QR codes are popping up everywhere, giving your school a lot of options for its message. Scanning the code can take your supporters to Web pages, YouTube videos, texts, and maps. You can provide a QR code that will scan directly to your “donate now” page, or provide a video that will show prospects why they should support your school. Whatever you can dream up, a QR code can lead you there.
Rise in Popularity of QR Codes
Since first exploring QR code scanning last year, those little square codes have been popping up everywhere! It’s a good bet that you have seen them on mailings, sale fliers, in stores, in malls, and many other places. The widespread use of the smart device (iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, etc.) means you really have a new way to get your message to your supporters.
Chad Norman, internet marketing manager for Blackbaud, noted that 14 million Americans scanned QR codes in June 2011, and there was a 4500% increase in QR code use from 2009 to 2010. He listed five reasons “scanning for good” is something you should consider for your campaigns in Scanning for Good: 5 Reasons QR Codes Are a Safe Option for Nonprofits on www.netwitsthinktank.com.
Why Create a QR Code?
The explosion of scanning and QR code use is the first reason, obviously. It’s not just a novelty anymore. It’s safe to say that people are getting a lot of their information on their phones and their tablets.
QR coding means you have a lot of options for your message. Scanning the code can take your supporters to Web pages, YouTube videos, texts, and maps for example. You can provide a QR code that will scan directly to your “donate now” page, or provide a video that will show prospects why they should support your school. Whatever you can dream up, a QR code can lead you there.
Scanners are mostly free and readily available. And 40 per cent of U.S. cell phone users are using smartphones—Android, Blackberry, iPhone, etc.—all with access to downloadable scanners.
It doesn’t cost anything to create a QR code. If you are already using bit.ly to shorten and customize links, then you have QR codes automatically generated!
QR codes are being used successfully in the nonprofit world, so you are not guinea-pigging the concept. For examples and more about QR codes, view the presentation that Norman and colleague Allison Nassour presented at the Blackbaud Conference for Nonprofits called Scanning for Good: How Nonprofits Can Use QR Codes.
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Do you think QR codes are advantageous for businesses and schools? How do you feel about these advances in technology and creating your own codes? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
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