How to Integrate QR Codes & SMS Text Messaging Into One

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Hey Warriors,

I got a PM from B and B asking a really good question about how to integrate QR Codes and Text Messaging together and thought it would make a good post to share with others.

I'm a big fan of QR Codes and the potential that they have, but one of the drawbacks is lack of ability to capture customer information. You can add an opt-in form on the mobile site that the QR Code links to, but it isn't like text messaging where everybody gets added to a database just by texting in the keyword.

Here is how to integrate QR Codes and Text Messaging together. First, go to the Kaywa QR Code Generator (QR-Code Generator). Next, under content type, you'll see URL, Text, Phone Number, and SMS. Select SMS. Two boxes will now show below, which are Nr (phone number) and Message. For Nr, put in your shortcode (for example 54545) and then under the message put in the SMS keyword. Select Generate and you'll have a QR Code that will send a text message to your shortcode with a message that is your keyword. The user then just needs to hit send and they will have opted into your SMS database.

For the response text message that is sent to the person who opts in, make sure to include a link to a mobile website that you create for your clients. This way the mobile website URL will stay on the person's phone for as long as they have the text message. You will also have captured their information to be able to send text messages to them in the future. It's the best of both worlds!

One thing to note on this: There are many different smartphones and QR Code readers and this doesn't work on all combinations. I personally use Neoreader as my main QR Code scanner because it scans the quickest, but the SMS feature doesn't seem to work when I scan SMS QR Codes. I have an Android phone and have found that Barcode Scanner by ZXing works best for the SMS feature. As soon as I scan an SMS QR Code with Barcode Scanner it brings up my text messaging app and will allow me to send the text. I'm not sure what works best for iPhone, but if anybody has any suggestions, it would be a great addition to this thread!

I hope this helps out people who have been wondering about how to do this!

-Ben
#offline marketing #codes #integrate #messaging #offline #qr code #qr codes #sms #text #text messaging
  • Good post, Ben. The inigma reader works best for me on an iPhone 3Gs
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    • We're doing the same thing. I currently build QR codes for clients(freebie to them) that when scanned send an sms to the platform and subscribes the user to the list, the sms system then sends back the message. Pretty cool stuff. Some times a client will send a link and sometimes not.

      I have found that if I manage the campaign the client does mucho better.

      Great post Ben
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    • Yep, sure does! All that field does is populate the phone number to send the text message to. So it can be a 5 or 6 digit shortcode, or a 10 digit Twilio code or even a friend's cell phone number to send a text.

      It is very important to test it out with different QR Readers though... Then when you have the call to action next to the QR Code, make sure to mention a specific QR reader for users to download. I always recommend to my clients to put the following next to their QR Code: "Download your FREE scanner by searching Barcode Scanner in the App Marketplace."

      -Ben
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  • I think warrior ben has found the secret of human cloning, or he has given up sleeping.
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    • LOL, Warrior Ben is a very fast typer! ;-) I have obviously been posting quite a bit this last week, but I'm trying to fit it into my schedule to give back to this forum. I've learned so much here that I feel I should pay it forward.

      The biggest thing for me is that I make calls from 8am to 10am every day. I just do it in the morning and hammer it out. Sometimes I will have to make follow up calls at different times of the day, but I always do my cold calling first thing in the morning. I then only schedule appointments for the afternoon. It really helps keep my day organized!

      -Ben
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  • I got your freebie, Thanks again Warrior Ben!
  • Great post!
    I personally love QR codes and SMS messaging, basically the whole "mobile aspect" is blowing up the affiliate game(in a good way0
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    • Hi Warrior Ben,

      I got your freebie.

      Many thanks.
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    • Great Post, QR Codes are definitely here to stay. The Trumpia blog has some great tips on the implementation of QR Codes in marketing strategies.
  • Great post, easy to follow information. Keep up the good work Ben and thanks again
  • I didn't understand a word of it -- but I downloaded it anyway 'cause I sure HOPE to need it some day real soon. Thanks bunches!!
  • Ok this may seem dumb or not but:
    • What 'shortcode'? i.e. what is it and how do we get one?
    • What 'sms database'?... likewise what and how?
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    • Dhira, you may wanna do some further research but to answer your queries:

      1. Have you ever heard radio adverts or seen on tv where they say something along the lines of "text DEALS to 54543 to get our latest deals"?? The "shortcode" here is the number you are sending the message to. The keyword is the word you get people to text to that number, in this case the keyword is "DEALS".

      2. Whichever SMS service provider you use will have a specific short code/number (example 54543 as above) and you can make up a keyword (in the above example this is "Deals"), providing that no one else using the SMS service is already using that keyword. Your SMS service will then create a database of phone numbers, those phone numbers being the people who text the word DEALS to the "phone number" 54543. You can then use this list of numbers to send out any special offers your company may have going.

      Hope this helps.

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  • I'd like to chime in here with a real world example of how I used this technique this past summer at the local university.

    This particular idea was stolen from many places online, so don't think I'm some mobile guru here. The basic idea is that you get a crapload of flyers passed out to kids at a local university. These flyers have a QR code that will opt them into a list that I control and can send out SMS 'coupons' from.

    I then go around to a lot of local businesses and say, basically, look I have this list of college kids and wouldn't it be just awesome if you could get a bunch of students in here for FREE for a month. The deal was I'd send four of the same coupon, once a week, over the course of a month for free. The business would see how they liked it and the responses it gave and then after the month start paying me for the service.

    Here's the flyer (you can scan it, but don't opt-in please):



    Anyway, this generated some buzz and gained some traction until The State newspaper got wind of it and literally copied my entire idea and used their existing business relationships to railroad me out. Whatever.

    So anyway I just thought I'd share this real life example that this does work - I got over 100 opt ins from about 1,000 flyers so the response rate isn't bad. Overall it was a good learning experience and I plan to use this for clients in the future if the need arises.

    The cost for all this broke down to:

    $5.00 or whatever for the domain
    $50/month for Trumpia SMS services. Very happy with them, I know there's others.
    $85.00 for 2,500 flyers.
    ~$120 to hire three people to stand outside in the summer heat for 5 hours handing out the flyers to college freshmen.
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    • Sounds great! But wouldn't it have been cheaper to just ask some freshmen students to dish out the fliers for dirt cheap for like an hour?

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