How to Search for Tweets on Twitter to Find Customers

Knowing how to search for tweets on Twitter (now X) is a basic skill, but using it to find customers is a whole different ballgame. Sure, you can type something into the search bar. But to scale your SaaS, you need to turn X into a lead generation machine. This is how you stop passively scrolling and start actively prospecting.

Why Mastering Twitter Search Is a Founder's Superpower

Stop scrolling your feed. As a founder, your time is everything, and X is a gigantic, real-time focus group where potential customers are talking openly about their problems. Most people see it as a place to share updates. You need to see it as a search engine for opportunities.

This mindset shift is the whole game. Instead of just consuming content, you can start prospecting for real leads. Every search becomes a chance to uncover buying signals, check out what competitors are up to, and find the exact pain points your SaaS solves.

From Passive Scrolling to Active Prospecting

The trick is to think like your customer. What questions are they asking? Which tools are they complaining about? Figuring out these specific keywords and phrases is the first step in turning random online chatter into a predictable sales pipeline. This initial work is the bedrock of all effective prospect research.

This approach completely changes how you do outreach. Instead of sending cold, interruptive DMs, you can slide into conversations with timely, relevant solutions. Suddenly, you’re not just another founder pitching a product; you’re a problem-solver who showed up at the perfect moment.

The real power of Twitter search isn't just finding tweets; it's finding people with problems you can solve, right when they're talking about them.

The sheer volume of these conversations is staggering. In 2024 alone, users have already made around 59 billion search queries on X. With roughly 500 million tweets posted per day, any search you run taps into a live stream of data where decision-makers are actively looking for solutions.

And they're definitely there. Since 82% of B2B marketers use the platform, you’re searching in the exact place your future customers are looking for you. For more insights, you can check out these X marketing statistics on brentonway.com.

This search capability is the raw material for growth. For a tool like DMpro, which automates DMs, every query can reveal new audiences. These audiences can then be turned into segmented outreach campaigns that connect you directly with high-intent leads.

Using Search Operators to Uncover High-Intent Leads

The standard search bar is okay for a quick lookup, but it’s not built for finding actual customers. If you want to pinpoint people who are actively looking for a solution like yours, you need to get comfortable with X's search operators. These are simple commands you add to your search that act like super-specific filters.

Think about it this way: searching for "CRM software" is like drinking from a firehose. You get a flood of company announcements, blog posts, and ads. But searching for "any recommendations for" "CRM software"? That takes you directly to people asking their network for help finding a CRM. You're jumping straight into a buying conversation.

The Most Powerful Operators for Finding Leads

Let's dig into the operators that will immediately improve your search results and surface real opportunities.

For founders trying to find their first customers, a few simple search operators can make all the difference. Instead of scrolling endlessly, you can build laser-focused queries that surface genuine buying signals.

Here’s a quick-reference table of the operators I use most often to cut through the noise and find people who need help right now.

Essential Twitter Search Operators for Lead Gen

Operator	What It Does	Example Use Case for Founders
`" "` (Quotes)	Finds the exact phrase.	`"looking for an alternative to"` to find users unhappy with a competitor.
`-` (Minus)	Excludes a specific word.	`"project management tool" -free` to weed out people who aren't willing to pay.
`OR`	Finds tweets containing one term or another.	`(help OR advice) "social media tool"` to catch different ways people ask for help.
`lang:`	Filters tweets by language.	`"need new headphones" lang:en` to target your specific market.
`filter:links`	Includes or excludes tweets with links.	`"best podcast mic" -filter:links` to remove self-promotional blog posts.
`?` (Question Mark)	Shows tweets that are questions.	`"Zapier alternative" ?` to find people asking if better tools exist.

These operators aren't just for one-off searches. Combining them is where you get real power. For instance, a query like "any recommendations for" "email marketing" -filter:links is a fantastic way to find genuine requests while filtering out all the spammy "Top 10" articles.

These simple, powerful combinations are your best bet for consistently finding warm leads.

How to Build Your Own Lead-Finding Queries

The real goal here is to craft searches that mirror your customer's biggest frustrations and pain points. To do this effectively, you absolutely need to know who you're talking to. If you haven't already, spend some time building out your ideal customer profile—it will make every search you run 10x more effective.

Once you understand your customer's language, you can build a handful of saved searches that basically act as lead magnets, working for you 24/7. It's also smart to stay updated on general sales prospecting best practices to make sure your outreach is as effective as your search.

I keep a running list of about 10 core search queries that I check weekly. These are all built around problems my SaaS solves. It’s a simple habit that consistently surfaces warm leads without much effort.

Manually running these searches works, but let's be honest, it's a grind. This is where outreach automation tools come in. With a platform like DMpro, for example, you can plug in these exact search queries. The tool will then find matching profiles and start conversations for you with personalized DMs, turning your best searches into a hands-off lead generation engine.

