ViralHeat releases “Flint”, a Chrome plugin to help users increase engagement and drive analytics

Social media measurement and intelligence firm ViralHeat has integrated its service with Google. Today, it is unveiling a browser plugin for Google Chrome that can be used to publish into its system. Called “Flint”, it’s intent is to allow users to share content that they like with their friends and followers on any of the social networks they connect to the plugin, including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Known for being an affordable way for businesses to track social media conversations (compared to using Radian6, Omniture, or Lithium Technologies), ViralHeat is hoping that this plugin will enable users to share more with their followers and increase engagement while also allowing them to go back and see their publishing history and associated analytics.

You might think of this as being similar to the Bitly plugin but with much better analytics. In fact, when we asked whether this was another Bitly play, it said that while its plugin will allow for shortened links, the main purpose is to provide the company’s “FULL publishing suite from any site.” Users will have the flexibility to share content across multiple accounts in a range of channels.

Raj Kadam, ViralHeat’s CEO, says that the company wanted to provide users with a simple way to manage and execute their social media marketing strategies. This appears to be all done right from the extension as it includes the following features: rich media integration (images, links, quotes, and text can all be shared), scheduled and group publishing, geographic targeting, account filtering, and much more. It supports sharing on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Flint can be downloaded from the Google Chrome store. Users must have an account with ViralHeat to use the extension and can choose from the service’s free or paid plans.

ViralHeat has seen tremendous growth over the past five months. It tells us that it has increased 1,000% within that time period. The company has raised close to $5 million in funding since 2009.

Photo credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images