You’re organizing an event. It could be an informal event such as a party or a meetup. Or a formal event such as a conference, a workshop, or a seminar.
You’re handing out invitation cards or flyers. And you want as many people as possible to attend the event.
Many will be interested in attending and some of them might even mark the date on their calendars.
Also read: Types of QR Code
But many will not make it to the event. Not because they don’t want to. But because—they’ll probably forget the date.
With busy schedules, people often forget about an event as the date approaches.
So what can you do? Simple—give them a reminder about the event.
How? Here are two easy ways to do it:
A. The organizers send a reminder
This is the easiest and the most effective method to reach your audience digitally—provided you have their contact information.
Plan to reach your guests before the event at regular intervals. You can reach out to them via:
1. SMS: For this, you’ll need their phone numbers (with their permission of course). Whatsapp or a similar texting app is better if you have a business account.
2. Email: Again, you’ll need their email addresses. Note that your email might end up in the Promotions tab of Gmail and nobody opens these emails. So run some tests before you send out mass emails.
3. Push Notifications: If you acquired your guests via a mobile app, you can also send push notifications.
But if you don’t have their contact information—phone number, email, registered app—then this method doesn’t really apply to you.
For example, say you’re handing out flyers to readers at a book fair, inviting them to attend a writing workshop at your store next week. If you can get their contact information, you can send out reminders. If you don’t (which is more likely) there is still a way.
There’s another way to go about it. That is to organize events that keep the audience enthused. And that only happens when the organizer not only knows the A-B-C of event planning well enough but also how to invoke the audience’s interest.
Also, since this industry changes rapidly, one never knows when a popular event hack becomes outdated. Hence, it makes sense for you to stay updated on the latest event trends and best practices. One such community called EventTube helps you do it. They regularly post best-in-class content on event management (for FREE) to help event planners get better at their job.
Also read: All About QR Codes
B. Guests set a reminder themselves
If you don’t have contact information of your guests, then the best case scenario is that the guests set a reminder themselves.
Say these guests are really interested in the event and want to attend. Our job is now to make it as easy as possible for them to mark their calendars.
First—add a quick instruction (called a call-to-action) on your flyer, invitation, or whichever print media you are using. It could be something like—”Save the Event”, “Save the Date”, “Mark your Calendars”.
You’ll be surprised how far a little nudge like this can go.
But here’s the thing. The guests will still need to take out their phones, open the calendar, create an event, add all details tediously, and hit save.
It’s a long process and needs people to put both time and effort. And to be honest, some might do it, others probably won’t.
But if we go a step further and make it easier, we can significantly increase the odds. And a QR Code can help you do just that.
Yes, just like showing a website, a video, or even text, a QR Code can help you get guests to save a calendar event on their phones.
There are two ways to do it:
1. Calendar QR Code
A Calendar QR Code, when scanned, will prompt guests to add and save a calendar event on their smartphones.
All you need to do is—generate and add a Calendar QR Code to your invitations or flyers. Don’t forget to print a CTA that tells guests what to do and what to expect after scanning the QR Code. For example—Scan to Save Event.
Your guests will need to simply scan the QR Code and click Add to Calendar.
That simple.
You can even customize the design of the Calendar QR Code by adding colors and logo. It will help you do two things:
a. If your use case is promotional, say a corporate event, it will act as a point-of-engagement. It is a fact that customized QR Codes attract much more scans than black-and-white ones
b. It will help your QR Code blend well with the invitation card design. Hence, it will not look like a stand-alone element
A. How to create a Calendar QR Code
To create a Calendar QR Code, you’ll have to use an online QR Code generator that offers this category.
