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IZEA Green Lights Display Advertising Offering to Complement Existing Social Media Sponsorships

tedmurphy — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:21:03 +0000

Program exits 45-day pilot phase with 196 publishers and 25 Million Monthly Pageviews.

Orlando, Fla. – IZEA, Inc. (IZEA:OTCBB), a world leader in social media sponsorships, today announced its IZEA Media offering has graduated from pilot program to official offering. The pilot program was initiated in October to understand the receptiveness of IZEA bloggers and advertisers. IZEA Media provides a display advertising solution comprised of hand-selected blogs and social media-related advertising inventory. In the 45-days following the launch of the program the company signed up 196 publishers, representing approximately 25 million monthly pageviews.

“IZEA Media empowers brands to reach their target audience and seamlessly bolsters the effectiveness of their IZEA Social Media Sponsorship campaign,” said Ryan Schram, IZEA Chief Marketing Officer. “We believe this new offering will further our leadership in the social media sponsorship space and provides us with unique capabilities moving forward.”

During the pilot, IZEA ran advertising programs for LG, Tivo and Carapelli. The programs supported social media sponsorship initiatives including sponsored blog posts, tweets and check-ins.

“The speed at which this new offering was built underscores the value of our publisher network. We’re able to execute in months what it took many of our competitors years to do,” said Ted Murphy, IZEA CEO. “We have made the strategic decision to support this offering more aggressively and will commit additional engineering resources and staff to complement the program.”

IZEA hired Pamela Runsick as Director of Advertising Operations. Runsick was formerly Advertising Operations Manager at Bonnier Corporation, parent company of Field & Stream, Parenting and Popular Science magazines. While at Bonnier, Rusnick managed online advertising operations for the Parenting, Technology, Outdoor and Luxury Groups.

The company has integrated IZEA Media into its SocialSpark blog sponsorship platform, allowing bloggers to quickly apply for the program and install the required ad server code. The integration is intended to expand the IZEA Media publisher base and consolidate the payment processes into a single platform.

New blog publishers can signup at www.socialspark.com.

About IZEA
IZEA Holdings, Inc., (“IZEA”) is a world leader in social media sponsorship, operating multiple marketplaces including WeReward, SponsoredTweets, and SocialSpark. IZEA connects advertisers with social media publishers, helping them monetize their social media presence. The company has completed over 2,000,000 social media sponsorships for customers ranging from small local businesses to Fortune 50 organizations. For more information about IZEA, visit www.izea.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Please read the full statement and disclosures here: http://izea.com/safe-harbor-statement

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IZEA Announces SocialSpark Deals Pilot Featuring Dominos Pizza

tedmurphy — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:47:20 +0000

Orlando, Fla. (November 4, 2011) — IZEA Holdings, Inc. (IZEA:OTCBB), the world leader in social media sponsorships, today announced the introduction of SocialSpark Deals. The new feature allows SocialSpark publishers to promote and participate in the monetization of valuable e-commerce deals within their blogs. E-commerce merchants are able to leverage the blogger’s reach and promote their site on a cost per action basis through the blogosphere, Twitter and Facebook.

Orlando, Fla. (November 28, 2011) – IZEA Holdings, Inc. (IZEA:OTCBB), a world leader in social media sponsorships, today announced a pilot program for its SocialSpark Deals, featuring Domino’s Pizza. The recently introduced SocialSpark Deals aims to offer additional opportunities for bloggers to earn revenue and advertisers to reach customers.

“Domino’s is an early-adopter of social media marketing platforms and a leader in customer engagement,” said Ted Murphy, CEO of IZEA. “SocialSpark Deals gives them a new way to connect with customers, while providing the tools needed to measure effectiveness.” Domino’s also participated in IZEA’s WeReward launch.

SocialSpark Deals focuses exclusively on e-commerce merchants who are equipped to track repeat customers and obtain contact information for future marketing. Customers who purchase the $10 Domino’s deal will receive a promotional gift code worth $20, which is redeemable on Dominos.com. SocialSpark Deals leverage IZEA’s 600,000 social media publisher network to distribute deals online; bloggers can write posts, embed widgets into their sites, tweet and Facebook the deal to share it with friends.

