Targeting Twitter Users with Twitterfall
Developer: Protane (UK) Ltd
Application URL: twitterfall.com
What is Twitterfall?
Twitterfall (TF) is a way of viewing the latest 'tweets' of upcoming trends and custom searches on Twitter. Updates fall from the top of the page in near-real time. Here is a quick summary of my experience using it to find new prospects.
This website has been around for quite a while so it will be familiar to some, it was launched in January 2009 by two students at York University (UK).
I have had some good success with TF as it allows you to target keywords/phrases currently being tweeted. You do not need to be following the person that is tweeting in order to see their message.
Firstly you need to connect the Twitterfall application to your Twitter account by OAuth. From here you can set up your keywords on the left hand side.
Once you have done this, the results will start dropping in for your keyword/phrase. When you find a person you want to connect with, you can follow or reply to them directly from inside TF.
The biggest bonus of using TF instead of the standard search within Twitter is that you can set up as many keywords as you want, search specific towns/cities and exclude negative words.
How do I use Twitterfall?
I tend to use Twitterfall as part of my strategy when I am marketing to a particular region. This is due to the option to set a geographic point, and exclude any results from outside 20, 50, 100 or 200 miles from your place of choice.
If I was promoting a link for a Motor Breakdown and Rescue Service based in the UK, I might set up a couple of key phrases to search like;
“broken down” , “stuck on the motorway” , “my car died” etc.
I would then set my geographic area to Birmingham, UK (middle of Country) and set the range as 200 miles. That would pretty much cover the bulk of the main UK road networks.
Now as soon as someone tweets something that meets my specified criteria, I can follow it up, hopefully sending them the link to the Rescue Service.
Summary
Twitterfall is a useful tool for anyone involved in Internet Marketing. The ability to search for people on social media who are in need of the product you are promoting is invaluable. It is also a good way of monitoring current trends when thinking about a new niche to get into.
If you know of any similar websites, please let me know by commenting below.
Recent Comments
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Hi Shawn, I agree, it can certainly be a very useful tool - something extra to try from time to time. It doesn't suit every campaign, and you have to be careful to not come across too spammy etc, but if done right it can help you convert quite nicely. Thanks for commenting, regards, Paul
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Paul Thanks much for this article! I'm just getting on Twitter with some regularity, so this will be very helpful. :)
Not a problem Mark, it can be very effective if used correctly. Good luck with it. Regards, Paul