The location-based search tool on HootSuite is one of the most valuable search features, and is especially useful if:
- You are running a local business
- You are looking for a job in a specific area
- You are interested in local events and news about your community
Setting up a Geo search is easy. Here is how you can do it:
- Go to HootSuite dashboards > add stream > Twitter > search
- Type in your search term
- Click on the little Geo icon to make your search local.
- Your browser will ask you if you are willing to share your location with HootSuite. If you click allow, the search box will automatically be populated with the coordinates of your current location.
- Once you click “add stream,” the stream will be created showing you results relevant to your search query in a radius of 25 km from your location.
How to Adjust Your Geo Search Parameters
- To switch from kilometers to miles, simply replace the “km” at the end of the geocode with “mi”.
- To change the required distance, you can write any number you want instead of the default “25” kilometers.
Get Results for a Location That Is Not Your Current Location
Let’s say that you are traveling to Barcelona and want to find out about events in the city through Twitter before getting there.
- Go to Google maps and look for the address you are interested in – it could be for example the address of the hotel you will be staying in.
- Click on the location showed on the map (mostly denoted by the letter A or B). Click on “what’s here” to copy the coordinates you found.
- Insert these coordinates instead of the ones showing by default in your search box.
