Wednesday, February 11, 2009

How To Catch All of Your ReTweets and Mentions On Twitter

Did you know that the @Replies Tab in Twitter only lists the Tweets that begin with "@yourname" but doesn't include any tweets that contain your handle inside of the Tweet? For example - the following Tweet (although it contains @axiompr) would not show up in my @Replies tab because the @ isn't at the beginning:

If you aren't watching your stream constantly, there is no way to catch everytime someone ReTweets you or mentions your name. There is probably a lot you are missing out on. How can you be sure to not let these valuable interactions slip by unnoticed? The answer is simple and will help you become a much better Twitter user.

Step 1. Go to www.search.twitter.com . This great tool will allow you to search for people who are talking about what you are interested in, which in this case is your handle.

Step 2. Search for your term. When I search for "axiompr" (my handle is @axiompr) the search will bring up all the times "axiompr" has been Tweeted. This will find not only my own Tweets, but those times when someone else ReTweeted me or used my handle in the middle of their Tweet.

Step 3. Click "Feed This Query" at the top right of the page. Now, anytime that someone ReTweets you or mentions your handle within their Tweet, you will catch it. This is also a great way to be alerted on other key terms, to keep track of hashtag conversations, and to become aware of opportunities that you may have not known about.