Many small business owners have neglects Twitter, feeling that it’s just not the right option for connecting with their local community, but a little exploring reveals that it can be one of the most effective ways to reach out directly to potential customers. Understanding the advanced tools and the best methods for communicating allows you to engage in real conversations, solve real problems, and make an impression on people in your area. Try these tactics to find your ideal audience and make Twitter your number one marketing tool:

1. Save relevant searches for future reference. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like there’s much to Twitter’s search other than a small field at the top of the page. But if you type in your keyword and press enter, you’ll see some intriguing options in the results. You can narrow down the results to people near you, or you can click “Advanced Search” and dive more specifically into phrases, locations and dates. When you figure out the search that yields the best results for you, you can save the search to your homepage for future reference. It will continue to update with your specifications so you can see what people are saying about things that are relevant to your business. It’s the perfect way to find people who are interested in the services you provide — even if they don’t know it yet.

2. Find local users and influencers. Instead of sifting through search results that throw individual tweets your way, shift your search to people. Instead of merely searching for people that show up for the keyword “tanning,” also try related interests like travel, beauty and fitness. Follow people who tweet on these topics and/or have a strong following and try to engage with the regularly.

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