06/07/12 -- IZEA, Inc. (OTCQB: IZEA)(PINKSHEETS: IZEA) SMS campaigns are becoming more sophisticated and expandingwell-beyond celebrities to include everyday social media users. Quality of content reigns supreme, with brands and influencersrating it as most important to the success of any SMS relationship. 28 percent of influencers report spending over 160 hours per monthusing social media - the equivalent of a full time job. IZEA, Inc. (OTCQB: IZEA) (PINKSHEETS: IZEA), the world leader inSocial Media Sponsorship, today announced the release of its thirdannual State of SMS Report. The report includes data from IZEA'sMay 2012 survey of brand marketers, social media consultants, andkey social influencers, including bloggers, tweeters and Facebookusers. Nearly 7,900 people have participated in the survey since2010. "Social media sponsorship is when a brand compensates a socialmedia publisher for posting content about their product orservice," said Ted Murphy, Founder and CEO, IZEA. "This annualstudy provides information to better inform these relationships." In the 2012 study, 93 percent of responding influencers reportedthat they "do or would" monetize their social media efforts. Ofthat same population, nearly 62 percent reported receivingcompensation for a post or series of posts, up from 57 percent justtwo years ago. Brands frequently engage dozens or hundreds ofinfluencers per campaign. Among the marketers surveyed, 55 percentreported providing a social media influencer with some type ofcompensation for mentioning their brand on a social network, whichis an increase of four percent over 2011. Sponsored blog posts and tweets remain the highest areas ofsponsorship, with 54 percent and 47 percent of respondents,respectively, using those forms of SMS. The platforms with thebiggest growth are video, with its use increasing 10 percent to 33percent; and sponsored check-ins, growing seven percent to 22percent. "The value of social influence continues to grow at a substantialrate due in large part to the marketing savvy that bloggers andtweeters are bringing to the table," said Ted. "However, theinvestment brands are willing to make for access to that influenceis lagging perceptually. We expect the gap to narrow as influencersand advertisers become further educated about SMS strategy." As anexample, brand marketers estimated the average cost for a sponsoredblog post to be $113, and social influencers valued their contentnearly double that rate. This dynamic emphasizes the importance ofonline marketplaces like IZEA's, which determine value based onperformance -- giving both sides a more realistic pricingperspective based on hard data. Also highlighted in the 2012 results is the mutual importance bothbrands and influencers place on the quality of the content createdthrough Social Media Sponsorship. In fact, advertisers ranked thequality of an influencer's content as most important followed bythe influencer's industry relevance. Similarly, influencersconsider the quality of the advertiser when choosing campaigns forparticipation, followed by the value of compensation. The form ofcompensation -- cash, product, coupons -- was third. "As the trendtoward monetizing social media influence continues, we will onlysee the importance of 'quality' grow," said Ted. "Advertisers wantto be affiliated with the best content and are willing to pay morefor that exposure, while influencers value the prestige that comesfrom working with those brands and will often accept reducedpayments in order to do so." Respondents were asked about their awareness of the FTC guidelinescovering endorsements in social media. There was a significantincrease in the number of influencers and marketers who have 'readand understand' them, up 13.6% from 2011 to 38.3%. Fewer than 28percent were not aware of the guidelines at all. "The three-year trend in the State of SMS Report clearlyillustrates steady growth of social media sponsorship inclusion aspart of broader marketing strategies," said Ted. "SMS provides aunique avenue for brands to engage their target audiences, and foranyone to leverage their influence and monetize their social mediapresence." To download the entire State of Social Media Sponsorship Report,visit stateofsms.izea.com . About IZEA IZEA, Inc. ("IZEA") is the world leader in social mediasponsorship, operating multiple marketplaces including Staree,WeReward, SponsoredTweets and SocialSpark. IZEA connectsadvertisers with social media publishers, helping them monetizetheir social media presence. The company has completed over threemillion social media sponsorships for customers ranging from smalllocal businesses to Fortune 50 organizations. For more informationabout IZEA, visit . Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within themeaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.These forward-looking statements are based largely on IZEA'sexpectations and are subject to a number of risks anduncertainties, certain of which are beyond IZEA's control. Actualresults could differ materially from these forward-lookingstatements as a result of, among other factors, competitiveconditions in the social media sponsorship segment in which IZEAoperates, failure to popularize one or more of the marketplaceplatforms of IZEA and general economic conditions that are lessfavorable than expected. In light of these risks and uncertainties,there can be no assurance that the forward-looking informationcontained in this respect will in fact occur. Please read the fullstatement and disclosures here: izea.com/safe-harbor-statement/ . Add to Digg Bookmark with del.icio.us Add to Newsvine IZEA, Inc. Jennifer P. Brown Email Contact 248-376-8079 Copyright @ Marketwire. I am an expert from mini-gpstrackers.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Portable Document and Photo Scanner Manufacturer , Mini GPS Trackers, Vehicle Digital Video Recorder,and more.
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