QR codes or Quick Response codes can be used for a multitude of things. Their basic function is to link you to a piece of information through a scanner. QR codes occur in the shape of pixelated drawings that represent data.
Smartphone scanners can read them to set up connections between devices or simply open up a web page. In China, they are used to purchase everything from a cup of coffee to a widescreen television. More numerous applications for QR codes are being found as time passes. They are used for digital signing and normal data transfer as well as Wi-Fi Authentication.
However, not many know how to generate them when it’s extremely easy to do so via Google Sheets. So here are a few different ways to create a QR code generator with Google Sheets.
Generating QR Codes in Google Sheets
It goes without saying that you require a Google Account for this. First, open up Google Sheets on your computer or smartphone (download the smartphone app for the best experience on mobile).
Then, make two columns called ‘URL’ and ‘QR Code’. This way, you can keep generating codes for URLs and not jumble them up.
Then, simply copy and paste this formula into a single box below the QR Code column and update:
=image("https://image-charts.com/chart?chs=150x150&cht=qr&choe=UTF-8&chl="&ENCODEURL(A2))
Here, the ‘A2’ at the end of the formula is the cell that contains the URL or data you want to create the code for. Hence, remember to alter the cell label every time you change everything before that is a call to Google’s Chart API. This has an option to, ‘qr’, or generate QR codes. Google has made everything as simple as 1-2-3 for you here.
You can then scan the QR code generated in the column and go to the URL specified.
QR Code Auto Generator Template
There is also a template that you can use to generate QR codes. Here it is: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QL05dnJFXaxU5BZMoIQ6H2S9M1dEJORaIQxrJe7BjVY/copy
It contains instructions for generating the codes, printing the codes, and other information. This is how common it is to generate Google Sheets QR Codes for multiple URLs. You can use them to promote your business or use it to direct people to pay for different things.
Applications of QR Codes
QR codes are extremely helpful when it comes to real-world applications. Here are just a few of the most useful applications of QR codes.
Purchasing
This application of QR codes is overwhelmingly present in China. People opt to leave cash at home and shop with their smartphones using QR code scanners. You can pay with QR codes for electronics, food items, subscriptions, etc. This makes purchasing extremely easy, and hassle-free. A lot of apps within China have made it easy for people to simply scan QR codes within them. Hence, ordering food, booking hotels, paying utility bills, etc., is all digital and seamless.
Email List Segmentation
QR cods can be used to create landing pages as well as capture different email addresses. These codes are new tech; hence, those that sign up with this method are early adopters. This means that they’re likely to be tech-savvy and more receptive to email marketing.
They’re also more likely to be on one or more social media networks. Hence, QR codes can help to segment email lists, depending on which type of customer you’re dealing with. If a QR code can direct a user to a custom post via their social media account, it’ll segment them. This is a great way to find out which niche you’re serving.
Social Sharing
QR codes are generally URLs, so they can help to generate tweets, statuses, or posts. You can use them to generate any of those on to a person’s account. This will make it simpler for you to share your specials or your offers with the customer’s social circle.
Think about the kind of outreach you can achieve with these QR codes. With a single scan, you can potentially reach hundreds, even thousands of people. Granted, the click-through rate may be, low, but you may gain dozens, even hundreds of new paying customers.
Tracking in Print Media
QR codes can also be used to extract information about the effectiveness of print media offline. A tracking URL can be embedded into your QR code. The traffic from that URL will be associated with the campaign. It’s not going to be a perfect measurement however. Nevertheless, it’s a great way of gathering information about the performance of an offline media effort.
Imagine if a business runs a print newspaper. They can track where their newspapers sell the most. They can more effectively market their online versions or apps or subscriptions there. They can also generate campaigns to be more effective in areas that their newspapers don’t reach.
Connecting Brick and Mortar Stores
This goes back to purchasing, however, it’s useful even if QR code enabled purchasing isn’t functional for your store. You can use QR codes to label products so that people can look up information about them. You can also attach QR codes to products to disseminate information about discounts, contests, giveaways, vouchers, and seasonal sales, etc.
Placing QR codes on top of doors and on the sides of adverts can actually direct people to registration sites. There, people can register for special offers or newsletters that your store sends out. It’s a great way to get the emails and contacts of potential customers and pull them in.
Using these methods, you can generate QR codes and market to a wide variety of people.
