Chrome is an incredibly popular browser and for good reason. It’s reliable, easy to use, has a pleasant interface, and runs using your favourite search engine - Google. According to Statcounter, Chrome is the most popular browser with over 50% of market shares as of July 2019. Nevertheless, Chrome is the browser of choice for many internet users. One of the best parts of using chrome is that you can download a whole bunch of handy extensions that help streamline online processes, add creative tools, or extra security for your operations.
Whatever you need, I’m sure you can find a Chrome extension or plug-in for it. In particular, for the social media strategists out there, turning to extensions and plug-ins can improve productivity. Social media strategy requires a lot of internet use - for researching, communicating, creating and organising. So, you really want your browser to work for you and help you get jobs done fast and reliably. That’s why we’ve decided to compile a list of our favourite extensions to help you work faster, smarter and harder. Read on to discover some of the best free and paid extensions available to download on Chrome. Quick Tips:
- Some extensions can slow your browser. Also, downloading many extensions may mean a lagging computer. If you’re finding your computer is loading things a lot slower, it might be time to look into a higher bandwidth. Get into contact with your internet service provider to organise this.
- You can install, manage and delete all of your extensions on Google Chrome by clicking the three dots in the top right corner, then more tools, and then extensions. Here, you can turn extensions on and off, start incognito mode (your data isn’t stored), repair corruptions, and allow access to particular sites.
Paid Extensions
These days almost everything runs on a subscription service. Gone are the days you go to the store and buy something out-right. That being said, we have become a lot more selective with our subscriptions, and companies have become a lot more competitive with their prices. The same goes for extensions and plug-ins - these services are available at super affordable rates, and sometimes, there’s even a free version. Looking specifically at the needs of social media marketers, we’ve identified extensions that assist with aspects of the job - from privacy, to organisation, and creativity, there’s an extension to help you work more productively. So, without further adieu, here is our list of paid extensions categorised for their particular uses.
Privacy
FlowCrypt
FlowCrypt encrypts emails on gmail and their attachments. If the receiver of the emails also has Flowcrypt then you can also apply password protections to emails that go back and forth between you and the receiver. Encrypted drafts can also be saved for later use. This extension is particularly handy for protecting sensitive information that is being transferred between clients and brands. Technically, FlowCrypt can be used for free - they provide free encryption services for sending messages, attachments and files. However, to access additional services, such as secure replies from your recipient, it costs $5 a month. The premium version also enables you to encrypt larger files and attachments to send in an email.
Security
Avast Online
Social media strategy and marketing involves a lot of online work. You may have antivirus software that is up to date, but sometimes viruses can still creep through, particularly when you don’t know which websites to trust, and especially since hackers are better than ever at cracking into systems that seem secure. That’s why it’s a good idea to have an extra layer of protection. Avast works to protect your computer from malware and viruses by reporting the reputation of each website to you before you click on a link. Avast also immediately blocks content that has been compromised. Phishing and malware-ridden sites are automatically blocked from view. To check for a site’s security rating and to see how many tracking technologies they use, you simply need to hover over a link. Avast costs approximately $99.99 a year, making it slightly cheaper than your typical computer anti-virus protection.
Communication
MailTag
Imagine being able to see whether someone has opened an email you have sent? Well, with MailTag, you can. When a recipient opens your email, you will be immediately notified. Not only this, but you are notified if they open the links in your email. Marketers love their analytics, but imagine getting them instantly? Other MailTag features include: email scheduling, setting reminders and notifications, and setting pings for prospective clients. You’ll never lose a client opportunity again. The service costs only $10 a month, and if you’re not sure about signing up, there is a two week free trial on offer.
Creativity
TinEye
Simply put, TinEye reverse searches images to find where else an image has been used elsewhere. This is particularly handy for finding better quality versions of an image. You’ll no longer have to settle for low-res with TinEye. Of course, you should always contact the owner of the image for permission so as to not breach copyright laws. Using TinEye is free, although if you’d like to download it as an API, then it costs $200 for 2 years (for 5,000 searches). If you’re dealing with content creators, then this might be a good idea to protect original content from being copyrighted. There are also options for higher search quantities - of course, these do cost more.
Organisation
Any.do
This one is super straightforward. Any.do is a task management ‘to-do list’ system that lets you add notes, share tasks, and set lists for a range of timelines (today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.). The best part is that it can sync across devices. If you work in a team setting, this is a great tool for updating colleagues on things that need to be done and keeping track of tasks. While Any.do provides a free version of the extension, the cost of going premium is only $3 a month, which is nothing compared to the increased productivity you will experience while using the tool. Premium users get an additional number of shared tasks, file upload limits, and access to colour coded tags, recurring tasks, location-based reminders, customisable themes, and customer support. If you absolutely live for organisation, you’ll love this extension.
Free Extensions
Even though most of the suggested paid extensions do provide a free version within their service, those are the tools we have deemed worth the subscription fee. They are worth the money you’ll pay to use the premium features. However, there are also some extensions we believe are best utilised using their free services. To find the best free extensions available for your social media marketing needs, continue reading.
Research and Printing
Print Friendly & PDF
With social media strategy comes lots of digging around for content, emailing suggestions back and forth, and printing ideas. Sometimes, it’s a pain in the backside when you find a great article that you want to print or share, but the formatting unravels when you go to print or email because of the ads. Well, this is where Print Friendly steps in. This extension allows you to remove any unwanted ads and images from a page when printing a web page or article straight from the browser. Users can also edit text size and save or email pages as PDFs without losing any of the hyperlinks contained. Sending articles and webpages becomes a much more cleaner and easier process with this extension. The advanced version of Print Friendly costs $20 a month; however, we know this is quite pricey for the average user. Thankfully, there is also a free version where you won’t really miss any of the premium features.
Communication
Checker Plus for Gmail
Staying on top of emails is an important task in all aspects of marketing, especially social. Sometimes when you’re focused on a task, you forget to follow up on important subjects. Well, you won’t forget with this extension. Checker Plus keeps emails in reach so that you can access them quickly and easily. View your messages without leaving your current page. With your emails clearly visible, you can read them, delete them, or archive them - all without getting distracted from your current task. You can even set notifications to show on your desktop while you aren’t running chrome. Checker Plus enables users to multitask better and work smarter.
Creativity
Pablo
Pablo lets you create captioned images to share on social networks. This is ideal for quotings that you want to add over scenic images. Pablo lets you choose from a range of fonts and images that are sourced online and customisable. Sounds super simple, and it really is, and that’s probably why so many social media marketers love it. Smash posts out of the way with this easy tool!
Have you ever seen something online that you wanted to watch or read but didn’t have time to so you lost it? We all know how annoying that is, particularly for content that is important or relevant to your work. Pocket functions to keep that from happening by allowing you to save articles, videos and other content to view later- all in one simple place. It also syncs across all your devices so that you can catch up anywhere and anytime. Pocket also has a premium service; however, the additional features don’t make it worth the spend, even if it is only $5 a month. Premium provides additional storage and a more powerful search feature, which is fine, but I’m sure you won’t need it, unless you read A LOT. Look, there were probably another 50 extensions that could’ve been added to this list, but we had to draw the line somewhere. Not to mention, new extensions are constantly being developed and added to Chrome each day. No doubt, It’s a good time to be a social media marketer, having so much helpful technology around. After all, your role is completely tech-saturated.
