Best Practices | Microsoft Tag

Best Practices | Microsoft Tag

Always include the white border

A Tag must have its white border to ensure it remains readable, and you should test the Tag before using it to confirm it scans correctly. The width of the white space should be equal to the height of the bottom black bar, and not have any encroachment of lines, figures, or other artifacts.

Tell them how to get the Tag app

Include concise instructions for downloading the Microsoft Tag app. For example: “Get the free mobile app at http://gettag.mobi.” Remember, 2D barcodes may be unfamiliar to some consumers. We also recommend you clearly note what kind of content is behind the Tag so consumers know what to expect when scanning. For instance, "Scan this Tag to view our instructional video".

Optimize for mobile

Be sure that whatever experience your Tag provides is optimized for the mobile environment. Linking users to standard websites is likely to lead to frustration on a small screen.

Create a compelling experience

Add value that gives folks a good reason to scan your Tag: useful product information, engaging videos, exclusive deals, upgrades, a coupon, or other purchase incentive. And make it interactive – have them enter a sweepstakes, click Like or Share, request a product sample, or some other call to action.

Extend your brand

One of the benefits of using Microsoft Tag over other 2D barcodes is the ease with which you can customize your Tags. Incorporate your company logo, pictures of your products, or other images right into the Tag itself.

Educate yourself

Read the Tag Implementation Guide and Tag Manager Help for detailed, step-by-step instructions on creating effective standard and custom Tags.

Define your target audience

Identify the audience you intend to reach, tailor your messaging appropriately, and field-test your Tags with a cross-section of users.

Walk the walk

Step through the entire real-world user experience to anticipate and solve problems proactively.

Remember: size matters

To ensure successful scans, adhere to the minimum display sizes for various types of Tags (including the mandatory white border):

Testing, testing

Thoroughly test your Tags under the same conditions in which your audience will encounter them. Consider the following:

• Distance: Will the Tag be close to users (a book cover) or distant (a billboard)?
• Medium: What’s your print surface – glossy paper, T-shirt fabric, an LCD monitor, wine label?

Verify device compatibility

Test your Tags on a range of high-end and low-end devices from various manufacturers, with different operating systems and web browsers. See our list of supported devices.

Manage expectations

Explain clearly what will happen when users scan your Tag. Will it open a mobile site? Play a video? Dial a phone number? Download information? And if so, what information?

Time is money

Make sure that videos, slide shows, and other media download quickly. Keeping your customers waiting for bulky downloads to buffer and play is a good way to lose them.

Be sensitive

Consider globalization and localization issues in your Tag campaigns, including social and political appropriateness and user comprehension. Among some cultures, for example, a temporary tattoo is not acceptable.

Safety first

Don’t place or promote Tags in situations where it would be unsafe to scan them. Billboards, for example, are okay for pedestrians and passengers, but a Tag on a billboard along a busy highway may present a hazardous distraction for drivers.

Location, location

Don’t place or promote Tags in locations that will be difficult or impossible for users to scan reliably. A Tag on the side of a city bus, for example, will be tough to scan when it’s moving through traffic

Will it work?

Use the Verification Mode (see Verifying the Scannability of Customized Tags) in the Tag app to identify problems with scannability early in the process.

Measure your success and adapt on the fly

Use Microsoft Tag’s built-in analytics and reporting tools to monitor interactions with consumers and assess the performance of individual Tags and broader Tag categories. Because you can revise the content behind a Tag any time, you can easily update your promotions based on response.

Feel the heat

Get insight into where your message is working. The Heat Map report in Microsoft Tag Manager uses an interactive map to show you all the places your Tags have been scanned. You can then focus your marketing on the high-response areas.

A clean, well-lighted place

In print displays, try to position your Tags (along with related content and Tag app download instructions) in an uncluttered area of the page, where it won’t be overlooked.

Stay out of the gutter

In magazine parlance, the “gutter” is the inside margin where facing pages meet. Avoid this area when designing the layout of your Tag in an advertisement or article, as the cramped space near the magazine binding can make a Tag hard to scan.

Capture them where they are at

Add Real-Time Location awareness to your mobile marketing to deliver actionable, engaging experiences based on the consumer’s location.