For more information on SocialSpark Deals, visit http://www.socialspark.com/deals.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Please read the full statement and disclosures here: http://izea.com/safe-harbor-statement

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

Introducing SocialSpark Deals

tedmurphy — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:14:22 +0000

Platform expansion aims to address “broken” daily deals model; provides more opportunity for revenue for bloggers, additional channels for advertisers and the best prices for consumers.

“The current model utilized by many “daily deal” companies is broken. They prey on restaurants, spas and other small business owners who don’t have the technology to track the effectiveness of the deal or easily retain a customer once a discount has been given,” explained Ted Murphy, CEO of IZEA. “Our solution focuses exclusively on e-commerce merchants who are better equipped to track repeat customers and obtain contact information for future marketing. Our goal is to help great companies of all sizes attract and retain customers, not cycle through a new deal every day.”

Unlike other platforms that rely on saturating email inboxes, SocialSpark Deals leverage IZEA’s social media publisher network to distribute deals online. Bloggers can write posts, embed widgets into their sites, tweet and Facebook, the deal to share it with friends. For each purchase generated through their content, the blogger receives a percentage of the sale.

“With more than two million sponsored posts to-date, SocialSpark Deals are a natural addition to the IZEA portfolio of offerings,” said Jerry Biuso, Vice President of Client Services, IZEA. “Our clients get new, loyal customers; our blogging community receives additional revenue; and consumers get great deals!”

“IZEA is continuously creating new ways for businesses to leverage social media,” said Drew Sirico, Director of Internet Business, Pexagon Technology, Inc. “We are excited to be among the first of the e-commerce sites offering a deal through SocialSpark – $50 worth of personalized products for $25.”

For more information on SocialSpark Deals, visit www.socialspark.com/deals.

Advertisers who are interested in piloting SocialSpark Deals offer can contact IZEA at 877.525.IZEA.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Please read the full statement and disclosures here: http://izea.com/safe-harbor-statement

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

IZEA opens LA office

tedmurphy — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:25:49 +0000

Expansion into Los Angeles marks the second of several new planned locations

Los Angeles, CA (October 27, 2011) — IZEA Holdings, Inc. (IZEA:OTCBB), world leader in the social media sponsorships, today announced the opening of its West Coast operations in Marina del Rey, just outside of Los Angeles. The office will to home to client development and account management team members serving top brands and agency partners within the region.

Steve Smith, formerly Senior Director of Sales at yfrog, will lead IZEA’s Western Region from Marina del Ray, reporting to IZEA’s Vice President of Client Development, Jerry Biuso.

“Our clients have told us that collaborating in-person makes for the best experience and opening a West Coast office gives us the opportunity to do that more frequently,” said Ted Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, IZEA. “The IZEA leadership team recognizes the importance in the investment of local staff and facilities to extend the IZEA brand. L.A., with its strong creative class and business hubs, was the natural next step for us, to coincide with our office opening in New York City on August 23.

During the third quarter of 2011, IZEA welcomed a number of new brands to its client roster, including Audi, Express, Fisher Price, Heinz and Symantec Corporation.

“IZEA has completed over two million social media sponsorships for customers and the opening of our L.A. offices will let us grow those relationships and build new ones,” said Ryan Schram, Chief Marketing Officer. “We look forward to celebrating the grand opening in partnership with Digital L.A. on Thursday, November 3, in the Conga Room at L.A. Live.”

Grand Opening Party Details
Date: Thursday, November 3
Time: 7-9pm PT
Location: Conga Room at L.A. Live entertainment complex
http://www.congaroom.com/

Media attendees: Contact Jennifer Brown at 248-376-8079 or jenniferb@izea.com if you plan to attend the grand opening party so we can ensure you receive the appropriate credentials.

Other attendees: RSVP through Digital L.A. There will be drink specials all night.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Please read the full statement and disclosures here: http://izea.com/safe-harbor-statement

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IZEA Launches WeReward Insights on the Web, iOS and Android

tedmurphy — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:28:28 +0000

New Feature Enables Brands to Gain Deeper Understanding of Customer Demographics – Creates Another Way for Consumers to Earn Cash

IZEA Holdings, Inc. (IZEA:OTCBB), the world leader in social media sponsorships, today announced the release of WeReward Insights, a new survey feature for its WeReward mobile rewards application that allows consumers to earn money from brands by performing real-world actions with their mobile device.

