Facebook launched my startup

Melissa Reed still can't believe that her Packable Pails were featured on NBC's "Today Show" earlier this month.

She credits social media for getting her young startup on national TV.

Reed came up with the idea for the brightly-colored collapsible beach pails two years ago while vacationing in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with her husband and son.

"We got to the beach and realized we'd forgotten beach toys and a bucket," she said. Back home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Reeds got to work inventing a travel-friendly beach bucket.

They started selling Packable Pails in May on the company's website and on Amazon (AMZN).

The Reeds turned to Facebook and Twitter (TWTR) to get their business in front of others.

"Through Facebook we connected with a business owner in California who gave us the idea to submit the pails for the 'Today Show,'" she said. The company has also done targeted Facebook ads, focusing primarily on Southern beach states.

Facebook is also their primary source for soliciting retail customers.

"When I reach out to retailers to pitch the pails through Facebook, I almost immediately get a response. That doesn't happen when I try to contact companies directly," she said.