QR codes are back and a great way to drive traffic to your online engagements. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to easily create a QR code for use in promotional materials like posters and newsletters.

Back around 2010, QR codes promised much but delivered very little. Many of us thought these little digital squares were on their way out the door – if not already gone for good. But thanks to COVID, these modern-day bar codes are back and bigger than ever, and you can use them to promote your engagements.

If you don't know how a QR code works, it is effectively a coded image containing a link that opens a digital service like a website, app, or file. You simply scan the image with the camera of a mobile device which in turn opens open the service.

Despite their apparent magic, QR codes are actually quite simple (and free) to create. In this example, we're going to create a QR code that directs your community to a specific URL on your engagement site. This will allow them to quickly view your engagement without having to manually type in the URL.

To generate the QR code, you can use free online tools such as:

• Free QR Code Generator
• QR Code Generator

In our example, we want to create a QR code that opens the user's web browser and directs them to a specific page on your site.

Visit one of the above tools, then select the 'link' or 'URL' option at the top of the page. Then simply copy the URL from your engagement site and paste it into the text field. That's it - your QR code is generated!

You can modify the way the QR code looks within the tool, by adding a logo or a frame or even changing the pattern to match your branding, but this is not necessary.

When you're finished, download the QR code as an image, ideally as either a .png or .svg file. Then send the image to your graphic designer to incorporate into your project's print collateral.

Including QR codes in your regular printed newsletters, flyers, or brochures makes it easy for people to navigate to your engagement. They won't have to remember the URL later or navigate your whole site to find what they're looking for.

If your project relates to a specific place, try adding a poster or billboard with a QR code in the area you're engaging in. This approach alerts people that there's a project affecting that location and makes it easy for them to get to your online engagement on the spot.

In the above example, the City of Yarra used this technique to get people involved in shaping the City's transport strategy. It's a great place-based engagement technique that seamlessly blends both online and offline approaches to get better results.