Facebook is a must-have for any social marketer, writes Heidi Cohen -- but to make the most of the service, you need to learn some new tricks.

Almost nine out of 10 Americans have heard of Twitter, but 7% of the population is actually using the service, according to a survey. "The simple fact of the matter is social-media evangelists, enthusiasts and addicts make up a small portion of the population," writes Jason Falls.

If you build a Facebook Page, will fans come? This is the great hope for many businesses. However, fans do not magically appear from the Facebook mist.

Corporate web sites are mostly boring. These sites end up being a time and financial drain without delivering the appropriate value to current and potential customers.  One of the best things about the social web, is that it helps your customers to sell for you, by recommending your product or service to others online.

It’s times like these, when your competitors are distracted, that you can get the jump on them. If your competitors have had to lay off staff, or cut expenses, they may be just limping along.  Marketing was probably one of the first things they pulled back on.

It’s the the perennial quest. How can you get more traffic to your site? After all, without a steady stream of traffic to your blog, there’s little opportunity to engage your audience and convert readers to raving fans.

Like anything else, social media marketing is easier, more efficient and more effective if the marketer has the right set of tools. While hundreds (if not thousands) of tools and services exist for social media marketing, many are still primarily aimed at either consumers or B2C marketers.

his article attempts to list some of the best third-party Twitter search tools. I know there are more than 12 out there. But many of them have similar functionality so it was about picking and choosing the best ones.

Admit it, size matters. Your Twitter followers have become as big a question as “What’s your number?” People look at your followers and make judgements, it’s only natural. So what can you do to increase your volume of Twitter followers?

It’s no secret that social media marketing is the most powerful business-building tool on the planet.  Now any business can directly reach customers, anytime and anyplace.