Advanced Listening Keyword Search
Searching is simple when you know the results you want.
You can use search operators in Statusbrew’s Social Listening and Web Listening to find the exact information and audience you need.
The Statusbrew Listening and Web Listening feature is available for Premium plans and above.
What is a Search Operator?
A search operator is a keyword or command used to refine search results. You may know examples like OR or AND searches. For instance:
dog OR cat → Finds results with either "dog," "cat," or both keywords.
dog AND cat → Finds results containing both "dog" and "cat" keywords.
Search operators differ by platform. An operator that works on X (formerly Twitter) may not work on Reddit. While many people are familiar with Google search operators, these do not always apply to social platforms.
To help, we've summarized the search operators available for each platform in Statusbrew in the table below.
Search Operators Available In Statusbrew
Operator | Example | Search Contents | Supported Platforms |
Enter text only (Do not enter symbols) | customer service delivery issue refund | Searches for posts that contain all entered keywords. Example: Finds posts that include both keywords “customer” and “service,” regardless of order. Finds posts that include all the keywords “delivery,” “issue,” and “refund” — anywhere in the content. | X (Twitter), Instagram, Reddit, Threads, Web Listening |
" " (Exact match) | "customer service" "delivery issue refund" | Searches for posts that contain the exact phrase or characters within quotation marks. Example: - Finds posts that include the exact phrase “customer service,” with the words in that specific order. - Finds posts that include the exact phrase “delivery issue refund,” with no words in between. | X (Twitter), Reddit, YouTube, Web Listening |
+ (A + B) (with one half-width space before and after +) | support + email Account issues + login error | Searches for posts that mention a main keyword (A) only when a second keyword (B) is also present. This helps narrow search results to a specific context. Example: - Finds posts that mention “support” only when “email” is also included. - Finds posts that mention “Account issues” only when “login error” is present. | X (Twitter), YouTube, Web Listening |
- (A - B) (with one half-width space before and after -) | Billing -invoice Password reset -app -notification | Searches for posts that include a keyword (A), but exclude any posts that contain one or more specified keywords (B and/or C). Useful for filtering out noise. Example: Matches posts that include “Billing” but not “invoice”, or posts that mention “Password reset” but exclude those also containing “app” or “notification.” | X (Twitter), YouTube, Web Listening |
AND (A AND B) (with one half-width space before and after AND) | customer AND support | Searches for posts that include both specified terms. AND must be uppercase. Example: Finds posts that contain both "customer" and "support". Posts with only one of these terms are excluded. | X (Twitter), Reddit, YouTube, Web Listening |
OR (A OR B) (with one half-width space before and after OR) | refund OR exchange | Searches for posts that include at least one of the specified terms. OR must be uppercase. Example: Finds posts that contain "refund", "exchange", or both terms. | X (Twitter), Reddit, YouTube, Web Listening |
NOT (A NOT B) (with one half-width space before and after NOT) | customer NOT support | Searches for posts that exclude the specified term. NOT must be uppercase. Functions the same as the minus - operator. Example: Finds posts that contain "customer" but do not contain "support". | X (Twitter), Reddit, Web Listening |
| (Pipe) (A | B) Please note that this is not the letter I. | customer | support | Searches for posts that include either of the specified terms. Functions the same as OR. Example: Matches posts that contain “customer”, “support”, or both. | YouTube |
( ) (A (B AND C)) Combinations | customer service (complaint OR feedback) | Groups keywords together so that a single operator can be applied to everything in the brackets. Example: Matches posts that contain “customer service” and either “complaint” or “feedback.” | X (Twitter), Reddit, YouTube, Web Listening |
* (Wildcard search) | cat* | Find posts containing variations of a word Example: Search for posts with words that start with “cat”, like “cats”, “catnip”, or “catalog” | YouTube |
intitle: | intitle:Customer Support Tips | Find the videos which contain the phrase specified in the title Example: Matches videos with “Customer Support Tips” in the title. | YouTube |
allintitle: | allintitle: Customer Service Training Guide | Find the videos which contain all of the phrases specified in the title. Example: Matches videos with “Customer,” “Service,” “Training,” and “Guide” all in the title. | YouTube |
description: | description:Refund Policy Explained | Find the videos which contain the specified phrase in the description. Example: Matches videos with “Refund Policy Explained” in the description. | YouTube |
