Four important things to search for
If you want really useful search results from Twitter, you have to spend some time playing with the advanced search options to figure out the relevant terms and topics people are talking about. Here are four topics to get you started:
Your name. It may be known as a "vanity search," but keeping an eye on what people say about you is a smart idea. (Don't forget that putting quotes around your name can help refine the results. Search for "Jane Doe" instead of Jane Doe.)
Your Twitter account name. Don't miss messages to or about you.
Your company, brand or product. Peek into the minds of customers, competitors, journalists and other key constituents. If you're a local business, use the advanced search "Location" option to narrow down results. Also, if your company name is common, use the minus sign to weed out inappropriate results. For instance, if you work for Kaiser Permanente, search for Kaiser -Chiefs to make sure messages about the band don't overwhelm your results. (Here, a targeted search yields some relevant results.)
Your competitors. Get market intel and ideas. (Chapter 6 offers more ideas for business-related searching.)
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