Using Scanova for demo, here’s how you can create one:
1. Go to Scanova and create an account
2. Once you sign-up, click Calendar Event
3. Next, add details such as event name, date and timings, location, and event description. Also, make sure you select the appropriate time-zone
4. Once you specify all the details, click Continue
5. You’ll then see two QR Code design options on your screen—custom with logo and custom with background. Proceed with either design options
6. Once your QR Code is ready, say after you design it, click Download
7. A pop-up will appear prompting you to choose image format and size. Once you specify the details, click Export
Note that your designer might need the QR Code image in vector formats (such as SVG or PDF). So you must export it in the required formats.
That’s it. Your Calendar QR Code will be downloaded. You can then add it to the invitation cards and help your guests set a reminder on their phones.
Note that a Calendar QR Code is static in nature. That means you cannot edit its content (event details) once you create it.
Also, what you see after scanning the QR Code varies with different QR Code scanning applications for Android users. For example—when you scan a Calendar QR Code with QR Code Scanner app, this is what you see:
But when you scan it with QR Scanner, this is what you’ll see:
In addition to setting a reminder, a QR Code can do a lot more things. It can help show detailed event information that could not be printed due to limited print space.
It’s called an Event QR Code. And what users see after scanning the QR Code remains the same across all scanning apps for all Android and iPhone users.
2. Event QR Code
An Event QR Code helps you share detailed event information with your guests. Information that could not be added due to the limited print space of invitation cards. Information that includes multimedia such as images and video.
Also, with Event QR Code, you don’t face any difference in what guests see after scanning the QR Code. No matter which scanning app they use, they’ll see a landing page that looks like this.
It does not only help you share detailed information but also makes many things easier for both you and your guests. Here’s how:
A. Shows them the exact venue location on maps application
Finding the venue location is one of the most important tasks for guests. And an Event QR Code helps them find it easily.
It allows you to share the exact Google maps location of the venue without designing and printing the map.
B. Get them to add the event to their calendars
Just like a calendar QR Code, it prompts guests to add the event to their calendars in a single step.
They simply need to click Add event to the calendar. That’s it.
C. Share images and videos
You might want to share images and videos with invitees. While you cannot do it with an invitation card, an Event QR Code helps you do it.
D. Share detailed event information
The limited print space of invitation cards keeps you from printing in-depth information. But a QR Code helps you add as much text as you want. You can add a list of speakers, event itinerary, and even about your business.
E. Share the event on social media
This feature is especially useful if you want as many people to attend the event as possible.
It helps guests share the event on their social media profiles. They don’t have to copy the event link, open their social media app, paste the link, and finally share it.
All that they have to do is—select their favourite social media and share the event.
Related : QR Code For Link
F. Get the guests to RSVP easily
Guests usually have to RSVP via email or call. And they often skip doing it.
Event QR Code makes it easier for guests to respond if they’ll attend the event or not.
They can simply click Accept or Decline and specify how many guests they’ll bring along.
How to create an Event QR Code
There are many online QR Code generators that help you create an Event QR Code. Using Scanova for demo, here’s how you can create one:
a. Go to Scanova and click Create QR Code
b.Now, click on Event QR Code
c. Start customizing the landing page by adding the event title and banner images, specifying background color, amongst other details. You can add up to 10 description boxes and buttons.
j. Once you specify details, you can now name your QR Code and click Save
k. Next, you’ll see two QR Code designs—custom with logo and custom with background. Proceed with either design options
l. Once your QR Code is ready, say after you’ve designed it, click Done Editing.
m. Once you proceed to download, you will be prompted to Sign Up. Create an account to start your 14-day free trial.
n. Once you finish creating, proceed to download. A pop-up will appear prompting you to specify QR Code image format and size. Specify the details and click Export
That’s it. Your Event QR Code will be downloaded.
Note that Event QR Code is dynamic in nature.
What is a dynamic QR Code
Unlike a static QR Code, a dynamic QR Code allows you can edit the content encoded (event details) anytime you want. Yet your QR Code will remain the same
It also allows you to track details such as how many people have scanned the QR Code, when did they scan it, and where did they scan it from
You’re now ready to create a QR Code for invitation cards to help guests add the event on their calendars.