Searching Twitter For Keywords
10:35 pm September 13, 2009

My clients love Twitter, and I love it too. One of the most asked questions I receive about Twitter is ‘how do I search Twitter for certain keywords?’

To answer a question with a question, I ask:

Do you want to search real-time conversations to find keywords, or would you like to search through profiles for location and/or keywords listed in the ‘bio’ section?

Big distinction.

Searching through tweets for keywords is great if you would like to find all the people talking about the TV show ‘The Biggest Loser’ or for everyone talking about yoga or eating raw foods.

Searching through profiles is perfect if your are looking for all the people living in Asheville, NC, or if you want to find people who list ’spa owner’ ‘filmmaker’ or ‘mom’ in their bio.

Twitter Search

If you would like to search real-time conversations for keywords, the easiest way is to use the search link at the bottom of Twitter.

If you would like to know more about Twitter search, click here.

Twellow

If you want to search through people’s profiles for their location or keywords listed in their bio - we use Twellow.

If you want to know more about Twellow, check out their ‘about us’ page. Twellow is currently in ‘beta’.

If you have been perplexed about how to find a certain market, people in a certain location, or people talking about topics linked to your brand, or if you have simply been wondering how everyone is finding YOU, these two ways to search should bring you clarity.

Happy Twitter-searching and tweeting!

You’ve just set up your company blog and are ready to start blogging. How exciting! You can’t wait to start talking about you business, products, services…

Hold on just a second.

Your blog should have relevance to your business, but if it is to be authentic, interesting, engaging and meaningful to readers, it will need to be more than another online space for you to promote your brand.

Example Number One:

Carolina Mornings, a luxury mountain vacation rental company in Asheville, NC, does not talk about their wonderful vacation homes on their blog. Instead, they talk about Asheville. Their blog, Discover Asheville, gives readers wonderful information about Asheville and Western North Carolina, with restaurant reviews, local events and travel tips. At times they will post something about their company or a property special, but they understand the concept of ‘offering value’ through their blog. By writing a blog about the Asheville area, they are serving their audience and in turn, gaining future guests.

Example Number Two:

This blog - yes, the one you are reading - does not talk about how wonderful our services are (though it could!). It does not boast ‘Use our wonderful consulting services!’ or ‘Our newest client hit the big-time, because of our services!’ You wouldn’t be reading right now if it did. Our blog offers practical, useful information to all those who are striving to market their businesses online through social media. It tells you how to do it yourself, offers advice and tips, and establishes us as a knowledgeable leader in the field of social media. In the process, it draws potential clients to our doorstep.

Both Carolina Mornings and Social Bloom understand one thing: A company blog is a place for you to add value and gain followers. These followers turn out to be online influencers and brand evangelists. They tell their online and offline friends, comment on, link to, and share your blog with others.

While your blog may not be a place for you to stand on your soapbox and sing the praises of your brand, it is a place to promote your brand, by association. If your company blog is engaging, interesting and valuable, it will be your greatest promotional tool.

Is it really a hard pill to swallow?

Twitter is not like other social networks. You don’t send a ‘friend request’, you don’t have to know the people you follow, and you don’t even have to be reciprocally connected. You may see everything I say, and I may never see you at all. I may see everything you say, but you may not ever see me.

With Twitter, you ‘follow’ people you would like to follow - or receive updates from - by clicking ‘follow’ on their profile. Once you follow someone, you will begin to see their updates on your Twitter page. They do not have to approve you to follow them and they don’t have to ‘follow’ you back. By following them you have said that you want to hear what they have to say. You may make comments on their ‘tweets’ and join in conversation with them.

There are no rules here. Some people on Twitter follow everyone back, while some people never follow anyone back. Some people will follow you after you have made a few comments on their updates, but that is not always the case. Simply follow the people who interest you and grow your network from there.

Twitter following is a form of unconditional love…you can never expect anyone to follow you back. Follow who you want and if you want others to follow you - be interesting!

If you have questions, be sure to post them below.

If you’re a business owner unfamiliar with Twitter, you may think the concept of micro-blogging sounds silly at best, and complicated at worst. You may not understand the power of answering the question: “What are you doing?”

What exactly IS Twitter and what is micro-blogging?

Twitter is a free social networking service that is based on micro-blogging, which is blogging in 140 characters or less. Basically, your micro-blog answers one question on Twitter, over and over again: “What are you doing?”

There is a white box for you to write a text-based message, 140 characters short and sweet. After typing, simply hit ‘update’ to send your message out to your followers. Your messages (or micro-blogs) are called ‘updates’ or ‘tweets’.

Why is ‘what you’re doing’ relevant to your business?

Twitter is a real-time chat where everyone is invited. When people are interested in what you are saying, they will automatically go to your profile and check out your link, taking them straight to your business. You can share information, post links, and build a solid reputation.

Noteworthy Info: When you reply to a update from another member, everyone that is following you will see it. As a business, this is key. When your followers reply to your updates, all of their followers will see your name and will have the option of clicking on your profile to see who you are. If they like what they see, they too will follow you.

***The whole point in Twitter (as a business) is to get as many quality followers as possible. Quality, meaning followers that are relevant to your target audience.***