Through WeReward Insights, advertisers can offer surveys to segments of the WeReward app user base. WeReward holds a wide range of opt-in demographic data, such as purchasing habits at stores and restaurants, which can be analyzed and aggregated. The secure, anonymous data is then available to brands as a detailed, real-time snapshot of their targeted users.

“Brands and consumers directly benefit through the use of WeReward Insights,” said Ted Murphy, Chief Executive Officer. “Advertisers gain unprecedented visibility into the demographics of the respondents because the platform provides them with aggregated information about purchasing, opinions, location, and mobile task behaviors. Consumers that complete surveys are given another way to earn cash rewards for only a few minutes of their time. Our WeReward ecosystem offers the biggest variety of rewards for people to earn money for checking into places, using products, downloading mobile apps, and now completing surveys.”

Brands can set their own WeReward point amounts for each survey, which are placed into the user’s account upon completion. Each point is worth one penny, and users can transfer their points to real cash at set intervals to PayPal accounts.

“Ever time a user contributes information, it makes WeReward Insights smarter and more valuable to our client-partners,” said Ryan Schram, Chief Marketing Officer. “We can tell you if Democrats prefer Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts or if iPhone owners are more eco-conscious than their Android counterparts. The entirety of this data enables businesses to better understand their customer, and in turns, helps them to make more powerful marketing decisions.”

The WeReward mobileapp is currently available to iPhone and Android device users. Businesses and consumers can also signup at www.wereward.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Please read the full statement and disclosures here: http://izea.com/safe-harbor-statement

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IZEA Partners with UTV to Introduce SponsoredTweets.com Instream Twitter Advertising Platform to India

tedmurphy — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:00:13 +0000

Partnership expands IZEA’s global social media marketing reach, adds exclusive relationships with top Bollywood Stars and media exposure

IZEA Holdings, Inc. (IZEA:OTCBB), a world leader in social media sponsorships, today announced an exclusive partnership with UTV (BSE: 532619.BO, NSE: UTVSOF.NS) to bring their SponsoredTweets.com platform to India. UTV will leverage the platform to connect advertisers with IZEA’s international celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Diddy and Nick Cannon as well as create new monetization opportunities for the estimated 12 million Twitter users in India. UTV‘s exclusive roster of Indian celebrities including Lara Dutta, Mahesh Bhupati, Anurag Kashyap, Rohan Bopanna, Neetu Chandra amongst others will join the site and soon be available for potential Twitter sponsorship opportunities.

UTV is India’s first integrated global media and entertainment company, operating India’s largest movie studio, multiple television channels and a variety of digital content services.

“In just six months, UTV’s ability to monetize digital rights for celebrities has become unparalleled across platforms, be it via voice, video, web and now social media. IZEA’s SponsoredTweets.com is the ideal platform for advertisers, celebrities and users to connect and capitalize on their Twitter presence,” said Sameer Pitalwalla, Sr. Vice President, Interactive – UTV

Social media continues to see global growth with 1.5 billion visits to social networks per day. From 2010 to 2011 there was an 18% increase in Fortune Global 100 companies using Twitter. The largest growth was in Asia-Pacific corporate Twitter accounts, a 68% year over year increase.

“Social media is a global phenomenon. Our goal is to provide sponsorship opportunities to advertisers and social media publishers around the world,” said Ted Murphy, IZEA Chief Executive Officer. “I am incredibly excited about our partnership with UTV. IZEA’s technology coupled with UTV’s expansive reach and celebrity roster can provide an incredible untapped channel to advertisers and opens up a new market for our company.

About IZEA

IZEA Holdings, Inc., (“IZEA”) is a world leader in social media sponsorship, operating multiple marketplaces including WeReward, SponsoredTweets, and SocialSpark. IZEA connects advertisers with social media publishers, helping them monetize their social media presence. The company has completed over 2,000,000 social media sponsorships for customers ranging from small local businesses to Fortune 50 organizations. For more information about IZEA, visit www.izea.com.

