QR codes: a mobile entryway for real estate listings

Join Inman News! Sign In Shopping Cart Home News VideoConnect Videos Inman TV Podcasts Webinars FOREM CommunityMain Members Groups Job Search Opinion ColumnistsCategories Main Biographies Q & A Directory ConferencesAgent Reboot Real Estate Connect StoreReports Media Membership Columnist Reports About UsMain AdvertisingAd Specs Audience Content channels Products Testimonials Advertising Inquiry SyndicationExamples of Content Syndication Meet Inman News Columnists Publish Our Content in Print Toolbox Review Syndication Inquiry Membership Careers Contact News Free Daily Headlines RSS Feeds Syndication Home QR codes: a mobile entryway for real estate listings Connect printed marketing materials to smartphones By Inman News, Friday, July 30, 2010. Inman News

Real estate marketing is getting ever more mobile, but one of the most effective tools an agent has is still that iconic, printed yard sign.

For those agents interested in directing potential clients from printed materials to the ever-ubiquitous smartphones in their hands, startups specializing in QR (Quick Response) codes are springing up.

A QR code is essentially a two-dimensional barcode that can be read by smartphones or dedicated QR readers, similar to the codes scanned at a store checkout.

The codes can be attached to printed materials -- such as yard signs, flyers, postcards, business cards, etc. -- and consumers can snap a picture or scan the code through a mobile application on their iPhone, BlackBerry, Android or other mobile device.    

See related article:

Mobile tagging is not a crime    

There are free QR code generators out there -- Kaywa QR-Code was used to generate this code (see sample embedded in this article) for the Inman News home page.

There are also services such as Clikbrix and Qonnect that offer unique QR codes connected to mobile-optimized websites.

For a monthly $49 subscription, Clikbrix creates both standard and mobile Web pages for an unlimited number of properties that automatically list to a real estate professional's profile Web page. For an example of an agent's mobile Web page, click here.

The property listing pages come with detailed property descriptions, a gallery of photos, a Google Map and Goggle Street View, as well as ways to share the listings through e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter and contact the agent.

The agent's own unique QR code may be attached to any printed material desired so that potential clients can be instantly directed to their mobile Web pages. Options to customize and brand a code are also available. The startup launched earlier this month.

Qonnect offers a similar service that delivers mobile content through unique QR codes, which it calls a "qonnects." The company suggests its codes are useful in offering highly targeted content, virtual tours, and in tracking the effectiveness of advertising through its analytics system.