QR Codes: There’s data behind scans

QR codes help bridge “real world” physical/analog items with the digital/online world by storing digital information.

Today, QR codes are used in both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (termed “mobile tagging”). QR codes may be used to display text to the user, to open a webpage on the user’s device, to add a vCard contact to the user’s device, to open a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), to connect to a wireless network, or to compose an email or text message.

Enter UTM (Urchin tracking module) codes, or bits of text added to a link that tell analytics tools more information about each link. A QR Code having URL tagged with UTM parameters can help us track campaign performance. In short, UTM codes tell the story of how a client’s traffic is coming to them. UTM codes use three (or four) parameters: source, medium, content (optional) and campaign. These parameters tell our analytics tools how to sort the incoming traffic.

This data feeds into our greater analytics platforms. We then use the analytics dashboard to monitor and track each code. The dashboard tells us, with real-time feedback and statistics, which marketing tactic is performing best for our clients at any given time. For example, if we’re tracking links across social media (and the rest of a client’s digital content), we’ll receive more information from analytics features because there is more to track.

Using QR codes and UTM codes is an easy way to drive customers to the information our clients want them to see. This enables us to provide clients with sound, proven guidance based on a full view of their marketing efforts from real-time data, and help them make strategic investments with their marketing budgets.

How can we put QR codes and UTM codes to work for you? Let’s talk!