Federated, Zemanta Launch Program to Connect Bloggers with Brands

Federated Media Publishing and Zemanta have announced a strategic partnership that will use technology to make it easier for bloggers and companies to connect, increasing opportunities to create targeted content marketing campaigns.

Federated Media represents a select portfolio of influential blogging sites that the company connects with brands looking to develop content campaigns. Zemanta has created a web engine that helps more than 80,000 bloggers identify trusted sources of information related to their posts, including background research, images and links to other websites or blogs. Zemanta’s technology can be used as a plug-in on a wide range of programs, including WordPress and tumblr., or can be installed as a browser extension for those who work on multiple blogging platforms.

The Quest for Earned Media

Under this new partnership, Zemanta will identify the top users of its technology and, with those bloggers’ permission, will leverage the expertise of Federated Media to identify potential companies or brands that might be interested in commissioning them to write about specific topics or work on content campaigns, said Zemanta’s Marketing Director Tin Dizdarevic.

“Our typical companies invest heavily in content creation, such as Williams-Sonoma or Flixster, and believe that in doing so, they get earned media,” said Boštjan Špetič, Zemanta’s founder and chief executive officer. This new service will help “to make earning media more efficient because, in real time, companies can figure out which blogger is the right target for their content. We would amplify the number of a company’s evangelists out there automatically.”

Companies interested in creating a campaign can sponsor a particular post on a topic or issue. “We would provide a transparent process whereby bloggers, brands and readers would know the relationship behind it. Readers would know that it’s sponsored posts,” Špetič said.

Earning a Living, Not Just Media

The service will also for the first time provide long-tail bloggers with an opportunity to earn money for writing about topics of interest to them.

“If you were a blogger and had an audience, you couldn’t get ad dollars your way. Traditional branded ads don’t work in blogging because no one wants to see more banners. We had to invent something new,” Špetič said.

The blogging industry is becoming more professional, meaning more people are trying to use it as a way of earning a living, Špetič said. Three years ago, the number of bloggers making money from the practice was below 10 percent. Last year, it was above 30 percent, he said.

“Blogging has become part of the economy,” Špetič said. “For lots of bloggers it’s a side income, but the number of people for whom it’s a job is increasing.”

Disclaimer: Zemanta is a CMI benefactor