Having produced over 40,000 QR Codes for real estate companies, brokers and agents at companies such as Prudential, RE/MAX, Keller Williams, EXIT Realty, Coldwell Banker, Long & Foster, Weichart and many leading independents including members of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, Listings-to-Leads’ clients have come up with many GREAT uses for using QR Codes in the Real Estate industry.

A QR Code simply put is a bar code that allows people with smart phones such as iPhones, Androids, Blackberry’s and others to quickly scan the QR Code using a free QR Reader, and be taken to a website with content and more information about a particular property or agent.

IMPORTANT POINT: Since people are obviously using a smartphone to scan the QR Code, make sure the content you are linking to is optimized for smart phones!

Here are the top ways to use QR Codes to drive more exposure for your listings, your business and lead generation:

WHAT?

1. For your listings.

Use a QR Code for your listings, linking the QR Code to a single property website that is optimized for smart phones and that includes links to relevant tools and information at your website and lead capture landing pages.

WHY?

This allows you to show off your listings with great detailed information such as walk scores, Google maps and street views, local school information, home and area videos and more.

It will also allow you to provide even more information about properties in your area along with other key information for consumers that will also generate leads for you.

WHERE?

All print media. Your Just Listed postcards, Your Farming postcards, your Property Flyers, Your letters to Expireds and your sphere of influence.

Your Yard Sign. Put your listing’s QR Code on your yard sign so that people driving by or walking by can scan it and go right to your lead capture single property website.

OTHER WEBSITES/MLS.

Put your listing’s QR Code in your MLS along with the other images for the property (that is after all what a QR Code is…an image for your property!). This will let you connect with consumers at 100s of websites that you likely have never been to and perhaps never heard of before!

If your MLS does not allow you to upload a QR Code, then upload them directly to the websites themselves. See photo #5 here.

WHAT?

For Your Business Card

Use a QR Code for your business. DO NOT link to your website as that is on the front of your business card and does a bad job of easily providing information and converting leads.

Link to a ‘tool kit’ that includes your contact information, links to relevant and key tools and information such as specific area property searches and other important information, along with your current listing inventory.

WHY?

It will allow people to easily stay in contact with you via their smartphone, access key information at and on their terms and keep you top of mind with them.

EDUCATION breeds TRUST

As QR Codes are still very new to the industry, you are in a great position to teach people about new technology and thus become the ‘go to person’ for other real estate needs and questions.

What YOU need to know.

Not all QR Readers work the same on all smart phones or even different models of the same phone.

ALWAYS tell someone that does not have a QR Reader to use their favorite search engine and search “QR Reader (phone make and model) Reviews” and to read the reviews until they find a QR Reader that has been found to work well on their phone make and model. This will save them the time and trouble of downloading that works well for you on your phone, but not for them on theirs.

I have heard that QR Readers that work well on the iPhone 3 do not work well on the iPhone 4. And the QR Reader that worked well on my Blackberry did not work well on my Android.

HOW DO YOU GET QR CODES?

Listings-to-Leads clients, both brokers and Realtors, have QR Codes that are automatically generated for every listing that is linked to a lead capture single property website that is also automatically generated and updated for most clients via daily updates from their MLS, the KWLS or other datafeeds provided by Listings-to-Leads data partners such as AgentAchieve, Realistq and others.

You can Google “QR Generator” to find many websites that you can make free QR Codes and then go to any number of websites to get the content to link it to.

QR Codes are a worldwide phenomena that are now catching on fast in the United States with the explosive popularity of smart phones. The sooner you start using QR Codes for your marketing, the sooner you will be the expert in this new technology in your market.

Scott Pierce is the founder and lead trainer of Listings-to-Leads, a leading provider of lead generation tools for real estate brokers and agents on Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, SEO and other online marketing products. Scott Pierce was formerly the Director of Online Marketing at a leading Sotheby’s International Realty affiliate. Listings-to-Leads generates more website traffic, leads and SEO for brokers and agents using their listings, the number one searched item by online consumers. Listings-to-Leads is an Approved Vendor at Keller Williams, an Approved Supplier at EXIT Realty International and used by brokers and Realtors at all major real estate firms throughout the United States and Canada.