$ | books $20 | Find the videos which contain the price specified in dollars Example: Shows you videos that mention books and the price $20 in title. | YouTube |
#..# ($A..$B) | SEO $100...$1000 | Find posts with a price range specified in dollars ($). Example: Show posts about SEO with a price range specified between $100 and $1000. (Note: This works only with the $ currency.) | YouTube |
before:[date] after:[date] | seo before:2012-01-15 seo after:2020-01-15 | Find the videos uploaded before the date specified Find the videos uploaded after the date specified Example: Display the videos about SEO uploaded after January 15, 2020. Display the videos about SEO uploaded before January 15, 2020. | YouTube |
since:YYYY-MM-DD *You cannot search by period alone. You must add a keyword. It can be at the beginning or end. | climate change since:2025-01-01 | Filters results to include only tweets published on or after the specified date Example: Find tweets related to "climate change" posted since January 1, 2025 | X (Twitter) |
until:YYYY-MM-DD *You cannot search by period alone. You must add a keyword. It can be at the beginning or end. | climate change until:2025-06-30 from:@elonmusk since:2025-01-01 until:2025-03-01 | Filter search results to include only tweets published up to a specific date Example: Find tweets related to "climate change" up to June 30th, 2025 Show tweets from @elonmusk between January 1st and March 1st, 2025 | X (Twitter) |
# | #travel | Finds posts with specific hashtags. Example: Show posts with the #travel hashtag. | X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, YouTube |
from: | from:elonmusk from:elonmusk keyword | Filter tweets by a specific user Example: Show you all tweets from Elon Musk. Show you only tweets from Elon Musk that also contain the specified keyword. | X (Twitter) |
to: | to:elonmusk | Find tweets that are replies to a specific user. Example: Show tweets that are replies to @elonmusk | X (Twitter) |
@username | @elonmusk | Finds tweets mentioning a user. Example: Show tweets that mention @elonmusk | X (Twitter) |
filter:media | puppy filter:media | Only include tweets that contain media, such as images or videos Example: Return tweets containing the word "puppy" that also include a photo or video. | X (Twitter) |
filter:images | dogs filter:images | Filter search results to only include tweets that contain images Example: Show tweets about dogs that also include at least one image. | X (Twitter) |
filter:videos | from:@elonmusk filter:videos since:2024-01-01 | Filter Twitter search results to only show videos Example: Find videos from the user "@elonmusk" posted after January 1, 2024 | X (Twitter) |
filter:periscope | puppy filter:periscope | Find tweets that contain videos originally streamed through the Periscope platform Example: Searches for tweets containing "puppy" and Periscope videos | X (Twitter) |
filter:vine | cats filter:vine | Search for tweets that contain a specific keyword and include a Vine video. Example: Find tweets about “cats” that also have a Vine video. | X (Twitter) |
filter:native_video | Toronto filter:native_video | All Twitter-owned video types (native video, vine, periscope) Example: Tweets containing “Toronto” and an uploaded video | X (Twitter) |
filter:links | Toronto filter:links | Only containing some URL, includes media. use -filter:media for urls that aren’t media Example: Tweets containing “Toronto” and linking to URL | X (Twitter) |
-filter:retweets | Toronto -filter:retweets | To search for tweets containing a specific keyword but exclude retweets. Example: Tweets containing “Toronto”, excluding retweets | X (Twitter) |
filter:twimg | cats filter:twimg | Finds tweets that include at least one pic.twitter.com image link Example: Find tweets about “cats” that include at least one pic.twitter.com image. | X (Twitter) |
url:amazon | deals url:amazon | Find tweets that contain URLs that include the word "amazon” Example: Tweets that mentioned Amazon deals and contained an Amazon URL | X (Twitter) |
filter:follows | winner filter:follows | Only include tweets from users you are currently following Example: Find tweets mentioning “winner” only from accounts you already follow. | X (Twitter) |
list:[list name] list:[username]/[list name] | list:NASA/astronauts-in-space-now | Filter search results to only include tweets from members of a specific Twitter list. You must create a list in advance. Check Twitter’s official documentation on How to use X Lists. Example: Show you tweets from the members of the "astronauts-in-space-now" list, which is owned by the user "NASA". | X (Twitter) |
:) | "puppy" :) "movie" -scary :) | Search for tweets containing both a keyword and the :) emoticon Example: find tweets containing the word "puppy" along with the smiling face emoticon. find tweets mentioning "movie" but not "scary" and containing a positive sentiment, likely the ":)" emoticon If you're looking for positive customer feedback about a product, you might search for "product name" :) or "best" "product name" :). | X (Twitter) |
