We’ve all read that question and answer sites can be a great source of content ideas, but sometimes we neglect the biggest Q&A site of them all with millions of members and messages being sent everyday. Twitter of course!
How to Conduct a Search
Searching through tweets is simple using search.twitter.com and some advanced operators including -filter:links to only get tweets without links and ? to only get tweets asking a question.
How to Organize Your Searches
If you use a Twitter management tool like HootSuite, you can simply put the following suggested search queries in their own stream which will regularly update in your dashboard.
Alternatively, you can use the Feed for this query link at the top right corner of the Twitter search page to save RSS feeds for your search in your favorite RSS reader (Google Reader is my tool of preference) or just bookmark the Twitter search page on your browser and keep it open throughout the day to get new results for your searches.
Great Twitter Searches for Content Ideas
Here are a few easy Twitter searches you can try to find great content ideas in your niche!
“How Do I…”
Let’s say you are trying to get some great ideas for an SEO blog for a how to post? The following search search query will give you great ideas about questions being asked about the industry:
"how do" seo ? -filter:links
You’ll then get the following:
For any other niche, just replace seo with your keyword of choice, and you’ll be set!
Questions to Top Authorities
Not sure where to start with keywords or common question phrases? Then head on over to your favorite authority in your niche. Industry experts and larger businesses / competitors are likely getting asked tons of relevant questions everday. So if you’re looking for content ideas about SEO, then take a peak at what people are asking industry influencers with the following query.
@mattcutts ? -filter:links
You’ll get the following:
It’s not always a sure thing for some industry influencers, as you will probably get a lot of personal questions or “just for fun” random questions. But after a while of monitoring the results, you’re bound to find a diamond in the rough for your content. And for any other niche, just use sites like WeFollow to find experts and see what people are asking them!
The Added Bonus
Depending on how quickly you create your content based on a particular person’s search, you can always go back in and send your post to that person as an @reply to their username. Whenever you answer someone’s question, you are likely to create a new fan for your blog and possible client for your business!
Your Favorite Twitter Searches for Content
Do you use Twitter search for content ideas? What are some search terms that have helped you generate great content?
Tags: Content Development, twitter
This entry was posted on Monday, May 23rd, 2011 at 4:24 am and is filed under Content Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 23rd, 2011 at 4:32 am
Nice post. We use “anyone recommend” -filter:links or “anyone know” to generate leads.
Thanks
Jonathan
May 23rd, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Never even considered doing something like this! The “filter:links ” thing is also some good advice.
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:44 pm
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May 24th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
That’s a good one Jonathan! Thanks for sharing.
May 24th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
I love the -filter:links. Helps in a lot of Twitter searches to weed out the people who already have content on it so you can find people just asking questions, or vice versa.
May 26th, 2011 at 4:25 am
I am newbie to twitter and also to SEO. I found a query to find SEO blogs and discussion. This post is valuable for twitter newbies. Thanks for providing this information..
May 26th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
[...] Twitter searches to generate content ideas – if you’re having a shortage of content ideas, then these [...]
May 27th, 2011 at 4:33 am
This is an interesting post for both Twitter newbies and those who have been around for ages – I just learned a few new tricks!