For an unlimited time, all the clips of Ted’s appearances from the past week or so are not only available to you- for free- but all in one place!  That’s right, direct your face eyes below and start clicking.  Catch up on the latest IZEA news, the exciting updates we have coming up, and of course, get your Ted fix!  Enjoy!

NBC Charlotte (BRAND NEW!)
http://ted.cm/qtPLkq

ABC 2 News
http://ted.cm/p9tUGg

Great Day St. Louis LIVE
http://ted.cm/pNNDtt

FOX News LIVE (Talking Google+)
http://ted.cm/oafIpj

TheStreet.com
http://ted.cm/rjjAMo

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

Here is a status update directly from Blogger:

“To get Blogger back to normal, all posts since 7:37am PDT on Weds, 5/11 have been temporarily removed.”

An update time-stamped 10:32 PDT today claims Blogger is currently restoring data.

Now, as we understand it, if you had any posts–including sponsored posts published through the SocialSpark system–they will automatically be restored by Blogger. If, however, you received a message from SocialSpark that a post failed to publish, then reauthorizing Direct Publishing in your account should put that post back on track. (NOTE: If an Offer expired because you could not publish during the downtime, please send a ticket via the Customer Support link in your account.)

If we find out anything different than the information above we’ll be sure to let you know here.

For additional details and a view of the full stream on Blogger’s site click here.

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

Earlier today I was reviewing some of the older posts over on the Sponsored Tweets blog (which is a fantastic resource for all things having to do with Sponsored Tweets, by the way), and ran across this post about “growing your audience” which seems relevant for our other platforms as well. Although I’m not a fan of re-purposing content, I think the content here is very valuable, and am posting in hopes it will help you not only expand your Twitter audience but your blog audience and mobile audience as well. Great tips – let us know what you think!

One common topic we see fairly often our Twitter streams and in our Support Forums has to do with Publishers getting offers. While Advertisers of all kinds use the platform and are interested in hiring Publishers with varying audiences, it’s important to keep in mind that as a Publisher (i.e., Blogger, Tweeter, Mobiler), the more engaged your audience the more you will appeal to an Advertiser. This is also true of Publishers who have a healthy number of Followers.

So…how do you get a larger audience? One of the best things to do is to market yourself, of course. “How do I do that?” you’re probably asking yourself? Here are a few suggestions we can throw your way:

Digital Marketing

Well, first of all you should let it be known that you have a blog or a Twitter handle in as many places as you can. This might be in your e-mail signature (even work, if allowed), any place you might be sending a message through the Internet. Maybe you even want to create a newsletter that you send family, friends, and colleagues. Get creative – the ideas are limitless!

Events

Another thing you can do is promote yourself offline. Yup, you’re gonna have to get out there and meet some folks…talk to them. Know of any Meetups or Tweetups in your area? Why not plan on attending one, and network with other people who are there? This is the perfect opportunity to connect with people who are active in the social media space, and to promote yourself, your blog, and your Twitter handle. You might even have some business cards created, as an additional means for people to remember you after the event.

Engagement

Yet another way you can grow your audience, and this is the most time-consuming, is by connecting with other Bloggers and Tweeters who talk about the same things you do. Do you talk about entertainment alot in your Tweets? Movies? The hottest TV show? Your favorite actor? Then find other people who are talking about the same thing, and engage in conversation with them. One of the easiest ways of doing this is using a Twitter search engine. There are several you can choose from but one of my favorites is Search.Twitter.com. The site’s interface is clean and easy to use, and there are many different search options available to the user.

Twitter Search Homepage:

If you are a Tweeter who talks about movies often, and want to find out what other Tweeters are saying about the film “Inception,” for example, then you would type inception into the search field. You can also be very specific about keywords, locations (of the Tweeters), dates, and more by selecting the “Advanced” option at the top of the page.

Once you’re finished defining your query, hit the “Search” button and here’s what you’ll see:

Read over the Tweets being published, and if someone’s saying something interesting, or making a comment you want to respond to, simply hit the “reply” link and an “@” will open-up automatically in your Twitter profile. And BAM…you’re starting a dialogue! The same practice can be done on sites such as Technorati, for blog conversations.

Of course, if you have other areas of interest then you’ll want to do the same thing with those topics.

Success!

Once you start involving yourself in conversation with people who have like-minded interests, you’ll find yourself gaining more Followers in no time. Why? Because you’ll be developing authentic relationships…what social media is all about!

If you have any other great ideas about growing any of your audiences, or have done things that’ve worked for you, we’d love to hear about it!

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

“Never put anything on Facebook you wouldn’t want your mother to see,” is something I often hear, and if you think about it, it’s true. Our personal brand is attached to our name…our image (both literally and figuratively)…. So wouldn’t you want those represented in the best light possible? After all, you never know when your personal brand could help or hurt you.

