Imagine seeing a QR Code in the middle of a promotion hyping a pair of designer shoes. But there isn’t a call to action (CTA) to be found.
Would you still scan the code without knowing where it would direct you?
For many consumers, the answer is “no.” When it comes to technology, the less ambiguity, the better. For the best results (and the highest chances of customers following through with a scan), add CTAs to your QR Codes. This way, a person knows what they can expect before scanning your code.
In this guide, we’ll give you some actionable tips for implementing QR Code CTAs into your digital strategy.
What is a QR Code call to action?
QR Codes are engaging on their own. These two-dimensional barcodes have a unique matrix pattern that’s unlike anything else. People can scan QR Codes with their smartphones to access all kinds of content, from PDFs to landing pages, via URL.
However, if you want more results from your QR Codes, you should be clear about where your audience is going once they scan them. This is where QR Code CTAs come into play. These short, punchy, and straight-to-the-point directives tell the customer where they’ll end up after scanning the QR Code.
QR Code CTAs can pique the customer’s curiosity and promise the convenience of immediate access, making them highly effective for driving engagement.
Let’s say you’re looking at a few billboards while riding the subway. You notice a QR Code on one of the billboards promoting a skin care product. The billboard has a CTA that says, “Scan for a free trial.”
With this CTA, a person interested in the product knows they’ll be directed to a free trial landing page once they scan the QR Code. Without the short directive, they’re left guessing—which isn’t ideal for grabbing busy people’s attention.
Benefits of creating strong, compelling QR Code CTAs
As you can see, QR Code CTAs are crucial for giving your audience important context behind your marketing messages. With that said, here are some of the benefits of creating a compelling call to action.
Prompting immediate engagement
When people see a clear CTA, they’re much more likely to engage with an ad or promotion. Otherwise, they’re left wondering what your ad is about and could become disinterested. Luckily, QR Code CTAs can help facilitate instant interaction with your content or offers.
If you’re running a television ad promoting one of your services, you can use a QR Code with a compelling CTA to drive your audience towards a specific action. This action could be scheduling a free consultation or contacting your business.
No matter the action, QR Code CTAs give your audience something to do next, continuing your engagement with them and improving your conversion rates.
Bridging the online-offline gap
Many digital marketers prefer using QR Codes because they can bridge offline and online customer touchpoints. QR Codes can seamlessly connect physical marketing materials to digital resources via URL.
Also, clear QR Code CTAs can help make this connection more obvious. You can embed QR Codes with relevant CTAs on promotional materials (such as hats, notebooks, and so on) to get people to visit your social media profiles or a specific page on your website. It all depends on the goal of your campaign.
This way, offline customer engagements can turn into online conversions.
Tracking user interaction
Creating the perfect CTA is all about iteration—finding the right variation that intrigues your target audience. With QR Code CTAs, you can get detailed analytics insights.
If you’re trying to determine which CTA is most effective for print ads, you can perform an A/B test using multiple QR Codes that link to the same page, but use different CTA text. When you use Dynamic URL QR Codes from Bitly, you can get insights into scan data through Bitly Analytics: number of scans, type of device used, scans over time, referring sources, and top-performing codes. This data can help you see which is the more effective CTA and improve your entire campaign.
Innovative call-to-action examples for QR Codes in various industries
By now, it’s clear why QR Code CTAs should have a place in your marketing strategy. Here are a few examples, in different industries, to show you how they can work.
Retail
Retailers can use QR Codes to display promotions and direct customers to additional relevant product information, whether in-store or online.
Some effective CTA examples include:
- Scan for an exclusive in-store discount
- Unlock your secret coupon here
- Discover our new arrivals with a scan
- See it in action: Scan for product demos
- Instantly compare products by scanning here
As you can see, these retail CTAs are both brief and specific. They can be used to give high-level context into the promotions and demos you want to highlight in front of your target audience.
Event planning
For event planners, Dynamic QR Codes can be an excellent way to give your audience more information about an upcoming event. They can enhance event experiences through easy registration or interactive elements.
Here are some CTAs you can use to get the job done:
- Scan to register now
- Scan to secure your spot and skip the line
- Scan to unlock event agenda
- Scan for live updates and announcements
- Discover more about speakers and sessions
The key takeaway here is to emphasize that by making a quick scan, the person will benefit somehow. In doing so, you can appeal to convenience—a driving motivational factor for younger audiences.
Education
QR Codes can be used to help students access course materials via URL or direct them to submit assignments on an ed-tech platform’s website. In fact, using QR Codes in the classroom can make teachers’ jobs much easier. Here are several CTAs you can use to provide sufficient context to students:
- Scan to access course readings
- Unlock exclusive study materials
- Submit your assignment
- Get assignment guidelines
- Scan for feedback and grade submissions
Unlike retail and event planning CTAs, these examples are far more specific. As such, you should ensure your QR Codes contain accurate and relevant links. Using Dynamic Codes can help you adjust your QR Codes at any time, just in case specific links for your educational content change.
