• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 24, 2014

Zefr -- which helps brands and publishers manage their video assets across social channels -- just bought Engodo and its social influencer ad platform. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Setting itself apart from other software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, Zefr specializes in content that brands and fans upload to YouTube. All told, Zefr claims to manage more than 375 million videos a month, while tracking north of 31 billion video views a month.

Agency partners like Wieden+Kennedy and the Starcom Media Group use Zefr’s BrandID service to identify brands’ fan-uploaded content -- as well as competitor content -- and connect brands with receptive audiences.

Engodo specializes in partnering brands with the appropriate content creators on social networks from Vine, Snapchat, and YouTube, to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Engodo’s familiarity with the broader social ecosystem was key to the deal, according to Zach James, Zefr co-founder.

"While Zefr’s core business is YouTube, we've experienced so much momentum with our BrandID product that we’re now extending across platform to Instagram, Vine and Snapchat with the acquisition,” James said on Wednesday. “We’re taking all of our expertise and social listening tools and applying them to these platforms.”

Facilitating the deal, Zefr took $30 million in funding in February from Institutional Venture Partners, along with existing investors, like U.S. Venture Partners, Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital and Richmond Park Partners.

Zefr claims to have increased its revenue by 100% for three consecutive years with the help of clients like Adidas, Hasbro Studios, "Saturday Night Live" and Real Madrid.

The company also manages and monetizes professional rights for top studios and labels, such as Warner Bros., Sony Music, Universal Pictures, Paramount, Lionsgate, MGM and The Weinstein Co. (Named Movieclips at the time, rights management was actually Zefr’s original business model when it launched in 2009.)

Like digital video, the social-marketing business has never been bigger. This year, advertisers are expected to pump nearly $12 billion into social networks around the world, according to eMarketer. That’s 25% more than marketers spent on social last year.

But, while Facebook and Twitter are widely considered to be the kings of social, YouTube is arguably a more valuable social channel for brands and publishers -- particularly among younger users.

In fact, nearly 75% of U.S. teens say they use YouTube “frequently,” according to a recent survey from The Intelligence Group -- far more than the 60% who claim to “frequently” use Facebook.

To date, Zefr has now raised about $53 million from investors.