Unlocking X's Advanced Search Interface

If memorizing a bunch of search commands isn't your thing, you're going to love X's Advanced Search page. It’s essentially a control panel for finding precisely what you need, letting you build complex searches with a simple form—no weird syntax required. Honestly, it's one of the most powerful, and most overlooked, tools for B2B prospecting on the entire platform.

Forget the single search bar. Advanced Search lays everything out on a dashboard with dedicated fields for every possible filter. This is how you level up from basic keyword searches to hyper-specific queries that uncover people talking about real problems or interests.

The page is logically broken down into sections for words, accounts, engagement, and dates, which makes the whole process feel pretty intuitive right from the start.

Digging into the Interface Fields

Let's walk through how you can actually use these fields to find high-intent leads. The real magic isn't in using just one field, but in combining several of them.

Words: This is your home base. You can look for tweets containing "all of these words," an "exact phrase," or even leave out words you don't want. A classic example is searching for the exact phrase "looking for a new CRM" while also excluding the word free. Right away, you're filtering for people with a budget.
Accounts: Ever wonder what people are saying to your biggest competitor? Pop their handle into the "To these accounts" field. Or, if you want to see everything a specific influencer has tweeted about your industry, use the "From these accounts" field.
Engagement: This section is a goldmine. You can set a minimum number of replies, likes, or retweets to find conversations that actually have some heat. For instance, searching for a keyword with a Minimum replies of 10 helps you find tweets that sparked a real discussion, not just a bunch of one-off comments.

Pro Tip: The engagement filters are your shortcut to finding the center of influence in any niche. High engagement often signals that a user's opinion carries weight, making them a valuable connection to have.

Filtering by Dates and Location

Beyond just words and engagement, the date and location filters are crucial for making sure your outreach is timely. One of the biggest mistakes I see founders make is replying to a tweet from six months ago. By then, the conversation is ancient history.

The "Dates" section in Advanced Search completely solves this. You can set a "From" and "To" date to narrow your search to the last week or even just the last 24 hours. This ensures you’re jumping into conversations that are still fresh and active. For example, if you're targeting people who attended a conference, you could search for the event hashtag specifically between the start and end dates of the event.

This is the kind of precision that turns a generic, time-wasting search into a targeted list of real opportunities. Instead of manually digging through thousands of irrelevant tweets, you get a curated feed of potential leads. It's the first step toward building a scalable outreach system—something you can later automate with a tool like DMpro to handle the engagement for you.

Practical Search Recipes for Finding Customers

Theory is great, but a full pipeline comes from action. So, let's get practical with some copy-and-paste search query 'recipes' you can use right now. Think of these as your playbook for turning X's search bar into a predictable source of leads for your SaaS.

No more guessing—just clear, actionable queries designed for common founder goals.

Recipe 1: Find People Looking for Software Recommendations

This is the lowest-hanging fruit. You’re finding people who have already raised their hands and are actively asking for a solution. It’s the warmest possible intro you can get.

The Query: ("any recommendations for" OR "looking for a tool that") ("your industry" OR "your software category") -filter:links
Why It Works: It combines phrases that signal clear buying intent with your specific niche. The -filter:links part is crucial here—it strips out all the spammy "Top 10 Tools" blog posts, leaving you with genuine questions from real people.

For instance, if you run a social media scheduling tool, you'd search: ("any recommendations for" OR "looking for a tool that") "social media scheduler" -filter:links.

Recipe 2: Track Mentions of Your Competitors

Want to find unhappy customers of a rival product? This search is your best friend. It uncovers conversations where people are frustrated, hitting a wall with certain features, or actively looking for something better.

The Query: ("competitor name" OR @competitor) (frustrating OR bug OR slow OR alternative)
Why It Works: You’re specifically targeting keywords that signal dissatisfaction. This gives you the perfect opening to jump into a conversation with a helpful comment, offering your solution as a better alternative without being overly aggressive.

By monitoring competitor pain points, you're not just finding leads; you're gathering priceless product feedback and market intelligence. It shows you exactly where their product falls short and where yours can win.

The strategic value of knowing how to search for tweets on X just keeps growing as the platform solidifies its role as a massive discovery engine. In 2024, an average of 1.5 million people signed up daily, and with global traffic hitting 6.2 billion visits in a single month, these searchable conversations are a constantly refreshing stream of opportunities. Despite user fluctuations, the platform's utility for business remains strong. Research from SocialPilot even notes that users spend 26% more time viewing ads on X than on other social platforms, proving they come to search, read, and evaluate offers.

Recipe 3: Identify Journalists and Influencers in Your Niche

Getting press or connecting with key influencers can be a huge boost for any startup. This search helps you zero in on the right people who are already talking about your space.

The Query: ("your industry" OR "your keyword") (journalist OR editor OR writer OR influencer)
Why It Works: It narrows your search to people whose profiles self-identify with media or influencer roles. This helps you find individuals actively looking for stories or experts to quote. For a deeper dive, check out our guide on using Advanced Twitter Search for outreach.

These recipes are your starting point. The real magic happens when you turn these searches into a scalable outreach process. Instead of manually checking these queries every day, you can feed them into a tool like DMpro, which will find matching profiles and automatically start personalized conversations for you.

