TrakQR Blog

Have you heard?! TrakQR is now in Open Beta! That’s right...

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:09:41 -0400

Have you heard?! TrakQR is now in Open Beta! That’s right - anyone can create an account, send us their feedback and make some QR codes! We’ve also added some amazing new features to our QR code analytics and tracking service. Be sure to sign up and check it out! You can register at http://trakqr.com/register!

What's The Demographic of QR Code Users?

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:24:33 -0400

An interesting press release came out this week from ComScore:

“The study found that in June 2011, 14 million mobile users in the U.S., representing 6.2 percent of the total mobile audience, scanned a QR or bar code on their mobile device. The study found that a mobile user that scanned a QR or bar code during the month was more likely to be male (60.5 percent of code scanning audience), skew toward ages 18-34 (53.4 percent) and have a household income of $100k or above (36.1 percent). The study also analyzed the source and location of QR or bar code scanning, finding that users are most likely to scan codes found in newspapers/magazines and on product packaging and do so while at home or in a store.”

In the report - comScore shares that 53.4% of those who scanned QR codes in June 2011 were 18-34 years old. Men were 25% more likely to scan QR codes than the average user and represent 60.5% of the scanning audience! Another interesting piece of the report showed that more than 1 in 3 people who scanned QR codes had a household income of $100,000 plus.

58% of those who scanned the codes were at home when they scanned the code and nearly 50% scanned codes located in a newspaper or magazine.

It have been evident for us at TrakQR that the growth of QR codes is increasing, even in our small town in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Nearly every piece of mail we receive has these little squares and we can’t be more excited about the news!

How are you using QR codes? And are you able to track how effective your QR campaigns are for your business, event or service?

We are currently looking for feedback on our private beta - if you are interested in learning more about QR codes and how to track and manage them - feel free to sign up with this special link: http://trakqr.com/beta/ireadyourblog

A quick ‘how to’ from your friends at TrakQR! Like...

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:11:00 -0400

A quick ‘how to’ from your friends at TrakQR!

Like what you see? Get an exclusive invite to our closed beta here!

The History of QR Codes

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:28:00 -0400

You may be noticing these funky little squares popping up everywhere - but while they may be new to you, Quick Response (QR) codes have a bit of history around the world!

These two dimensional codes are used to engage those who choose to scan them with dedicated QR code scanners and smart phones. Even webcams and iPads can scan them! Generally, these QR codes are arranged in black and white squares but as their popularity continues to grow many designers and marketing professionals are adding their own flair to the codes. The data encoded into the codes can be anything from URL, text, mapping and more!

Quick Response codes were created in 1994 by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave. It was intended to allow its data to be decoded quickly at high speeds. The technology has taken huge strides in Japan, the Netherlands and areas in South Korea. However, these codes are slowly making their way into major European countries and even the United States.

The codes were initially used to track parts during vehicle manufacturing. As the technology has spread into other industries many use the codes for commercial and advertising targeting active mobile users.

The use of QR codes is free of license and clearly defined and published as an ISO standard. Denso-Wave owns patent rights on QR codes but has chosen not to act on them in order to further their widespread usage.The term ‘QR code’ is a registered trademark of Denso-Wave, as well.

There are four levels of error correction for QR codes:

Level L - 7% of codewords can be restored.
Level M - 15% of codewords can be restored.
Level Q - 25% of codewords can be restored.
Level H - 30% of codewords can be restored.

At the highest level of error correction, artistic codes can be created with intentional errors that may display logos and colors that tend to be more pleasing to the human eye. However, some scanners may have difficulty reading the various artistic changes in the code.

QR codes are on the rise around the world thus bringing the onslaught of many mobile devices offering various applications to scan them. Many mobile phones provided by Android, Nokia and Blackberry already have a QR code reader installed within the device allowing the user to be more comfortable with scanning. Among Apple devices there are various free and paid applications to be downloaded that provide similar QR scanning services.

