by Mike Hallaron
Hallaron Public Relations

By now most people know that Twitter has made an impact on the business world, even if they aren’t yet sure how to use it. Every week we get questions whether clients should be engaging prospects and customers on Twitter. The answer is “yes” if you willing to invest some time and learn how to best use it. One of the most interesting aspects of Twitter is its search function.

Savvy clients already use Twitter to broadcast their marketing and company news messages as they build a list of followers. But Twitter is a two-way social tool and there are many more innovative ways to utilize this social channel in addition to simple PR distribution. Twitter search lets you query names and keywords that appear in other posts, called “tweets”.

Visit http://search.twitter.com and try these creative search tactics.

1. Search your company name to see who is talking about your business or brand. Try your own name. This is how many companies check their reputation online.
2. Analyze the competition. Search your competitors names. Who is tweeting about them and why? What are they saying?
3. Geo target your industry. Use the advanced search option. For example, query “cigar Houston” and any tweets using these two words will be displayed. Or get really specific using “cigars near:Houston within:100mi”. These queries can be saved with RSS by clicking on the “Feed for this query” RSS button. Then they will appear in your Twitter stream.

More articles about using Twitter search for business applications:

7 “Secret” Ways to Use Twitter Search – Twitip
How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business – Copyblogger
HOW TO: Use Twitter’s Advanced Search Features – Mashable
Using Twitter Search to Boost Local Business – Mediafunnel