, open their camera app, focus on the screen, and scan your code. If you are not going to devote enough time to allow the QR code to be scanned, and allow for the QR code to be a sensible size, then what is the point of having the QR code in the first place? Also, if the QR code is being including in content when the user can just pause the video to scan a QR code then the likelihood is that they will find clicking a link much easier. Just put the link in the description.  

DON’T think you must have a computer to display a QR code. I have seen a laptop on a tradeshow booth being used solely to display a QR code. How about a piece of paper? A QR code on a computer screen does not make you look more technically savvy. It makes you look like you forgot the sign, or the piece of paper, with the QR code printed on it.

QR codes can be awesome, particularly with smartphones having the ability to scan them built in. However, like any technology, it is only as good as its implementation. Bad implementations are just bad – they don’t get better because they have a QR code involved. Having a QR code to have a QR code is a prime example of bad implementation. They are a tool – try not to bring back 2012.

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Categories Business, Content Marketing, Customer Service, Marketing, Social Media

Book Review: Social Media and Marketing for Veterinary Professionals by Caitlin DeWilde, DVM

September 17, 2022 //
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Writing an accessible and thorough book about a complex and everchanging subject, such as social media, is a daunting prospect – particularly when your audience is a niche one such as veterinary medicine. Dr. Caitlin DeWilde; however, has done just that.

With the look and feel of a textbook, but the format a “Dummies” or “Idiots how to” book, Social Media and Marketing for Veterinary Professionals is a how to guide to all the major Social Media platforms and to all the tasks needing to be understood for someone who is not a marketing professional or even someone that interested in social media or reviews.

With chapters dedicated to each of the major platforms making up the first half of the book this can at times feel redundant; however, the thoroughness will be welcomed by those feeling out of their depth in a brand-new field and the dedication to not making assumptions is more than admirable. The second half of the book is a much more interesting read for the existing user, touching on issues such as retargeting (when online ads seem to follow you around the internet), review bombing, return on investment (ROI), and general advertising strategies both online and in print ads.

Filled with footnotes, the book is impeccably researched as would expect from someone with Dr. DeWilde’s reputation as “The Social DVM.” The index is a little thin, but it at least has one and it covers most of the things that one is likely to need to find in a hurry. What is a surprising addition is the over 80 QR Codes that link directly to an online resource for forms and other digital content. It is a little disappointing that the QR codes only take the user to a menu structure that the reader then must navigate through to get the required content. But this is a minor quibble and is a great use of a technology that is often used and abused. The fact that these online resources exist at all, and are included in the price of this volume, more than makes up for any navigation quibbles.

While I waded through all 200 odd and large format pages in three or four sittings, this is actually a book to tackle one chapter at a time, or to dip into as required. Growing your knowledge with your own experimentation and reading. While there is some building on what has come before, the chapters generally stand on their own and therefore can be used as a reference book if so desired.

Whether it be new managers suddenly saddled with a topic they know nothing about, staff members who have only ever used social media for their own personal networks, or those looking to build their own personal brands online there is now a guide for you with no translations from other industries required. To the vast majority of its readers, the subject of this book will always be a side interest to their main passion – whether it be veterinary management or veterinary medicine. We don’t often get resources geared towards niche areas within other niche areas. It is great to see this one.

Dr. DeWilde has literally written the book on using social media as a veterinary professional.

And it’s a good one.

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Categories Books, Business, Content Marketing, Management, Marketing, reviews, Social Media, Veterinary

Book Review: The Age of Influence by Neal Schaffer

May 1, 2020 //
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age of infuence
I’ve been following Neal, as a voice on marketing and social media, for easily 10 years.

When he announced the opportunity to buy his new book in advance, receive a signed copy, and be mentioned in the acknowledgments for to helping to support the book’s creation; I took him up on his offer – LinkedIn paying off once again.

You can find me mentioned, and neatly bisected, between page ix and x.

Fame at last.

I delve into this minutia because Neal’s book deals with, and makes the case for, influence and influencers. In how to both leverage and engage influencers in a successful business relationship, but also on how to be a successful influencer in the first place.

Influencer Marketing has received rather a bad wrap outside of the marketing world – particularly by the business community. This is mainly due to news stories of millennials traveling the world, and expecting hundreds of dollars in free goods and services in return for a good word on social media of dubious value. It is also not helped by stories of influencers using their networks to “take revenge” on businesses they feel slighted by; or who have spurned their advances.

“The Age of Influence” makes the case for influencer marketing to actually be an extension of normal social media engagement, taken to its next logical level. Those of us that have our own brands, and brands that we work for, on social know that our own personal posts are treated much more favorably by algorithm gods than brand business posts. It’s a “pay to play” world.

Influencer marketing leverages the personal voice for business purposes. Where “The Age of Influence” really succeeds is in showing the reader that influencer marketing should really be about the relationship between the brand, the influencer, and their larger social following. That the pinnacle of influencer marketing is not a paid Instagram post by someone famous. The pinnacle is rather the partnership, on a long-term basis, between a fan of a product or service, who also has their own fans who trusts the message because of the messenger. Trust is based on authenticity.

There is, of course, a tendency for brands to want to control their message, voice, and overall look. This is normal. As marketing professionals, we spend a lot of money, time, and energy into creating a look and personality for a brand that we are happy with. However, to do this with influencers is to stifle their natural creativity and voice that made them influencers in the first place. Likewise, influencers are not content creation adjuncts to the marketing department. Working with influencers, whose followings come in all shapes and sizes, is a partnership that could be allowing them to interview staff, get a sneak peek at a product or service, or giving discount codes, or products, to followers. The more successful the influencer, the more like working with a traditional media company the relationship becomes. But at its core, when influencer marketing is successful it is about a relationship where both parties are happy and getting what they want out of the collaboration.

There are significant legal issues with paid collaborations between influencers and brands. And while “The Age of Influence” does not deal with this in depth, it does warn of the pitfalls and make it clear that these are issues to address with any campaign that must be taken seriously.

“The Age of Influence” is much more than a “how to” manual of influencer marketing; it is a treatise on how influence is actually about boosting engagement and having a more dynamic relationship between customer and brand. How in its earliest of stages, influencer marketing is indistinguishable for just good social media engagement. As Neal states in the book, don’t get too focused on the tools; but the tools to get started are all in “The Age of Influence.”

If you feel that influencer marketing is not for you; “The Age of Influence” begs to differ, and if your interest is already there then it is the all-important bible.

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Categories Books, Business, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
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