Healthcare
Healthcare organizations can use QR Code CTAs to drive guests toward patient check-in sites, access health records via their patient portal site, or review educational content via URL with more information about treatments and health tips.
When creating healthcare CTAs, it’s important to make sure they’re specific and navigational. In other words, your CTA should point toward a precise action. Here are some examples:
- Scan for secure check-in
- Access your personal health records
- Learn more about your treatment options
- Update your health information
Not only should you emphasize that the QR Code will lead to an action or destination, but you should also make sure the consumer knows your code is safe. You can do this with the words you choose in the CTA, the language on the landing page, or, ideally, both.
Hospitality and tourism
Above all else, QR Codes in the hospitality industry aim to improve guest experiences. This means making it easy for guests to enjoy their stay and create a memorable experience. The following CTAs show how QR Codes can improve guest tourism:
- Discover nearby attractions and tours
- View today’s special menu offerings
- Unlock exclusive deals for your stay
To maximize the success of these CTAs, it’s important to make them visible and accessible across your facility. For instance, a hotel could include printed materials in individual rooms that contain QR Codes guests can scan to find nearby restaurants.
Real estate
Real estate agents can use QR Codes to enhance their lead-generation process. Generally speaking, real estate QR Codes can improve the buying or selling process.
Here are some examples of real estate CTAs you can use to make your job easier:
- Scan to view property details
- Schedule a tour
- Take a virtual tour
- Download our real guide for buyers/sellers
Real estate agents typically earn commissions. By implementing these QR Codes, they can serve multiple clients at a time and automate their closing process.
How to create effective QR Code CTAs
Ready to master the skill of creating the best QR Code CTAs? If so, you should follow this step-by-step customization guide:
- Determine what action you want your audience to take. Do you want them to sign up for a free trial or call your sales team? Making this decision is fundamental in drafting your CTA.
- Design your CTA with a bold and clear font. This way, it can stand out amongst the actual QR Code matrix.
- Place your CTA below your QR Code. Placing it anywhere else can be confusing for viewers.
- Make sure your QR Codes lead to web pages that are mobile-friendly. Since your scanners will be mobile users, your website’s UX should adapt to their devices.
Following these tips will help you avoid QR Code scanning problems and engage your audience.
Best practices for CTA success
Before sending your QR Codes live, here are some best practices you should keep in mind first.
Consider audience targeting
Targeting specific audience segments helps ensure that your CTAs are timely and relevant. As such, you should tailor your QR Code CTAs to the interests and behaviors of your target audience.
If you’re targeting people who have abandoned their cart, you may want to urge them to quickly return and shop with the lure of the fear of missing out (FOMO). If this is the case, create a sense of urgency with “now,” “limited time only,” and “today.”
On the other hand, if you’re targeting new prospects, it’s best to pique their interest with a captivating CTA. Either way, speak to the interests, pain points, and motivations of each audience segment.
This way, you’ll have more success in creating QR Code CTAs that hit the mark.
Test your CTAs
CTAs aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. If you want to maintain an effective QR Code marketing strategy, you’ll need to begin A/B testing different designs and messages to see what resonates best with your audience.
The best way to perform an A/B test is to be clear and direct. Make sure to use concise language to test which variant works best for your strategy.
If you’re running multiple ads and promotions, it may take a while to test all your QR Code CTAs. This means that A/B testing is a continuous process—you’ll have to review and adjust periodically to create long-term QR Code CTAs.
Track and analyze performance
If your QR Code CTA isn’t successful on the first try, don’t sweat it. With a QR Code generator, you can track and analyze the performance of your CTAs.
With helpful data and insights at your disposal, you can make important campaign adjustments. If you’re running two local QR campaigns, you can find out which campaign is getting higher total scans.
Then, you can adjust the CTA of the least-performing ad to match your most successful one.
Leverage audience feedback
Marketing strategies are first built using preconceived notions about an audience. Sometimes, these guesses are correct. Other times, they’re not. By collecting audience feedback, you can implement changes to your QR Code CTAs that you know will work.
If you want to know how your audience feels about your CTAs, you should simply ask them. Deliver a survey via email or SMS to receive their feedback. Keep in mind your survey should be brief to respect their time.
Practice ongoing CTA optimization
Adjusting your QR Code CTAs isn’t a one-time task. You should constantly strive for improvement as you receive regular data and insights.
By leveraging performance data and user feedback, you can master the skill of creating the perfect CTAs for your audience and refine your digital marketing strategy. You may find that your CTAs aren’t working like they once were.
If you embrace continual CTA optimization, then you can get proactive in keeping your promotions engaging and up-to-date.
Empower your marketing strategy with QR Code CTAs
Overall, QR Code CTAs are important for directing your target audience where you want them to go. Ideally, they should be clear and concise, while still captivating your audience to scan and move forward.
It’s important to point out that the strategies mentioned here are just a starting point. Experiment with your own CTA design and customization strategies to determine what works best for your business.
When you’re ready to start creating your own QR Codes, Bitly can help. Get started for free today!