Firefox Extensions for Small Business Marketing

While the browser wars are far from over, there remain only a few significant players in today’s business world. Everyone knows that Internet Explorer comes with Windows, and the running joke is that it’s “a tool used to download Google Chrome.” Speaking of Google’s powerhouse browser, the Mountain View web client has a chokehold on the browser market, owning nearly sixty percent of the market.

Still, there are other alternative browsers which provide unique and innovative options for small business marketing. Firefox, for instance, includes add-on tools that Mozilla has developed which can help a small business keep up with larger and faster-growing markets in today’s online industry. Below are just a few of the best Firefox extensions for small business marketing.

Shareaholic

This social media sharing aggregator allows businesses to integrate all platforms into one unified application. If you have a message you want to get out, but don’t want to take the time to post it to each platform, Shareaholic provides the answer. Businesses can share content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and StumbleUpon all with the single click of a button.

Firefox Blogging Extension

The beauty of the blogging extension provided by Firefox is that it allows for marketing and promoting through the use of an online blog. In today’s marketplace, blogs are more important than ever in their use to attract visitors to your site. These integrated blogging tools make it easier to promote and provide greater visibility to your blog. It also helps with optimization of links, tags, and metadata, along with many other marketing features.

SEO Quake

In the world of online and internet marketing, everyone knows how crucial SEO can be. SEO Quake is an essential Firefox extension which allows users to set a variety of SEO parameters which can track data and provide valuable information on how a website is performing. Through its simple, yet intuitive interface, SEO Quake can offer a detailed report relating to each SEO parameter.

RiteTag

As a small business, no one needs to remind you of the importance of the Twitter hashtag. This powerful feature can drive traffic to your site when used appropriately, so it is essential to keep a weathered eye on growing trends or tags. RiteTag provides the opportunity to see how well a hashtag will perform before being used with your tweets. It can also suggest alternative tags, or point out when a hashtag is overused. Use this tool to create the best tags when marketing your business, creating campaigns for social media, or reaching out to others within your industry.

SimilarWeb

SimilarWeb is a fantastic Firefox extension to use to measure your performance against the competition. This plugin goes a long way toward showing your company’s strong points along with areas for improvement. You can view your global, national, or local rank, receive traffic overviews, determine where your traffic is coming from, and which sites are referring yours most often. SimilarWeb is a handy extension for small business marketing.

Bitly

This Firefox extension provides many features that are beneficial to small business marketing. Users can create customized, shortened links, view analytics, and share the link easily on social media. Additionally, Bitly has a component which allows for bundling similar links, which can make shortened links easier to find and manage. It will also notify you when the link you created reaches a specified number of views.

Remember, just because a browser doesn’t command the same market share as some of its competitors do, does not mean that it doesn’t offer key features, extensions, or plugins that can create marketing and social media benefits. Install and play around with some of the more interesting ones, and you’ll be sure to find the extensions that work best for your company. Check out my done-for-you system for other useful advertising tips.

Best Mobile Apps for Marketing

It’s easy to hunker down and turn off distractions to get things done on your computer. But in an increasingly mobile society, sometimes you need to work on the run. With the wealth of apps available today, you can leave your bulky computer behind and work efficiently with your phone on the go.

Tweetbot

Sometimes a never-ending list of tweets is hard to sift through for relevant content topics or sort out what you care about most. Tweetbot organizes your feed however it’s most productive for you. Whether it’s a list or a channel, Tweetbot can separate your stream so you can tweet or reply directly in the app in a more digestible way.

Flow for Instagram

If you’re a heavy iPad user, you’ve noticed that your Instagram feed doesn’t look quite right. The official Instagram app doesn’t render well across devices, but Flow provides a solution. With a display made for iPads, you can browse, follow, comment, or like from the app without dealing with stretched images.

Dropbox

File management is a huge part of an organizational workflow. Instead of making a note for yourself to follow up when you get back to the computer, download the mobile Dropbox app to preview files like images, or share them for an upcoming campaign.

Nimble

Keeping in contact with influencers is critical for marketing managers. The Nimble app integrates with the social profiles for each of your contacts so you can stay connected to your network no matter where you are. Sync your phone’s contacts with Nimble so it will search for new social media profiles to follow.

Mention

Mention listens, so you don’t have to engage as often. You can focus on other things while Mention finds brand mentions all over the web from blog posts, social media updates, or anywhere someone mentions your keywords. Use these mentions to follow up and stay in contact without the effort.

IFTTT

IFTTT stands for If This, Then That. There are hundreds of recipes to choose from and implement, or you can create your own. Relevant social media sharing gets an upgrade by setting up your profiles to share only when they meet specific criteria.

