There are many people out there who have no idea what a QR code is, but they would probably recognize them. Most of them look something like this:
Over the past few years, QR codes have migrated from a purely Japanese phenomenon to one that is making headway into mainstream worldwide advertising.
QR codes are most commonly used to put URLs into physical advertising media such as magazines, signs, business cards, busses, etc. Mobile users with a camera-equipped smart phone are able to scan a QR code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the phone’s browser.
So why is it cool that bit.ly is offering them now?
One of the great features about bit.ly is it allows registered users to quickly create links that generate trackable user metrics.
Now those same features are available on QR codes. Just take any bit.ly URL, such as http://bit.ly/keathley and append a “.qr” on the end of it like this: http://bit.ly/keathley.qr.
Presto, instant trackable QR code! Advertisers can quickly get all sorts of useful statistics on campaigns, even if they’re linked to places where you don’t have direct access to the analytics data.
Pretty cool and easy!
