The February monthly SMBDC meeting, hosted by The Inn at Cedar Crossing will explore smartphones and mobile Web marketing this morning from 9 – 10:30 am.
You have probably been seeing them and wondering what they are doing on the back of a business card, on a postcard, a billboard, a catalog or a newspaper ad. They are starting to appear in Google Place listings and on many savvy Websites. Those little black and white patchwork quilt patterns made up of what look like random squares are not random…
Common in Japan, where it was created by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave in 1994, the QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. QR is the abbreviation for Quick Response, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.
A smart phone can scan QR codes with its camera, either with an application that a user downloads or via software that’s already installed on the phone. To find out what application to use for your phone, we recommend doing a Google search for the model of your phone + “QR reader.”
The little man on the cover of my book is pointing to a QR code that will immediately call up the DesignWise Studios Website if you scan it with your smart phone. It will be saved as a bookmark for later reference and when your phone seeks out the Website it is mobile-friendly.
That means it is delivered by a content management system (CMS) designed to respond with multiple styles depending on whether a desktop machine or a handheld device is calling for it. All of our work at DesignWise Studios is now mobile-friendly – an especially important factor for businesses in a tourist zone where visitors frequently access the Web from a handheld device.
We will discuss QR codes, how to make them, use them on your advertising and how to read them. We will also talk about serving smart phones and how to create a mobile friendly Website from 9 am – 10:30 on Wednesday, February 16 in Sturgeon Bay.
You can email stephen.kastner@smbdc.com or call 920.256.9449 with questions. The event is free and reservations are not necessarry. The Inn at Cedar Crossing at 3rd Avenue and Louisiana Street has been kind enough to provide the entire main dining room for our meeting. You may order off the menu at your own expense. SMBDC meetings take place on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 9 – 10:30 am.