3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: Nov. 15

What's happening in small business today?

1. How are you celebrating Small Business Saturday? American Express(AXP) OPEN's Small Business Saturday, a day of promotions set to support local merchants, is quickly approaching on Nov. 26.

According to recent surveys, approximately 89 million consumers plan to spend money in their local businesses. That money will be well spent: For every $100 spent in locally owned businesses, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures, AmEx says, citing The 3/50 Project, a small-business advocacy group.

Tuesday is the last day for small-business owners to enter the My Business Story contest to win one of 36 online ad campaigns from AmEx and Google(GOOG) worth $5,000. Winners will also be featured on the Small Business Saturday YouTube page on Nov. 25.

Share with us how you plan to get customers shopping locally on Small Business Saturday. Email me at Laurie.Kulikowski@thestreet.com.

2. Why an ex-con could be a great hire. It might sound ridiculous, but SmartMoney highlights a manager at a Dunkin' Donuts(DD) franchise who took a chance on hiring ex-cons for his inner-city store and came away with surprising results.

"They never miss a day, get drug tested and will work any shift," Luke Halloran, the Dunkin' Donuts manager told SmartMoney.

3. Small businesses are becoming more comfortable with social media as a promotion tool. A survey by Constant Contact(CTCT) says small businesses are using social media marketing more than ever. Of the nearly 2,000 business respondents, 81% said they use social media marketing, up from 73% when the poll was taken in the spring.

Respondents said they were increasingly aware social media "need not be time-consuming or difficult," the survey says.

While Facebook continues to be the tool of choice for small businesses, Twitter is quickly gaining ground, the survey notes.

"Plain and simple, customers want small businesses to interact with them, whether that's on email or via their social media platform of choice, be it Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn," said Mark Schmulen, general manager of social media at Constant Contact.

"The great news for small businesses is that they already know all about providing great customer experience, and they are showing that they can carry that over to the world of social media. It's a great example of how small businesses are taking advantage of their smaller scale to make a ! huge imp act with these tools," Schmulen says.

Still, small businesses have yet to embrace mobile marketing. Approximately 72% says they don't incorporate mobile into their marketing campaigns. Only 13% have created a mobile-friendly Web site.