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As a special education teacher, Jessica Ralli noticed a need. Students with autism, ADHD and sensory processing disorder have an extreme sensitivity to clothing.

"So, I went online and started researching on whether there were any clothing companies that catered to this sort of sensitivity, and there really weren't," she says.

Ralli stayed online and used social networking sites to tap into an otherwise untapped niche market.

"I immediately started a Facebook page, immediately started a Facebook group, gave my company a name before it really existed and I just started asking questions," says Ralli.

She polled Facebook fans and online forums to pinpoint common sensory culprits, something that would have cost thousands of dollars had she hired a marketing research firm.

Instead, she was able to pour that money into designing and manufacturing the product, a clothing line without tags, pockets, raised seams or woven materials -- just soft fabrics with minimal friction.

The idea clicked and with the help of an entrepreneur Ralli met on the Internet, the company Soft Clothing for All Children was officially born in January 2010 with a built-in fan base eager to buy.

"That's what was so amazing when we finally launched, was that we already had about 5,000 to 7,000 people waiting to buy our product," says Ralli.

Now that the line has launched, Ralli continues to tap into her social network, seeking their feedback at every step of the design process.

"I take a picture of whatever we have, whether it's just a sketch or a piece of fabric, put it on Facebook and ask for opinions," she says. "I generally get between 50 and 100 posts or e-mails with very specific feedback."

Ralli has also managed to weave together an array of other social media sites, integrating them seamlessly into a virtually free and priceless advertising campaign. Blogs, vlogs, twitter feeds and status updates all enable her client to help spread the word.

"They're going to send them out to their entire networks, and their networks are going to send them out, and their networks are going to send them out. And within a day, we've got 200 to 500 hits on a video that ultimately links them back to our site," says Ralli.

The lesson to take away is that in this wired world of social networking, business owners no longer need a hard sell. If, for example, enough people on Facebook "like" a product or idea, they might just do the heavy lifting for you.