Social media is not an exclusive man-geek preserve. This emerging and fast-changing niche has plenty of women thought leaders who're taking their expertise and using it to build successful businesses. Some of them are so busy they can't even take 15 minutes to share their story. The fully booked include Ning co-founder Gina Bianchini, Facebook expert Mari Smith and Maria Andros of the sold-out Media Traffic Blueprint coaching program.

Fortunately, we were able to get four of the hottest women entrepreneurs in social media to stand still long enough to tell us how they got started, what they're doing now and to offer a few social media tips for small-business owners.

Name/age/Twitter handle: Laura Fitton, 37, @Pistachio
Company: Pistachio Consulting, Boston

How she got into social media: In March 2007, Fitton was relaunching her communications company, Pistachio Consulting, after nearly two years off with two babies. She was so naïve about recent social media developments, she asked her husband where she could download Web 2.0. Then she read blogs and learned about Twitter.

She acquired her social media cred when she went to give a talk about presentations at a Texas conference, but the audience only wanted to hear about social media--so she told them about Twitter instead. When serial business creator/venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki began blogging that Twitter was stupid, Fitton was the one who changed his mind: He's now a top tweeter.

What she's doing now: In July, her co-authored book Twitter for Dummies came out. And in October, she launched the first Twitter applications store, OneForty. "The best stuff Twitter can do we haven't even seen yet," she says. VCs have come knocking, but so far Fitton says she doesn't need to raise money. She gets by with a skeleton staff of fewer than 10 people between Pistachio and OneForty.

Her advice: "Listen, learn, care and serve. Be useful. If you're just tweeting links from your blog, you could get away with that if each one is an insightful or evocative question about your topic that's all about the reader."

Name/age/Twitter handle: Michelle MacPhearson, 30, @michellem
Company: Revolution Tilt, Georgetown, Calif. 

How she got into social media: Online since '99, MacPhearson first went pro in 2004 with internet marketing services, helping customers put up and promote their websites. Her first product, created in 2005, helped users drive traffic to their MySpace page.

She's since created several of her own niche websites, including MyTattooDesignsLive, which generates income through ads and affiliate-marketing deals.

What she's doing now: In February, she introduced Crowd Mountain, a series of online social media trainings, including a six-week boot camp. MacPhearson says several thousand people have paid $47 a month to participate in Crowd Mountain each month since it launched--you do the math. With help from her virtual assistant, several customer service reps and a webmaster, she's planning to add more content and tools to Crowd Mountain.

Her advice: "Identify which social media sites [give you] the biggest return on investment, and then only use those. Then, on your share button, don't offer 500 options--just offer those.

"The biggest mistake is to put up 20 profiles and then wonder why you're not getting a million hits a day. The worst thing for visitors is to find a Facebook fan page for your business that hasn't been updated in six months.

"Don't get bogged down in 'Should I use TweetDeck or Seesmic?' The individual tools don't matter. Personally, I don't use a scheduler on Twitter. Just get on there and start doing it."

Name/age/Twitter handle: Deborah Micek, 39, @CoachDeb
Company: RPM Success Group, Oahu, Hawaii

How she got into social media: Five years ago, the woman who now goes by "Coach Deb" and her husband John-Paul Micek decided they wanted to live in Hawaii. John-Paul sold his landscaping business, Deb quit her job in social services, they sold their New Jersey home, and they packed up and moved. Looking to make a living in their new home, they began doing business consulting.

Inspired by a mentor who told her to find out what people needed and fulfill it, Deb gravitated to what businesses were asking her about: online marketing. The media took note of her expertise, and response was so great that RPM switched to offering training courses. In 2004, the couple cemented their reputation by writing Secrets of Online Persuasion. 

What she's doing now: In October, the Miceks introduced Quan Site, a $97-a-month software suite that automates many social media tasks. RPM's annual sales have topped $2 million, and 25 contractors help keep the company running. In October, Deb teamed with social media strategist Warren Whitlock to co-author a new self-published book, Twitter Revolution. 

Her advice: "Use free resources, like the Twitter Handbook. Friendfeed is another great free resource--you can tweet, and Friendfeed will update your Facebook and Flickr and your blog.

"Take pictures of yourself with popular influencers, and then tag them on Facebook--it'll show up on their wall and bring them to your page, so you get more fans. If you use YouTube, when you do videos, leave 30 seconds of blackness at the end of your video. Then more video suggestions won't come up, and they'll stay on your site and click on more things about you."

Name/age/Twitter handle: Christine Perkett, 38, @missusP
Company: Perkett PR, Boston

How she got into social media: Perkett's 11-year-old traditional PR firm took a turn into social media as she explored it for her own company. By 2007 Perkett was offering Twitter training. Now all of Perkett's client work integrates social media. Devotees include top new-media influencer Chris Brogan of New Marketing Labs.

What she's doing now: Last year, Perkett unveiled a set of Social Media University trainings for corporations, which go for $3,000 to $5,000 a pop. The emphasis is on integrating and coordinating social media campaigns into a company's overall media message.

Her advice: "Don't just stream your own news or talk only about yourself. Share information. Asking questions is huge--it gets people to listen to you, ironically. Include a resource or link that validates what you're talking about.

"Be where you audience is. Twitter might be the hottest thing since sliced bread, but if the people you're trying to reach aren't there, it might not be as valuable for you as, say, Facebook or Yahoo! Answers."