A great way to get new followers on Twitter is to follow people who you would like to have follow you back. If you follow someone and engage with them on Twitter, there is a good chance that they will follow you back. However, how do you find them in the first place? Fortunately, Twitter has a robust search feature that allows you to find the people you are looking for. Knowing how to use Twitter’s advanced search can be a little tricky at first, but with a little practice, it can make it easier to connect with the people you are looking for.
First, you need to know how to get to it. The easiest way is to simply go to http://www.twitter.com/search-advanced.
Find Users in Your Area
Let’s say you are interested in finding users in your city. Maybe you are a local business and want to connect with people who know you or who would be likely to buy from you. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you want to connect with other people in Aliso Viejo (where KWSM is located), when you are in advanced search, where it says “All These Words,” enter “Aliso Viejo.” Then, scroll down to “Places” and where it says “near this place,” type in Aliso Viejo as well. Then click “search.”
This will bring up all the tweets that mention Aliso Viejo that are also close to Aliso Viejo. It is a great way to find out who is tweeting about Aliso Viejo who are actually in the area.
Once you are viewing the search results, you can narrow down what you are looking for by checking one of the options in the box on the left side of the screen. It automatically shows you everything, but I like to narrow it down to just people. This will show you all the accounts that match this search as well.
Search for a Question
Another way you can use the advanced search feature is to search for people asking questions that you might be able to answer. When you are in advanced search, put a word or phrase that relates to your industry in the “This Exact Phrase” field. I have entered “social media.” Next, scroll to the bottom, just above the search button and check the box next to “Question.” If you search for this, it will show you all the tweets that have the phrase “social media” in them that are phrased as a question. This would allow me to go through those tweets and find people who have questions about social media.
The advanced search feature on Twitter is extremely robust. I have shown you two ways to use it, but there are a lot of other ways you can use as well. Sometimes it takes a couple searches to narrow it down to get the results you want, so be sure to try different options to find what you are looking for.
Have questions? Please comment below and I will be sure to answer them for you. Also, please connect with us on Facebook!
Photo credit: @angelitochka
