Just about every real estate professional I know has used direct mail at some point in his or her career. The reasons are obvious: Direct mail can be infinitely personalized; is relatively affordable; is low-tech enough for mass consumption; and delivers a pretty decent return on investment.

(Especially if the direct mail campaign is used to target specific neighborhoods in which the real estate agent is a specialist.)

There are ways to make this marketing strategy even better, though, and that incorporates using some of this newfangled, 21st century technology that has become mainstream lately. One example of how you can marry high-tech solutions with low-tech strategies for a pretty optimized real estate marketing tactic is using QR codes.

You’ve probably seen them before – the funny-looking, black-and-white squares that look like a scrambled alien signal. Each QR code is unique; when scanned by a QR code reader (either a separate device or a mobile phone equipped with a QR reader app), it takes a viewer to a website.

Think of it like a barcode. Instead of telling you how much something is, though, it tells you more information about whatever subject is attached to the QR code – all in a few seconds.

It’s best explained by looking at how QR codes can be used with direct mail campaigns. Let’s say that you, as a real estate pro, have a nice, fancy postcard you want to send to prospective clients. It could be a “Just Listed” card, or a “Just Sold” card, or a call-to-action card. Whatever it is, let’s say you want to give them a chance to learn more info about you and what you offer – say, a personalized video you created that explains who you are, what you do, and how they can better sell or buy a home with your services.

Create the video and post it online, either on a separate landing page or your website (or a blog post, or YouTube, etc). Take the URL and simply go to a QR code generator, such as Vyoo.it or Goo.gl. For a video, Goo.gl is best. Goo.gl will generate a unique QR code that you can then insert onto your postcard.

So, when the nifty postcard arrives in a prospective client’s mailbox, they can find out more information about you and what you do by scanning the QR code and traveling to a video, blog post, website, or whatever you want them to see.

You can use this to promote yourself, advertise your familiarity with a particular neighborhood, or even promote an individual property (Vyoo.it is perfect for this use). Plus, using QR codes allows you to easily track your ROI, since you can determine how many times a code has been scanned.

Pretty cool, huh?

Being a real estate agent in this competitive market means making the traditional marketing methods – like direct mail marketing – work with the latest in high-tech wizardry. Using QR codes with direct mail is a way you can maximize your ROI immediately.