About UTV

UTV is a global Media and Entertainment company headquartered in Mumbai, India. Since it began as a television content company in 1990, UTV has developed into a global integrated entertainment content production and distribution company with five business verticals: Television (content production and airtime sales), Movies, Broadcasting, Games and Interactive. UTV is a publicly traded company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange (BSE: 532619.BO, NSE: UTVSOF.NS). For more information about UTV, visit www.utvgroup.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Please read the full statement and disclosures here: http://izea.com/safe-harbor-statement

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IZEA Opens Times Square Office

tedmurphy — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 05:00:14 +0000

Expansion marks the first of several new planned locations designed to better serve agencies and brands across the U.S.

IZEA Holdings, Inc.(IZEA:OTCBB), a world leader in social media sponsorships, today announced the opening of an office in Manhattan, New York, the worldwide epicenter for advertising. Located in Times Square, the office will house sales and support staff serving advertising agencies and brands in the East region.

“This office is the beginning of a new era of expansion for IZEA,” said Ted Murphy, Chief Executive Officer. “We intend to open offices around the country and eventually the world to better serve our clients and partners on a local level. While we embrace virtualization through technology, we recognize that the deep relationships required for explosive growth are best cultivated in person. IZEA is building teams of seasoned sales professionals in key markets to foster those relationships.”

Mr. Sloan Sehr, formerly Director of Sales for RockYou and Ms. Lauren McTaggart, formerly of SocialCode, will be among the first IZEA staff members in the Times Square office. “I am thrilled to be a part of the IZEA team,” said Mr. Sehr. “IZEA’s capabilities are unmatched in the social media sponsorship space and its dedication to continual product innovation is impressive. I look forward to representing the company in New York and quickly growing revenue in that market.”

Grand Opening Party

IZEA will be hosting an invitation-only grand opening party on September 22nd in the LUXE room at Lucky Strike, located at 624-660 W 42nd Street. Representatives from agencies and brands can request an invitation by calling Kate Biggs at 407.674.6938 or email kate@izea.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Please read the full statement and disclosures here: http://izea.com/safe-harbor-statement

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IZEA Releases 2011 State of Social Media Sponsorship (SMS) Report

tedmurphy — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:32:49 +0000

Provides Trend and Value Data for Sponsored Blog and Tweet Content

Adoption of SMS Increasing Among both Publishers and Advertisers – More than 50 Percent of Publishers Accepted Compensation for Sponsored Content

IZEA Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: IZEA), a world leader in social media sponsorships, today announced the release of its 2011 State of SMS Report. The report includes data from IZEA’s June 2011 survey of nearly 4,000 individuals; including marketers and social media consultants, blog or Twitter content publishers, and advertisers.

Comparing 2011 to 2010 survey data illustrates an increase in adoption of SMS as a more standard practice by both publishers and advertisers. For 2011, 62.8 percent of participating publishers received compensation for a post or series of posts compared to 57.6 percent of respondents in 2010. Publishers surveyed in 2011 were also asked if they monetize their social media efforts through any means, with 91.1 percent answering “I do or would do”, compared to 88.4 percent in 2010.

Among the marketers group surveyed, 51.5 percent reported giving a social media publisher some type of reward that came with the expectation of the publisher mentioning their client’s brand on a social network. Among the different types of available social content, sponsored blogs remain the most frequently used social media sponsorship medium, followed by sponsored Tweets.

The report polled publishers regarding what they consider to be the most important factor when considering an advertiser’s SMS offer. “Quality of Advertiser” ranked as the number one reason, with more than 60 percent of the respondents ranking it as “Most Important.” For advertisers who were polled on their most important factor when considering a publisher SMS offer, “Quality of Content” was the highest ranked reason. “From our report, we see that advertisers are consistently looking for top content, and are willing to pay more to bloggers or Tweeters who use that content to engage a quality audience,” said Ted Murphy, CEO of IZEA. “And for the content publishers, they are clamoring to work with the top advertising brands, and will actually accept reduced payments in order to gain the prestige that can come from identification with those brands.”

