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3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: April 16

Written by: Laurie Kulikowski 04/16/12 - 12:04 PM EDT

Erinc, who has designed for companies including Urban Outfitters, Free People, Anthropology and Dillard's, says she wanted a place where she could sell items she has collected and her own designs. She opened multiple stores because she didn't think she could turn a profit with just one store opened.

"I decided I'm no longer going to be selling to the big stores," she told DNAinfo.com. "I'm going to be selling it all myself."

3. Twitter is great for small business. Experts insist that businesses should be comfortable with social media outlets, but how does being on a social media site actually translate into sales?

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Small-business expert and USA Today contributor Steve Strauss shares four reasons why Twitter is great for small businesses.

First, the site is a "great megaphone for branding," meaning your tweets and overall Twitter page should reinforce your brand. Strauss says to become a "thought leader via Twitter," and then by gradually connecting with people through the site, you will build your brand.

Twitter is also a good prospecting tool, simply by using the search function you can find people who need what you sell or potential customers or suppliers, for instance. Twitter is also great for networking. Try following hashtag (#) conversations relevant to your business and interests.

Finally Twitter is a great tool for staying connected to customers. "Small businesses that have been most successful with Twitter use it to offer exclusive deals and content to their base. By encouraging your customers to follow you on Twitter, and doing so by offering special deals on the site, you are being given permission to interact with your customers more often," Strauss says.

Don't just offer sweet deals to your Twitter followers -- offer content that is valuable, interesting and most importantly, re-tweetable "because being re-tweeted is the best currency in Twitter. It is word of mouth advertising, a personal recommendation, and a free way to get noticed all rolled into one," Strauss says.

-- Written by Laurie Kulikowski in New York.

To contact Laurie Kulikowski, send an email to: Laurie.Kulikowski@thestreet.com.

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