#TweetDeckTips: Content filters

As you already know, TweetDeck is a great way to filter fast-moving Tweets to keep up with the topics and accounts that matter most to you. To make it easier to find the Tweets you’re looking for, the TweetDeck team has created a powerful feature called column filters.

Mine your columns for information with TweetDeck’s powerful filters.

Column filters come in two basic types: user filters and content filters. This week, we’re going to help you make the most of content filters.

First, set up your columns.
TweetDeck is fundamentally about columns: setting up multiple columns to stay up to speed on your account activity and subject expertise. Your TweetDeck setup might include your home timeline, @replies, lists and search terms to monitor a current event. Set up as many columns as you can keep track of.

Once you have a few columns set up, TweetDeck’s true power is revealed when filters are also applied.

Apply a content filter to a list.
In this example, we’re going to add a list called “International Journalism” to our TweetDeck columns and keep track of the links that users on this list are sharing in real time.

1. Click on the caret in the top right corner of the column to expand it.
2. Click on the top right triangle to expand “Content”.
3. Select the drop-down menu, which offers a variety of choices. Because we’re interested in tracking links, we’ve selected Tweets with links.
4. Next, close this filter tab by clicking again on the top right caret. Now you have a new column that shows “Tweets with links” –– a great way to turn any list into a “must-read” column.

Apply a media filter to a search column.
Next, we’ll show you how to set up a search column for an event, city or topic. In this example we’re looking for Tweets about Chicago, with photos.

1. Type in a search term in the top left search bar.
2. Click enter and then expand the content filter and select Tweets with images.
3. Finally, select “Add column” to see a filtered list of Tweets about Chicago with photos.

Tweet us @TweetDeck with your how-to questions or suggested #TweetDeckTips topics, and we’ll do our best to cover the answers here.