Kia Jarmon, creative director of Nashville-based MEPR Agency, says social media success stories, such as the Bourke brothers and Super Rope Cinch, are nothing new.

Social media has taken the place of television commercials and radio spots as the dominant launching pad of community awareness of a product and its ultimate success in the marketplace.

A report done by Vocus and Duct Tape Marketing analyst shows 73 percent of small businesses are using Facebook as part of their marketing. A total of 87 percent say social media has helped their companies.

Jarmon says her firm works like a media company for clients.

"We create content. We curate content. We are blogging. We are writing posts and Facebook messages like a newspaper or magazine would work in creating and distributing information,’’ she says.

In the beginning, Jarmon says social media tools were a la carte items offered to clients to help promote their businesses. It’s now often the primary approach.

The Vocus report shows businesses use social media for promoting specials and sales, sharing news about their product or simply increasing their presence.

"In several clients, I’ve seen a tripling in their business just based off of a small amount of engagement," Jarmon says. "When we rev up on what we’re doing, some of my clients do in six months what they were not able to do in an entire year just because they did a lot of footwork online."