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..but they are not really useful unless they are click-able images.

I wanted to see, over the course of a week, how many people would be curious enough to scan my QR profile pic on LInkedIn and drive traffic to my blog. The experiment illustrated that unless the image is linkable, it won’t be used.
In planning the experiment, I had thought perhaps that using the image as a “Profile Pic” would generate enough interest for fellow LinkedIn users to scan the image. It has been almost a week now and has only generated a handful of clicks.
In my opinion, this is not a failed experiment, it reinforces the use of QR codes as an offline tool driving traffic online.

So my next QR code experiment is going to be with Gowalla and/or Foursquare. I am going to create a treasure hunt of sorts for the students here at Georgian College and I am going to use QR codes to guide them to their next clues. Complete a clue, check in at the next location and scan their next clue…this experiment should be way more successful.

QR codes are not a new phenomenon. We are just using them in new ways.

Want to go on a location based treasure hunt? ….it should be fun!

I just had a revelation.

In the excitement of a conversation I was having with a colleague this morning, I had an epiphany. I have had a profile on LinkedIn for many years, that I use on a regular basis to network and connect. It is a great social media tool for knowledge sharing as well.

SO…for those of you who like QR codes or Web Analytics, I am conducting an experiment with LinkedIn.
I have always said that QR codes are a great way to combine traditional advertising with online reach. Driving traffic to whatever landing page is associated with a campaign.

I added a track-able URL to the QR generated code that is now my LinkedIn profile picture. The URL drives traffic here, to my blog and I am anxious to see who clicks and how often it is used. One of the best things about marketing on the web is that it is measurable so I can’t wait to see that stats. I do also know that it is not a click able image…I am forcing the audience to give in to their curiosity and scan the image with their mobile smart phone. I am thinking the click-thru rate will be low but we will see with the raw data. It is a novel idea, but you have to want to drive your traffic to a mobile website.

This should be very interesting.

This Slideshare presentation on QR codes by David Stutts gives me SO many ideas of how I can market with them. I know this isn’t a NEW idea, I just took awhile to get on-board.

Paul Bradshaw of the Online Journalism Blog created this Slideshare presentation for his students. He is a Senior Lecturer in Online Journalism, Magazines and New Media at Birmingham City University’s (UK) School of Media. and intends to share his lessons online. As a Web Marketing Strategist and Instructor at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario, I intend to follow a similar model and post some lectures to my blog as well. I love this concept of information sharing, it is like open source, for education.

This is a further indication of the paradigm shift directly relating to the age of the Instructor, Teacher or Professor.
I find that some faculty put up any barrier they can possibly think to avoid sharing their intellectual property. However, here we have someone who wants to teach the world, not just the class in front of him.

I love this teaching model. The internet IS the place for learning, we just have to increase the number of credible sources that the information comes from and this is the perfect way to do it.

Wasn’t this one of the first lessons we learned as children? Share and share alike.

Enjoy the SlideShare presentation, it is well worth the read.

Now that social media is becoming a prime element in online marketing strategies, we need to watch our customers more than our competitors. It can be much more damaging letting a customer complaint go unaddressed than not keeping up with what your competitors are doing. Do not discount your competition, but shift your focus on to your customers and you will reap the richest return of investment.

Social media breaks down the barrier between the consumer and the brand. Consumers are able to interact with your brand online with Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. The ability to talk to and about your brand have increased exponentially. Unfortunately, it is as easy to spread a sour experience as it is a good experience. They reach the same audience with very differing results.

A negative experience can destroy a brand. If you don’t have a social media marketing strategy in place that monitors the conversations that are about your brand, then you are three steps behind. There is no opportunity for a brand to sleep, it is always on display, social media outlets create a 24/7 discussion on their behalf.

Make sure that if you dabble in Social media, you have a long-term maintenance plan in place. A Facebook Fan page is not something you create and expect to babysit itself. You need a brand watchdog online.

Bad press can be managed, if you know it is happening.

Building a community conversation is a monumental challenge for an academic institution in higher education.
Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn as social networking hubs are thriving and ever evolving in the most verbose way.

Twitter says more with less. In the Twitter world, a 140 character message is the vehicle. Twitter reminds you of the fundamental principles of advertising writing – AIDA. Attention, Interest, Desire and Action…a short and sweet attempt to spread the word. This leverages the WOM factor as well as establishing Social Media Capital (according to Seth Godin).

In higher education, you have little time to engage your audience, so why not offer them the opportunity to engage with you where they spend their time?

Twitter your Student Events, your school closings, your “Code Red”….Twitter is going to help change how we communicate in communities, it already has.

Check out Twitter, it isn’t just for “Twits”.