Last week I spotted a Tweet announcing that marketing tech company SpyderLynk have launched Social SnapTags exclusively in US Glamour magazine’s ‘Friends issue’.

Like QR codes, now routinely integrated into PR and marketing campaigns, Social SnapTags look set to become a useful way for brands to instantly interact with their market.

After a little research, it seems that what sets the tags apart from the QR code is that they link exclusively with a social media platform, in this case, Glamour’s Facebook page.

According to Glamour, user incentives include: ‘access to huge shopping discounts, scoop on the stars you love and insider advice from your favourite experts.’ It also allows readers of the magazine to shape the content they receive and control the conversation – accelerating an increasingly important trend for two way engagement between brand and consumer.

For Glamour, and the brands within its pages, the SnapTag is a valuable tool directing consumers to exactly where the brand wants them to be, giving brands the ability to use social media channels to their fullest potential.

Furthermore, as content is already on social media sites, it is much more likely that users will share it with their friends, and for it to become viral.

The SnapTag has a much wider appeal than the QR code – they can be ‘unlocked’ both by downloading an app onto a Smartphone, and, by sending a photo taken on a camera phone to a designated short code. This instantly brings a more mainstream element to the SnapTag and increases the number of people able to use them; meaning that SnapTags are more likely to be picked up, or at least trialled by more brands.

For me though, the main draw is that the tag, a neat circle with a logo inside, is much more aesthetically appealing than a QR code. The familiarity of the logo evokes a sense of trust and is explicit about the tags purpose, so hopefully the user will be more inclined to use it.  In choosing Glamour’s female audience to trial the codes rather than a technologically focused publication – Spyderlynk was easily able to highlight the wide appeal of the SnapTag.

I can’t wait to get snapping!