Advertiser-Blogger Social Network Launches

IZEA, which calls itself the world’s largest social marketing network, recently unveiled SocialSpark, a social network that provides advertisers with a social media marketing hub to research and execute their marketing activities across niche blogs or large blog networks from a single dashboard.

Advertisers can utilize the platform to reach the highly fragmented longtail of the blogoshpere, tapping into IZEA’s network of more than 150,000 bloggers and over 16,000 advertisers.

IZEA explains SocialSpark this way: An auto manufacturer might create a media opportunity where it seeks out bloggers who fit their target market, give them a sneak peak of their new car and all its features, and offer compensation to the bloggers for writing about it. The bloggers disclose that the content is sponsored by the advertiser. Advertisers can also create different “street teams” of bloggers whom they might contact on a regular basis with opportunities.

“Just as Google unlocked tremendous direct marketing value with AdWords, SocialSpark offers the only comprehensive solution for targeting, transacting and tracking social media marketing across a vast network of publishers” said Ted Murphy, founder of IZEA. “We’ve taken ‘word of mouth’ advertising - the kind that happens every day between people who share common interests - to a brand new level, and in a way that directly benefits both advertisers and bloggers.”

Advertisers and bloggers register for free at SocialSpark.com to create online, searchable public profiles. Advertisers are encouraged to provide information about their product or service, and bloggers can share information about themselves, their readers and their blog content. Registered users can search for complimentary matches, interact with each other, create networks, issue ratings, send messages, and ultimately capitalize on shared interests.