Aviary

Supercharge your editing power by using Aviary’s suite of editing tools. You can edit existing images or create new ones. With more filters and advanced options that your phone’s default tool, you can share moving images and stand out from the competition.

Flipboard

Link your social media accounts, set up content preferences, and organize categories in this RSS feed in a flippable format. Discover new content, stay relevant on any topic, and quickly swipe through for the latest updates.

Prismatic

Prismatic delivers content catered to your interests, so you don’t have to go looking for it. The more you use it, the more it learns about your tastes, so each individual gets a fully customized stream. It gets smarter, so you get smarter.

Dashboard for Google Analytics

Get the best Google Analytics right on your phone. You can check traffic stats and campaign results on the move, and it shows a visually stimulating display of all the same analytics you find on your desktop. It’s great for managing your social media campaigns.

MailChimp

Forgot to send out that marketing email before you left the office? No problem. The MailChimp app is a helpful way to manage your campaigns from anywhere. You can control lists, send campaigns, and view stats all from your mobile device. If you use an iPad, you can download the companion app to edit on the go.

Quora

Marketing specialists always strive for relevance to their audience. It’s the best way to reach people, promote your brand, and influence the online community. But it’s not always easy to know what people think of you, the latest trends, or what’s happening in their neighborhood.

Quora crowdsources answers, so it’s an excellent source for information and content ideas. You can post questions and answers, or search trending topics to gain valuable insight into products or services.

In our increasingly mobile society, it’s hard to move and work at the same time. These apps make it easier to stay connected to your network of leads, influencers, competitors, and campaigns so you can increase productivity and remain relevant every day. Check out my done-for-you system for more ideas.

Slack for Marketing

Slack enables your ideas all the way to market by keeping everyone on the same page in real time. Slack is a communication super tool allowing your team to send notifications, get approvals, and sign off on the biggest marketing campaigns. From collaboration to integration, Slack has the capabilities your team needs to prepare the best marketing campaigns yet.

Slack helps you to stay organized with rooms for purposes designated by your team and inviting members on a need-to-know basis so that people don’t get notifications that waste their time. It serves as a central command post for all resources your team needs. App integrations to gain valuable insights from customer feedback as well as monitor how your campaigns are performing.

Centralized Communication

Slack provides real-time coordination amongst teammates, even in remote locations, allowing flexibility and availability in your workday. Define deliverables and discuss what you’ll need in a centralized location. You can create public channels to keep everyone on the same page, or you can create private channels for teammates working on specific tasks that don’t involve the entire organization. Each channel allows you to set topics, so everyone knows what the channel is for, and you can pin messages or files so you can easily find the most important information later.

Approvals

Slack is a great place to get input on marketing strategies and campaigns. You can share messages with internal colleagues or clients and emojis make the approval process fun. Try using a set of eyes to indicate something that needs reviews, or a heart to show how much you love the idea.

Gathering Insights

Data matters for marketing teams and Slack can integrate with a number of marketing tools, enabling you with valuable insights. By pulling in data from Statsbot, Amplitude, or Google Analytics, you can stay on top of performance metrics and trends to make informed decisions about the direction you’ll take the next campaign.

You can also pull in stats from SurveyMonkey for the support team or use the MailChimp integration to monitor click-throughs and open rates all on one dashboard. There are many other APIs available, and a talented development team can integrate or enable notifications for almost anything.

Customer Feedback

Customer feedback is critical to marketing teams. As you learn more about what the ideal customer in your target market wants, you can build more valuable campaigns to meet their needs. You can use Slack to implement real-time social media mentions, or automatically post tweets to your company’s account. You can also post feedback from your company’s help desk tool, or post survey results to a specific Slack channel.

Integrations

With a centralized dashboard for all of your communication and statistics, you can improve your workflow and make it more efficient. There are numerous Slack integrations with marketing apps, including:

• Statsbot
• Drift
• GrowthBot
• Ark
• Slaask
• Translate
• Chatlio
• Smallchat
• Mention
• datacard.io
• Autopilot
• Drum Meetings
• So much more

Community

Sometimes it takes a village. If someone else has been there and done that, use their experience to your advantage. Ask questions, analyze patterns, and figure out the best way for your organizations to proceed. There are Slack communities specifically for this purpose, and here are some of the best marking communities:

• Online Geniuses
• Inbound.org
• Conversion World
• Marketers Chat
• Designer Hangout
• Buffer
• Growmance
• SaaS Community
• Backlinks
• Grey Fedora

Slack is the ultimate tool for collaboration. With integration capability and enhanced communication, marketing teams can get the job done faster with minimal interference. Slack is easy to implement and even easier to use, giving you no excuse not to get started today. For additional help, check out DFY’s lead generation system.