Here are a few things to consider to help protect the integrity of your personal brand, and to think about before hitting that “Tweet”, “Publish”, or “Share” button:

• Someone “new” may be checking you out. Perhaps you recently attended a conference or a networking event, and some of the folks you met are looking through your Twitter stream, or checking out your Facebook Wall. You don’t want to turn them off with a constant barrage of “complaining” Tweets or updates, do you?
• Potential employers may be researching you. This is particularly important to keep in mind in our digital society. Don’t damage your opportunity for new professional adventures by constantly Tweeting nasty messages or dirty words, or what’s worse…complaining about your current employer!
• Nobody likes a whiner (see also bullet #1)! Really, it’s true. A complaint every now-and-then is certain to be expected when such an easy platform is at our fingertips, but nobody finds value in someone who’s constantly a Debby Downer (at least I don’t!).
• Be yourself! You’ve attracted an audience and a following because people like you, and care about what you have to say! If you aren’t being authentic and letting your true self come through, chances are your audience is going to know it.
• Brand consistency. If someone’s visiting your Twitter profile, then jumping over to your Facebook, is it a consistent experience? Refer to this post we published a couple of months ago for more on the topic.

Can you think of any others?

So you see, we really do have the power to protect our own personal brand! It just may take a little work on our part is all. Who are some of the people you follow that have strong personal brands?

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

When you log into SponsoredTweets.com you will notice a new PRO button (located on the right hand side, just above your “use our api!” and “referral program’” buttons) . Clicking this button brings you through the signup process to upgrade your account to PRO. PRO accounts are $9.95 per month and have three core benefits:

Try it Free for 30 Days

All users are invited to try a PRO account free for 30 days (credit card required). The fee for PRO accounts will be deducted from your balance. If your balance won’t cover the fee we use your credit card as a backup. You can cancel your PRO account at any time. Our hope is that the additional exposure and lower cash out makes SponsoredTweets an even more profitable social media sponsorship marketplace for you.

Your Cost Per Tweet, FAR and CPC still matter

While a PRO account can help you get more exposure that exposure will only help if your cost and historical performance are in line. Be sure to check out your suggested price in your account settings.

Not interested in a PRO account? No problem! Basic accounts will always be free.

If you have questions you’re welcome to leave them in the comments section here. You can also direct them to @spontwts on Twitter, or refer to our Support Forums.

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

You guys rock!

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

The Winner!

“My husband and I couldn’t have planned a better vacation for us. We are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this June, and are now able to return to the same island where we vacationed for our honeymoon!”

How awesome is that?! (TIP: You can get to know Stephanie at her website. Be sure to check out her “Fun Facts” page – there are some listed there that made me laugh out loud!)

The Prize!

Stephanie has won two (2) round-trip tickets from her nearest airport, and hotel accommodations to Maui’s The Ritz Carlton Kapalua. And me? I’m pretty jealous – this place looks amazing! I may just have to convince Stephanie to hid me in her luggage….

Stephanie’s blog can be found at SomewhatSimple.com, and she can be Followed on Twitter at @SimpleStephD.

Congratulations, again, Stephanie! Have a fantastic trip!

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing

I have alot of respect for Jason Keith, creator of Social Fresh and influencer in the social media space. While I’ve actually spoken to him in-person very few times, we often chat on Twitter and e-mail, and I would consider him an industry friend (a fellow graduate of Sarcasm University). When I recently ran across a post on his blog, it made me revisit a much talked-about topic over the years: transparency in brands. Perhaps transparency isn’t the right “phrase,” but rather the “Face Behind the Brand.”

Nothing new and profound here, by any means, but something that always seems to surface every once-in-a-while.

We here at IZEA have always been quite transparent when it comes to our Team Members engaging in conversation with our Community (and non-Community, for that matter). Anyone’s who’s been active in our Community for any length of time widely know myself (Community Manager), Carri Bright (Communications Lead), and Ted Murphy (Founder & CEO)–who tend to me most active in conversations–are part of the IZEA Team. And while none of us appear in any of the Twitter or Blog branding, our images do appear when a blog post is published, and most folks know when it comes to Twitter the voice is either Carri (@IZEALove and @Spontwts) or myself (all other IZEA Twitter and Facebook profiles).

Top Consumer Brands*

According to a study released in mid-2010, here are the top Consumer Brands using social media. You’ll note none of them feature the faces or names of the folks “behind the brand”; Zappos, however, does announce their Team Members via Twitter when they come on board for their customer service Twitter channel; CEO Tony Hsieh also appears on the main company Twitter profile.

Would you feel better connected with these brands if you knew who the face(s) behind the brand are?

Image: Courtesy of Penn Olson
Statistics: Ranked by Famecount.com

Your Thoughts

So what’s your take? Are you more comfortable knowing the actual person behind the company’s social media efforts? Or are you merely satisfied to just have a relationship with the brand itself? I’m curious to know what you think.

To view Jason Keith’s blog post, which inspired this one, click here. He posted a handful of responses to his question “Should brands publicly list their community managers on their social networking accounts? Why or why not?”

* study from 2010

This is a post from: IZEA : Social Media Marketing