Both Twitter publishers and advertisers were asked to estimate the value of a sponsored Tweet from the account of the publisher, with the survey reflecting a $134 and $63 value for each respective group. For sponsored blog post content, publishers noted a value of $190 and the advertiser group’s average was $147. “The data regarding Tweets reflects the difficulty for each party to quantify real value,” said Mr. Murphy. “IZEA’s marketplace reduces values down to performance, and gives a more realistic per-Tweet pricing picture for both parties, eliminating any disconnection. The market for blogs is more mature, thus the much narrower gap in value estimates between both groups. Our platform allows pricing to reach equilibrium where advertisers feel they receive quality exposure and publishers are fairly compensated.”

Respondents were asked about their awareness of FTC guidelines covering endorsements in social media. For 2011, the PR, social media consultants and marketing professionals group saw only 24.4 percent of respondents answer “Read and Understand” compared to 29.9 percent in 2010. Awareness among publishers also declined, with 24.7 percent answering “Read and Understand” compared to 29.5 percent in 2010.

“Our 2011 State of SMS Report clearly illustrates some key growth trends for our early-stage industry” said Mr. Murphy. “Social media sponsorship is a very targeted and personal way for advertisers to reach the right audience and for publishers to earn money from their blogs or Twitter accounts. Our platform gives both parties a secure marketplace with equitable pricing and strict adherence to FTC guidelines regarding the disclosures required for sponsored content.”

To download the full report please visit http://www.izea.com/sms2011.

About IZEA

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Please read the full statement here.

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IZEA Acquires Magpie Twitter Advertising Network

tedmurphy — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 02:00:23 +0000

IZEA Holdings, Inc. (IZEA:OTCBB), a world leader in social media sponsorships, today announced it has acquired Germany’s Magpie Twitter advertising network. The cash plus stock transaction will enable IZEA to expand its social media sponsorship operations in Europe through Magpie’s client base, while giving Magpie’s existing advertisers access to a larger global audience.

Launched in October 2008, Magpie was the first Twitter advertising network. The Magpie network includes over 12,000 advertisers and 16,000 Twitter publishers in 124 different countries. The company has executed campaigns for top brands including Burger King, Heineken, Playstation and Audi.

“This acquisition increases the international reach of our network and unlocks new advertiser relationships for our company,” said Ted Murphy, CEO of IZEA. “This is an excellent opportunity for us to expand our social media sponsorship footprint. We are delighted to acquire Magpie’s advertising network and welcome their users to the IZEA family.”

Users of Magpie’s technology will be migrated to IZEA’s own Twitter advertising platform SponsoredTweets.com, the leading platform for sponsorship of individual Twitter users. The transition is expected to be completed in July.

“IZEA pioneered the social media sponsorship space and has handled more transactions than anyone else in the business,” said Jan Schulz-Hofen, CEO of Magpie & Friends, Ltd. “IZEA profoundly understands what Magpie is about and shares the same values and ideals, especially when it comes to ethics and responsibility towards tweeters, followers, and the Twitter ecosystem as a whole. The acquisition of Magpie should create more opportunities for both sides of the marketplace.”

For more information about IZEA’s social media sponsorship opportunities and marketplaces, visit www.izea.com.

About IZEA

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements, particularly as related to, among other things, the business plans of the Company, statements relating to goals, plans and projections regarding the Company’s financial position and business strategy. The words or phrases “would be,” “will allow,” “intends to,” “may result,” “are expected to,” “will continue,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimate,” “project,” “indicate,” “could,” “potentially,” “should,” “believe,” “think”, “considers” or similar expressions are intended to identify “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements fall within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by these sections. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, involve known and unknown risks, a reliance on third parties for information, transactions or orders that may be cancelled, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in our industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results include risks and uncertainties related to the fluctuation of global economic conditions, the performance of management and our employees, our ability to obtain financing, competition, general economic conditions and other factors that are detailed in our periodic reports and on documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on such statements. The Company does not undertake, and the Company specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement. Actual results may differ materially from the Company’s expectations and estimates.

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IZEA’s WeReward Featured on ABC Norfolk

tedmurphy — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:12:34 +0000

Things have been pretty crazy in IZEAville lately. Since we have become a public company I have been flying all over the place and the company has received some incredible exposure. Last week WeReward was featured on ABC News Norfolk! Check it out here :

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing