Using QR Codes for Real Estate Listings
If you’re a Realtor, you may have heard some buzz around Quick Response (QR) codes and wondered how they can be integrated into your real estate listings to increase awareness. Or you may have just seen them around at your neighborhood cafe and wondered how they work. In short, a QR code is the new form of a bar code that smart phone users can scan to get all sorts of information about you and your listings. To see the technology in action, you can test out the QR code above that takes you to my home page.
Here is a short list of what kind of information they can supply:
- Web links to your website or real estate listing landing page
- Your contact information (vCard or meCard)
- Direct link to connect to your Social Media pages (facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)
- SMS messages sent directly to their phone
- Google map locations
- Event information
The QR code generates a graphic that can be added to printed materials or directly to your website. I recommend QRStuff.com to generate your QR codes. There is an endless array of uses once you have the QR code, some ideas are:
- Add it to your business card so your contact information can be automatically imported into their phone’s contact list
- Create custom signage for the home including the QR code that links to the listing page on your website (this option is great for homes with a lot of foot traffic that often run out of flyers)
- Place the QR code on mailers and flyers
- Include a QR code with the home location (via Google maps) on the listing page so buyers can easily locate the home
These are just a few ideas but really there are endless uses. The great thing is that most newly released smart phones have are equipped to read QR codes, and if not it is easy to add a free QR reader application (simply search for QR reader in your app market).
Of course, creating a QR code is just the first step in the process. For those technically savvy Realtors you’ll want to see the results, and that is when an expert can come in handy. In the meantime, start experimenting and see what all the buzz is about!
