Top 10 Chrome Extensions for Community Managers

It’s human nature for us to seek out tools that make life easier. Creating the wheel, the telephone, and the 

automobile are all perfect examples of our need to create and use objects and services that save time and energy. For individuals working in positions that require increased multi-tasking skills and the ability to wear many hats, ease and convenience are two words that carry a lot of weight. One job that immediately comes to mind is a company’s Community Manager. Typically tasked with being the middleman between the company they work for and its customers – taking and sharing feedback, creating content, and engaging with end users, bloggers, influencers, and potential customers. Being in this position requires staying on your toes as well as on top of your game. Luckily if you’re a Google Chrome user making friends with Chrome Extension can be your saving grace. I’ve compiled the most helpful Chrome Extensions for Community Managers.

1. Facebook – Community Managers, even those using a third party tool to manage their accounts, need the option to login to the native site of the platform from time to time. Having Facebook on your Chrome Page increases efficiency and will save a bit a time.

2. Twitter – Similar to the way a Community Manager would need to reach Facebook’s native site, the same goes for Twitter. Including Twitter’s Chrome extension as part of your shortcuts will help keep all your social media platforms in one easy location.

3. WordPress – A typical responsibility for many Community Managers is maintaining the company’s blog. The WordPress extension allows you to access your WordPress Admin page with just one click.

4. Flint – With Viralheat’s Flint extension, Community Managers can share stories found from around the web to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. With just one click on the Viralheat icon, sharing to your community has never been easier.

5. Viralheat Social Sentiment – One reason companies have community manager in the position they do is to maintain and work toward a positive social sentiment. Whether the sentiment is about a product or company, this real-time sentiment tracker can pinpoint how your community feels about different topics.

6. Google Calendar – Keeping your days straight and meeting and assignment on schedule requires a great calendar. With the Google Calendar extension, stay up to date, edit and add events and tasks along the way.

7. GMail – Get to your email with ease. Use the GMail extension to make sure you are staying in the know with company emails.

8. Google Reader – RSS Feeds are a mecca for curating stories that will appeal to a Community Manager’s community. Community Managers rely on google reader to stay updated and current.

9. Dropbox – It’s rare for Community Managers to work without co-workers, fellow CMs, or amongst a department. Using a service like dropbox makes sharing documents easy. The dropbox extensions will bring a user right to their account to access their documents.

10. New York Times  - Adding a favorite news source will ensure that you are aware of breaking news and current events that might pertain your community. Use the New York Times extension to reach this reliable news source periodically through the work week.