How To Use Twitter Search Operators For Social Listening?
Twitter Search Operators improve your social listening by making it easy to find Tweets that are highly specific and relevant to your needs.
With custom Twitter search operators, you can filter specific content and target the right audience directly in Statusbrew Engage. These advanced queries enhance your social listening, helping you find and engage with relevant conversations.
Introduction To Search Operators
Search operators are words or symbols that refine your search results. For example, typing "social media" into a search bar will return results containing both "social" and "media." These words can appear independently anywhere in the results, not necessarily together.
If you want to search for the exact phrase "social media," use quotation marks like this: "social media".
To find tweets containing both "social media" and "management," but not necessarily together, use the AND operator: “remote work" AND "productivity"
If you're looking for tweets that include either term, use the OR operator: Hootsuite OR Sproutsocial OR Buffer.
Content Operators
Content operators help filter tweets based on hashtags, phrases, keywords, or media types (e.g., images, videos).
Operator | Finds Tweets... |
|---|---|
live now | containing both “live” and “now”. This is the default operator |
“happy hour” | containing the exact phrase “happy hour” |
love OR hate | containing either “love” or “hate” (or both) |
beer -root | containing “beer” but not “root” |
#haiku | containing the hashtag “haiku” |
elections filter:safe | containing “elections” with Tweets marked as potentially sensitive removed |
pets filter:media | containing “pets” and an image or video |
pets -filter:retweets | containing “pets” filtering out retweets |
pets filter:images | containing “pets” and links identified as photos, including third parties such as Instagram |
stunts filter:links | containing “stunts” and linking to URL |
movie -scary :) | containing "movie" but not "scary" and with a positive attitude |
weather :( | containing "weather" and with a negative attitude |
earthquake ? | containing "earthquake" and asking a question |
"happy hour" near:"san francisco" | containing the exact phrase "happy hour" and sent near "san francisco" |
near:NYC within:15mi | sent within 15 miles of "NYC" |
Source Operators
Source operators allow users to find tweets sent from a certain profile, sent to a profile, or mentioning a particular account.
Operators | Find Tweets... |
|---|---|
from:statusbrew | sent from Twitter profile “statusbrew” |
to:statusbrew | sent to Twitter profile “statusbrew” |
@Statusbrew | mentioning Twitter account “Statusbrew” |
Additional Operators
You can enter the above-given search operators in the Keyword field when creating a new Brand Keyword inbox in Statusbrew Engage.
Advanced Search Query Examples
Below are two I examples of advanced search queries built using some of the operators mentioned above.
Identifying Customer Interest in Luxury Amenities at Four Seasons Hotels
(("Four Seasons" OR "Four Seasons Hotels") AND (WiFi OR "high-speed internet" OR "smart TV" OR "virtual concierge" OR "contactless check-in" OR "digital room key" OR "mobile app"))
Explanation: A hotel manager or marketing team for Four Seasons Hotels could use this query to find customer discussions specifically about the hotel’s high-tech or luxury amenities. It searches for tweets that mention Four Seasons alongside terms like WiFi, high-speed internet, smart TVs, virtual concierge, contactless check-in, digital room keys, or mobile apps. The team can track guest experiences with these services to improve the luxury experience.
Tracking Conversations About Electric and Hybrid Vehicles While Excluding AI-Related Content
(("electric vehicle" OR EV OR "electric car" OR "hybrid car" OR "plug-in hybrid" OR PHEV OR "battery electric vehicle" OR BEV) AND (SUV OR sedan OR truck OR "pickup truck" OR van OR "cargo van")) NOT ("AI" OR "artificial intelligence" OR "machine learning")
Explanation: The search captures mentions of electric cars (EVs, PHEVs, hybrids, etc.) and specific vehicle types like SUVs, sedans, trucks, and vans, but filters out any mentions of AI or machine learning to avoid irrelevant results about the technology behind autonomous driving.