With QR codes becoming more and more prominent, its important to know the history and the emerging technology taking place. At TrakQR we provide dynamic QR codes allowing the user to edit and manage their codes with ease. You can learn more about the difference between static QR codes and dynamic QR codes on our website!

What we've been up to at TrakQR:

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 10:23:04 -0400

Wow! What an awesome first week of the TrakQR Private Beta! We are having a blast learning from you all and your feedback has been extremely helpful! We really appreciate everyone who has joined TrakQR and we love that you all are sharing about our service! This is our first official update to TrakQR so we wanted to keep our early adopters informed. Based on the feedback we have received so far we have fixed a few bugs and updated the functionality of a few of the code types. Here’s a list of things we have addressed and fixed in this update:

Clicking on “Test Code” now opens in a new window/tab so that you can continue tweaking your code in your current view
You can now point “Website URL” codes to secure addresses (https://)
Including &’s and #’s (hashtags) in your “Compose a Tweet” code is now possible
Email Address & Phone Number bug in “Contact Details” codes have been fixed
140 character limit on “Compose a Tweet” codes now displays correctly

In addition to these bug fixes we have been working on some improvements on the back-end to help us as we grow throughout the closed and eventually open beta phases of TrakQR. The biggest improvement is our brand new shiny servers (yeah, we’re pretty pumped!) Thanks to all of you who have adopted TrakQR and shared our service with your peers we have grown so quickly that we’ve had to upgrade our servers three months ahead of schedule! We have moved into the amazing Rackspace Cloud and our new servers are much faster and will allow us the scalability we need for the future - meaning less interruption for you! We have also optimized the way we store the codes your create. This allows us to add features with ease to both the codes and the analytics over the coming months. We have some awesome stuff coming your way soon and we are excited! Keep sending us your feedback - we love to hear from our users!

Thanks again,
Steven, Abbi, Craig & Yancey

Creating a Dynamic QR Code with TrakQR Quick Response (QR) codes...

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 10:43:01 -0400

Creating a Dynamic QR Code with TrakQR

Quick Response (QR) codes can be simple! With our minimalistic dashboard you can organize and create dynamic QR codes that allow you to edit and track the code over the course of any campaign.

Edit a QR code? Yep. Dynamic QR codes are different from the run of the mill static QR codes you see floating around the internet. Dynamic QR allows you create one QR code and change the destination or action of the scan at any time! For example, you use one of the TrakQR codes on your business cards and have the code download/email a VCard with your contact information to a device for social gatherings and networking. But when you go to speak at a conference you set up your TrakQR code to send out a special tweet saying “I’m attending @yourusername’s presentation on how to be awesome.” After the conference is over you can then change your TrakQR code back to your VCard for your daily needs. This is all done through one magical TrakQR code and saves you the cost and effort of getting new or different business cards.

So how does one go about getting a TrakQR code?

That’s easy! Once you have registered for TrakQR - you will be sent to your very own TrakQR dashboard. At the very top of the dashboard you will be prompted to create your first code (see above). Name your TrakQR code and select which type of code you want to create. TrakQR will then prompt you with a few fields specific to each different type. After you finish - just select ‘Create.’

Now you that you have a Dynamic QR code - you can come back at anytime to edit, track, download, or delete the code which you have created. It’s really that simple!

Want to be apart of our private beta? Use this special link: http://trakqr.com/beta/tumblr

Closed Beta - Just Launched!

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 02:03:36 -0400

We just launched our closed beta - first round of invites have been sent out! We’re headed to sleep now! :)

Here’s another sneak peek at TrakQR! All the different...

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:35:13 -0400

Here’s another sneak peek at TrakQR! All the different formats and sizes you can download!

New Features Page - oh yeahz!

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:59:16 -0400

New Features Page - oh yeahz!:

We’ve recently updated our features page with screen shots of our QR code generator/campaign manager. We’re excited. Launching in less than 48 hours!

QR Codes - What the heck?!

