Why QR Codes Don’t Belong on Instagram and Where to Use Them Instead
I have the great privilege to work along side teams and founders as they bring their vision into life. One group I tend to work with often, is in the demographic that didn’t grow up with the internet. Sometimes it can be really confusing to sort through all the ways to get information into the world and my hope is that these posts simplify it way down. This post is for you if you are a designer explaining to a client why they don’t need a QR code on everything, or if you are wondering this yourself!
Recently I encountered a scenario where I delivered a set of graphics for social. I sent them in a team group chat so that the team could see both what was being posted, and then since it was to market an event, templates for the team to use on their own stories.
The response was “No QR codes on any of these.”
At first I was nervous that I did something wrong, but then realized that this team member didn’t understand the purpose and function of QR.
Here is how I handled the question:
No AI used in this conversation! Just how I genuinely responded!
Why QR Codes Don’t Belong Online & How To Use Links Instead
To scan a QR code, you have to use your phone’s camera to open a link. If you are scrolling on social media, you can’t scan something you are looking at. In a text, or on social media, you can’t scan a code so instead I always recommend making it easiest to find the link that you would want them to be scanning in the first place.
You can add links to Instagram or Facebook Stories in the stories editor by clicking the little smiling face with a corner turned up. Add a link, and change how it appears. Try a call to action like click here, read here, register here, or more info here. For more advanced renaming, it could be creative to write a call to action sentence, and the last few words could be the hyperlink.
You can also add links to your bio. While looking at your profile page, click “edit profile” and add links in those settings. If you have never looked into Linktree, I recommend a place where all your links can live and be easily edited!
Where QR Codes Thrive
Remember that Links are to social media what QR codes are to print material.
Menus, posters, business cards, postcards inviting someone to an event, and the back of a wedding invitation are all great places for QR codes.
Remember that your camera can pick up even small QR Codes so you do NOT need to resize them to be larger than life. Keep them tasteful.
Canva has a great QR code generator that allows you to edit the colors so you aren’t stuck with only black and white.
What else are you or your clients wondering?
Need to pick my brain about how to handle social media education for clients that might not understand the method behind your madness? Submit a question to me via email! I am happy to write you back and may even make my response into a long-form post like this one!
