Boolean query is a language used to match content that uses particular keywords, phrases or combinations of keywords and phrases. If you choose the right keywords, you can use Boolean query to discover real experts in niche areas at scale. The key is to understand which keywords are used by everyone and anyone, and which keywords or combinations of keywords are used only by the experts. A good example is:

Lots of people are talking about GDPR, but only the experts will mention “legitimate interest” AND GDPR.

To find the right keywords, we recommend spending some time on Twitter and reading long-form content written by experts. Often the best keywords are the ones that mean the least to you, unless of course, you are also an expert in the area!

Once you have found your keywords, you want to start combining them into a query. This query should be designed to find the largest possible number of relevant influencers while still limiting the amount of noise from generalist or irrelevant messages. This means that you need to include as many keywords and hashtag versions of keywords as possible, but only if they are helpful. 

Some keywords might look helpful until you discover that they have an alternative meaning or are used as lazy hashtags. Lazy hashtags include GDPR, AI, IoT which are short and big topics that people often add just to get their tweets more visibility, without necessarily knowing much about them. Getting the right balance in your queries is important. Here are a few examples.

This query is too prescriptive and doesn't produce many results:
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This query is too broad and produces lots of results, but they aren't necessarily the experts you are looking for:

This query uses more expert terminology around quantum computing that helps to find more niche experts. To get more results you could further research alternative keywords to include in this query.

To learn more about how to write Boolean query click here.