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 15:58:05 -0400

What the heck is a QR Code?

QR, or Quick Response, codes are 2D barcodes that can be read by a variety of smartphones inlcluding iPhone/iPad, Android, Windows Mobile, Nokia, Blackberry and others. With an assortment of QR code scanner apps readily available, people are learning more about products, brands, events and practically anything else with a quick scan of a code. Whether printed or online, they are being used as a new and improved way to spread the word about whatever it is you want to share with the world.

So what makes a QR Code “dynamic”?

Most QR codes are static - meaning the destination of the scan is hardcoded into the QR code and will always go to the same place every time it is scanned. Dynamic QR codes, on the other hand, give you the ability to change the destination of the code whenever you want to where ever you want. This flexibility allows you to extend the lifecycle of your print ads, test different types of campaigns with ease and could potentially save you a lot of time and money.

First ever TrakQR codes used for business- check out the new biz...

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 15:06:15 -0400

First ever TrakQR codes used for business- check out the new biz cards @abbisiler is passing out!

Another sneak peek of TrakQR! Get excited!

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 11:58:50 -0400

Another sneak peek of TrakQR! Get excited!

Walking through our entire dashboard & user experience!...

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:44:00 -0400

Walking through our entire dashboard & user experience! Launching next week!

Here’s a sneak peek of our QR code dashboard! We plan on...

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:46:21 -0400

Here’s a sneak peek of our QR code dashboard! We plan on launching in about a week… and we are SUPER pumped about it! If you haven’t signed up for an invite - you better get on the ball…we are hoping to have them in the mail next week.

Got feedback? Let us know!

@trakqr on Twitter

Art + Technology = FTW!

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:50:33 -0400

Art + Technology = FTW!

Sign-Up: Exclusive QR Beta

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:48:00 -0400

Sign-Up: Exclusive QR Beta:

Sign-up for our exclusive QR code generator and manager beta. We are extremely excited to offer sign-ups and look forward to all of the feedback we get from our beta users! Signing up is easy - just click the link!

Print Media Isn't Dead - Use QR codes!

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:01:00 -0400

Print marketing isn’t dead as many people may claim - there are several ways to use your traditional marketing efforts in a new and advanced way that not only helps you analyze your return on investment but may also freshen up your current print campaigns.

For example, you run an advertisement in a local newspaper, maybe even a national newspaper, likely shooting in the dark hoping your ad somehow stands out on a page with tons of other information. Why not make it more interactive?! Adding a QR code to your traditional print advertisements not only draw attention to the ad but they also have additional values - like the ability to track how many people actually scan the code and driving traffic to that website you spent money on last year!

Being able to know when the QR code was scanned, from what device and which ad campaign the scan was generated can help every business see the value in their marketing efforts both in print and new media formats.

Depending on the QR code you would be able to change the location of where the QR code is directed. For example - say you run an advertisement every Sunday in your local paper promoting your weekly specials in your store. Now you can design one advertisement to run every week - with one QR code that when scanned will take you to a page on your website which you can change every week. So a reader of the paper this Sunday will scan the code this week for the specials but will scan next week for a new specials list. This not only saved you design costs for creating a new ad, but also creates an ease for the reader as they can save the specials to their phone and have it in the palm of their hand when they are shopping in your store.

So, after a few weeks you decide instead of giving a list of specials this week you give an exclusive coupon to loyal readers of the local paper - you can change the destination of the QR code without even designing a new advertisement. This is called a dynamic QR code, giving you the ability to change the destination of a QR code without recreating or re-generating a completely different code for every single ad campaign you launch.

As the scans roll in you will be able to justify your advertisement costs in the local paper and you will feel more empowered to make a decision about your marketing budget based on numbers vs a guess.

So next time you hear that print media is dead - just think about how to refresh your print campaigns that will make you stand out - rather than giving up completely!

And if you’re interested in trying our new QR campaign service - be sure to signup for the free beta we offering later this summer or tweet us with any questions!