Work smarter, not harder! Use browser extensions to lock down your social strategy and accomplish more with less multi-tasking. If you spend much of your workday in Chrome, Firefox or Safari these extensions can help boost your productivity by transforming your passive web browsing experiences into a seamless opportunity for actively managing your workflow.
Research and Curation
Q Pad (for Chrome*) is a running sticky note that exists in your browser in a collapsible window and auto saves every time you add something new. Forget about toggling between TextEdit (or Notepad) and your browser and remembering to save your note updates. Q Pad can hold your rough to-do list, a big idea, or even UTM tags you would like to append to the end of your links before you run them through a shortener. You can even share your Q Pad notes to Twitter, Gmail or Blogger.
* Try QuickNote for Firefox
Evernote extensions (for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari) are a lifesaver in a world with way too much information to process and disseminate online. The Evernote Web Clipper lets you save and annotate webpages as you browse. To make things more accessible in Evernote later, use the Evernote Clearly extension to cut away all ads and rich formatting so that you can simply clip and view the important text and images of the article.
Reader Plus (for Chrome*) gives you the power to perform an aesthetic makeover on your Google Reader account. Choose from several different themes and define the typography, the overall layout, and the functionality of your Google RSS feed.
*Try Feedly for Firefox
Buffer and Hootsuite extensions (for Chrome, Firefox and Safari) allow you to schedule status updates directly in your browser, without interrupting your daily news research and monitoring.
Time Management:
Chromodoro (for Chrome*) is based on the popular Pomodoro Technique. This extension creates a timer in the right corner of your web browser, which allows for 5-minute breaks between 25-minute work periods. Tackle your to-do list in manageable blocks of time without burning out!
*Try Simple Timer for Firefox
Basecamp Extension (for Chrome*) enables you to select and freeze a calendar day as you report multiple tasks (across multiple client accounts), and calculates your hours when you copy and paste task details from your notepad. View the video tour for more details. I cannot stress enough how convenient this extension is for Basecamp users! A complete time saver!
*Try BaseCode for Firefox
Analysis:
SEOquake (for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera) displays domain statistics in your browser as you surf the web and research competitors. Google index, Google PageRank, and the keyword density of a page are among the parameters that you can view. Customize your plugin to tailor to the SEO metrics you are monitoring as you manage and develop targeted keyphrases for your social campaign.
The Klout browser extension (for Chrome and Firefox) gives you the ability to see the Klout scores of Twitter handles as you scroll through your feed on Twitter’s native site. While Klout scores are controversial and often referred as an arbitrary metric, you can pretend that I didn’t link you to this extension and that you didn’t download it so that you can monitor your brand’s following. **wink**
Gmail Communication:
Rapportive (for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Mailplane) allows you to learn more about and connect with your regular business contacts by being able to directly engage with a snapshot of their active social profiles right in your Gmail account. Bonus: It takes the place of those annoying Ads in the right bar of your Gmail account.
Minimalist Gmail (for Chrome and Firefox) lets you fully customize your Gmail account. You can highlight new mail and starred items, hide ads, and even customize the 5 links in the header of your account to easily navigate to your Google Voice and Reader accounts.
Do you have any other useful browser extensions to share? I’d love to read your comments. Let’s build the ultimate social media management browser extension toolkit!
