It seems QR Codes have been popping up everywhere lately. Most recently, QR Codes are making their way into the real estate industry. For those who are unfamiliar with QR Codes, it stands for Quick Response. As defined by Wikipedia a QR Code is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.
As more and more people transition over to smartphones it’s becoming increasingly more important to reach this mobile web audience. QR Codes allow smartphone users to scan the code by taking a picture from their smartphone which then directs them to a specific page such as a Facebook Fan page or a special promotion. If your smartphone doesn’t have this feature you can download one from you app store but most Blackberry and newer smartphones have QR Code scanners.
A major benefit of QR Codes is that they have the ability to provide potential home owners with immediate information regarding listings, featured property and more. Think of QR Codes as your ability to create extra content in a limited space that is now available for immediate consumption.
Common Places you will see QR Codes:
- Real Estate Signs
- On your business cards
- Fliers and other hard mailings
- Newspapers Ads
- Conferences and tradeshows
- On your company website
Places to direct users:
- Website pages
- Social media sites
- Featured property
- New listings
- Other marketing resources
You can create these codes through a QR code generator which allows you input what you would like the QR code to do once it’s scanned. The generator will then create a 2-D barcoded image of your information. A few common QR generators are QRStuff.com, Kaywa and ZXing Project. Depending on the content you are looking to input into your QR code there are specific generators such as tiny urls or images.
It’s difficult to predict the long term impact QR codes will have on the real estate industry but in the immediate future they are definitely on the rise.
Coldwell Banker
