ORLANDO, FL–(Marketwired – June 22, 2016) – IZEA, Inc. (NASDAQ: IZEA) has partnered with Rakuten Affiliate Network, to integrate IZEAx with Rakuten Affiliate Network advertisers. The integration provides the technology layer needed to more easily on-board additional e-commerce partners into the SocialLinks program, and streamlines IZEA’s ability to activate social influencer campaigns on a Cost Per Action (CPA) basis.

In conjunction with the Rakuten Affiliate Network integration, IZEA has launched SocialLinks support for a Top 10 U.S. Retailer. SocialLinks allows Creators — such as bloggers, Viners, Instagrammers, YouTubers and other online personalities — to search through the inventory of products at the retailer and generate affiliate links quickly and easily within IZEAx. Creators can monetize their social influence by sharing these links on Twitter, Facebook, blogs and even social messaging platforms.

According to the Internet Retailer’s Social Media 500, the top 500 retailers earned $3.3 billion from social shopping in 2014, up 26 percent from 2013. The increase outpaces the growth rate of the overall e-commerce market in the U.S. by approximately 16 percent.

IZEA Founder and CEO Ted Murphy will be presenting the features of the new integration at the Rakuten Marketing Symposium event on June 23rd in Brooklyn, New York. The event is the premier gathering place for online performance marketing leaders. Attendees have included hundreds of executives from top companies doing business online, representatives from leading and innovative publisher websites, and online marketers from Rakuten Marketing’s client base of leading, international advertisers. IZEA representatives will be on hand to meet with Rakuten Affiliate Network clients who are interested in joining the SocialLinks program.

“Rakuten Affiliate Network is a leader in the performance marketing industry and we are thrilled to be working together with them. This partnership will allow us to expand our offering to advertisers and activate e-commerce specific campaigns in a whole new way,” said Murphy. “We can now on-board SocialLinks partners faster, streamline integration in IZEAx and deliver more monetization opportunities for our Creators.”

In addition to integrating a new retailer, IZEA has also added native Pinterest integration into the platform. All the links generated by Creators are tracked by IZEAx and tied to a comprehensive suite of analytics tools. These tools show performance by product, helping Creators optimize their product promotion strategy and maximize income.

About IZEA

IZEA operates IZEAx, the premier online marketplace that connects brands with influential content creators. IZEA creators range from leading bloggers and social media personalities to A-list celebrities and professional journalists. Creators are compensated for developing and distributing unique content on behalf of brands including long form text, videos, photos and status updates. Brands receive influential consumer content and engaging, shareable stories that drive awareness. For more information about IZEA, visit http://corp.izea.com.

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