Turning Search Results into an Automated Outreach Engine

Finding the right tweets is only half the battle. As a founder, your real challenge isn't just spotting potential leads—it's engaging them at a scale that actually moves the needle. Manually DMing every prospect you find is a soul-crushing grind that leads straight to burnout. You need a system.

The real magic happens when you build a bridge between your search results and your outreach. You need a repeatable process that turns those high-intent tweets into meaningful conversations, saving you from the drudgery of copy-pasting names into a spreadsheet all day. This is where you stop being a researcher and start becoming a growth engine.

This simple flow shows how you can turn passive discovery into active customer acquisition.

Each step builds on the last, turning insights from your searches into a genuine pipeline of potential customers.

From Manual Searches to an Automated Pipeline

This is where a tool like DMpro becomes a total game-changer for scaling your SaaS distribution. Instead of just finding a single tweet, you can use one of your powerful search queries to define an entire audience for an automated outreach campaign. You’re essentially telling the system, "Go find everyone who fits this exact lead profile and start a conversation for me."

Think about the search recipes we just went over. Imagine plugging your "unhappy competitor customer" query into a system that keeps an eye on it 24/7.

Here’s what that workflow looks like in practice:

You set the criteria: Just plug in a search query, like ("competitor name" OR @competitor) (frustrating OR bug OR slow OR alternative).
The system finds the people: The tool continuously scans X for new tweets matching that exact query.
It gathers the leads: It automatically pulls the profiles of the users who posted those tweets, creating a fresh, hyper-targeted lead list on autopilot.
It starts the conversation: The system then sends a personalized, AI-driven DM to each person, referencing their tweet to make the outreach feel relevant and timely.

This process transforms a tedious manual chore into a non-stop lead generation machine. Once you’ve identified promising leads through your Twitter search, developing an effective cold outreach strategy is crucial for converting these insights into meaningful connections.

The goal isn't just to automate outreach; it's to automate relevance. You're systemizing the process of showing up with the right solution at the exact moment someone needs it.

Scaling Conversations Without Losing the Human Touch

A common worry I hear from founders is that automation feels spammy or robotic. But modern tools are built for personalization at scale. You can create message templates that dynamically pull in a prospect's name, company, or even the specific pain point they mentioned in their tweet.

This is a world away from generic, blasted DMs. It's about using technology to have more of the right conversations, much faster. Our guide on how to approach automated direct messages on Twitter dives deeper into setting this up without sacrificing quality.

The result is a system that not only saves you dozens of hours a week but also generates higher-quality replies because your outreach is perfectly timed and context-aware. You get to focus on talking to warm, qualified leads who have already expressed a need, rather than spending all your energy just trying to find them.

Common Questions About Searching for Tweets

Even with the best strategies, you're bound to run into a few practical questions. Let's walk through the ones I hear most often so you can get back to what matters: finding your next customer.

How Can I Save a Search to Monitor New Tweets?

Yes, and this is a non-negotiable step for anyone serious about lead generation on X. Once you've run a search on the desktop site, look for the three-dot menu right next to the search bar. Click it and hit "Save search."

Done.

This simple action is a massive time-saver. Think about it—no more re-typing your perfect search query every single day. Your go-to searches for brand mentions, competitor activity, or hot keywords will be waiting for you.

Can I Find Tweets From a Specific Geographic Location?

Absolutely. This is a game-changer for local businesses or sales reps with regional territories. The quickest way is by using the near: and within: search operators.

For instance, if you're looking for potential clients in New York, you could try a search like: "looking for a marketer" near:"new york city" within:15mi. This will surface tweets containing that exact phrase within a 15-mile radius of NYC. You can also find dedicated location fields in the Advanced Search menu if you prefer a more guided approach.

This kind of location filtering is incredibly powerful. It effectively turns a massive global platform into a focused, local lead machine, uncovering opportunities right in your neighborhood.

How Do I Find a User's Most Popular Tweets?

This is one of my favorite tricks for competitive analysis or influencer research. You just need to combine a user search with an engagement filter like min_faves: or min_retweets:.

Let's say you want to see what really pops for a specific user. Just search from:username min_faves:1000. This instantly shows you all of their tweets that have racked up at least 1,000 likes. It's the fastest way I know to get a real feel for what makes their audience tick.

What's the Best Way to Integrate Searches into a Sales Workflow?

Here’s the hard truth: manually copying and pasting profiles from X into a spreadsheet is a one-way ticket to burnout. The only sustainable way to do this at scale is to automate the bridge between finding a lead and reaching out to them.

This is exactly where a dedicated tool comes into play. For example, with a platform like DMpro, you can build tasks around your most effective search queries. The tool then works in the background, constantly finding new profiles that match your criteria, adding them to your lead lists, and even starting a personalized, automated DM sequence for you.

If you’re tired of manually sending DMs every day, try DMpro.ai — it automates outreach and replies while you sleep.