New Firefox Extension: Social Marketing While You Browse

Mozilla Labs Messaging Group has released a new Firefox extension that makes it simpler to share content from around the web on Facebook and Twitter.

Social media marketing seeks to make new or more loyal customers by engaging with them, not just pushing products. Usually, social marketing starts by listening to what customers are saying, learning from them, and eventually joining the conversation.

Once your business has earned the right to comment or add to the social conversation, what is said is not often about products or deals or specials—although these can be the topics sometimes—rather it may make sense to simply point out content of interest or provide new content that is of real value to the community.

In a pragmatic sense, this means that the social marketer must be authentically invested in the customer’s community. This involves reading blogs, watching videos, listening to podcasts, and following trends. When the social marketer finds something of interest, he or she shares that “something” with the community.

F1 from Mozilla Labs

This sort of sharing is exactly what Mozilla hopes to improve with the new F1 extension for Firefox. This extension allows users to post content to Facebook or Twitter, or email content via Gmail, without opening new windows or using third-party tools.

How F1 Works

To use F1 to share on Twitter or Facebook, just click the F1 icon that appears in the upper right-hand corner Firefox after the extension has been installed.

The F1 icon is located at the top, right corner of the browser.

Once clicked, the F1 icon opens a dialog box. The first time you open the extension, you will be offered an opportunity to add your Twitter, Facebook, and Gmail accounts.

The F1 dialog box is integrated into the browser.

With an account selected, you have the opportunity to type a message into a field at the top of the browser window. Clicking “Share” publishes the message via the selected account.

Clicking ‘Share’ will publish the post.

Once the message is shared, it appears on the service you specified.

The F1 post appears on Twitter.

Downloading F1

To get started with F1, you will need to download it. But installing this extension is no different than adding any other add-on to Firefox, meaning it is quick and easy.

F1 is as simple to install as any other Firefox add-on.

Summing Up

Mozilla F1 is a fast and easy way to share interesting content on Twitter, Facebook, or via Gmail. The service can be a real help for ecommerce social marketers.

I wish that it supported more social media services, such as Yahoo! Meme, but for getting the basics done, it is hard to beat.