:( | "puppy" :( "movie" -boring :( | Search for tweets containing both a keyword and the :( emoticon. Example: Find tweets containing the word “puppy” along with the sad face emoticon. Find tweets mentioning “movie” but not “boring”, showing a negative sentiment, likely with :(. If you’re looking for negative feedback about a product, you might search for “product name” :( to find unhappy mentions. | X (Twitter) |
? (Question Operator) | earthquake? | To find tweets that contain specific keywords and are phrased as a question. Example: Search for tweets asking questions about earthquakes. | X (Twitter) |
filter:vertified | artificial intelligence filter:verified | Filter search results to only show tweets from verified accounts Example: Tweets about "artificial intelligence" from verified accounts | X (Twitter) |
author:username | author:spez | Filter search results to only include posts or comments made by a specific user. Ensure there's no space between "author" and the colon, and that there's no space between the colon and the username. Example: Find posts by the Reddit CEO | |
title: | title:"new release" | To search for posts that contain specific words in their title only. Example: Search for posts with “new release” in the title. | |
site: | site:statusbrew.com | To search for posts that link to a specific domain. Example: Search for posts that link to statusbrew.com | |
url: | url:"funny cat" | To search for posts that contain certain words in the URL they link to. Example: Find posts with “funny cat” in the linked website’s URL. | |
Subreddit: | subreddit:movies "new release" | To search within a specific subreddit on Reddit Example: Search for posts within the "movies" subreddit that contain the phrase "new release". | |
self:true/false *True is a post with only text. False is a post that includes media (images, videos). | cats self:true cats self:false | self:true searches for only text-based posts, self:false searches for all other types posts made by an individual account Example: Finds text-only posts about cats. Finds posts about cats that include media (images, videos, or links). | |
selftext: | selftext:dogs | Search the body of the posts that are text and not a direct link/image. Example: Searches for text posts with the word dog | |
flair: *Flair is a Reddit term for tags. | flair:"discussion" | Searches for posts that have the specified flair text Example: Searches for find posts with the "discussion" flair | |
lang: (lang: two-letter language code) | from:BarackObama lang:en until:2024-01-01 | Filters results to tweets written in a specific language Example: Search for English tweets from Barack Obama before January 1st, 2024. | X (Twitter) |
Search by latitude, longitude and radius (or use your current location) | Enter the latitude, longitude, and radius (km) | Narrow your search to posts from a specific location | X (Twitter) |
Platform Notes & Search Tips
Instagram & Threads: These platforms mainly rely on their in-app search functions, so available search operators are limited. Try searching using hashtags (#) or plain text.
NOT and - (minus): Both perform the same exclusion function but may work on different platforms.
OR and | (pipe): Both mean the same (search for either term) but are supported on different platforms. Be careful not to confuse | (pipe) with 1 (one), I (uppercase i), or l (lowercase L).
Location-Based Search (X / Twitter)
To narrow down posts by location:
Open Google Maps, right-click your target location to get coordinates (latitude, longitude).
On X (Twitter), use those coordinates with a radius (in km) when setting brand keywords.
Example:
Coordinates for Tokyo Tower can be used to search for posts within a 10km radius of the tower.
Search Operator Best Practices
"Ginza Street (Hakodate OR Tochigi) -Tokyo"(for YouTube, Web Listening): This query excludes posts about Tokyo and collects posts mentioning Ginza Street, specifically related to Hakodate or Tochigi. Combining parentheses ( ), quotes " ", plus +, minus -, AND, and OR helps refine results when searching for terms with multiple meanings.YouTube Date-Specific Searches: Use operators like
"[keyword] after:[date]"to filter posts after a specific date. This is ideal for tracking responses to campaigns or analyzing post-campaign performance for actionable marketing insights.
Tips for Accurate Searches
Be mindful of using half-width characters where required.
Confirm that search operators are supported on the platform you're using.
If results aren't as expected, double-check your settings and keyword inputs.
Use these advanced search operators to set up a brand keyword in Statusbrew. They help you filter and track specific terms, phrases, or mentions so you can monitor conversations that matter most to your brand.