What we marketers love about social media marketing is the immediate opportunities to connect with our customers. But the line of communication works both ways. When consumers are unhappy campers, the first they do is voice their grievances on sites like Twitter and Facebook. The New York Times is the latest brand to be on the receiving end of a Twitter attack from ticked off readers.

Things at the New York Times got messy yesterday when an accidental spam email wound up in the inboxes of 8 million subscribers. The solicitation message, which asked readers to reconsider their home delivery service, was originally intended for only a small group of subscribers. Recipients of the email took to Twitter to ponder if the New York Times had been hacked, while others hopped on the networking site to voice their displeasure at getting such a message. Soon the Times and the whole mess was a top trending topic and big news story.

Digital missteps like this one are pretty serious, so the interest was high yesterday to see how the company would rectify its mistake. The Times quickly responded to the tweets, assuring readers that the message was just spam and that it should be deleted. The tweets back and forth showed that the Times was listening to its following and responding to the issue with the latest developments. By the end of the day on Wednesday, the PR team from the Times had put out the Twitter fire and business went on as usual.

The fact is that technical screw ups and miscommunications are bound to happen. And people are bound to get upset about said screw ups. But there’s a proper way to handle them and the NYT, as far as we can tell, did just that. So, readers, share with us: Did you get one of those messages from the Times? Have you ever had a brand reach out to you on Twitter to fix a complaint? Let us know!

The digital newsletter is a great way to strut your custom content, expand the reach of your email marketing campaign and enrich your overall digital engagement strategy. Even better — it’s virtually foolproof; the only way that a digital newsletter could possibly destroy your brand is if you weren’t paying attention to the content and what was being printed was offensive, inflammatory and even racist. Thankfully, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul already made that mistake so you don’t have to! Paul recently displayed some truly dunderheaded brand management (or mismanagement, as the case may be) and we can all be a little wiser thanks to his idiocy.

First off, let’s get this out of the way. It doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican or even if you vote for aliens. Paul’s mistake is not one of party lines but of a brand lacking any thought or strategy. In case you haven’t heard, Paul is currently in deep doo doo over newsletters he published in the ’80s and ’90s which featured the politician’s signature brand of straight talk. The problem with the newsletters in question is that Paul says he didn’t write the crazy racist passages that are now being quoted by every news outlet on the planet. Paul says a staffer wrote the articles in question and that’s the only explanation he’ll give. He’s even getting testy about it — he walked out of a CNN interview when questions about the newsletters arose.

Keeping far away from the icky content of the newsletters and even ickier politics involved, the big problem here is a loose cannon of a brand with zero accountability. If any of our small businesses acted like Paul and then didn’t accept responsibility, we wouldn’t be in business for long. The main marketing mishap here is that if Paul didn’t write those articles, then he took the sin one step further by not triple checking the content that has his name on it. Conversely, if Paul did write the wackadoodle articles in question, then he needs to fess up and accept his fate.

Either way, it’s a classic what not to do with a newsletter or blog or social media post. We’ve seen brands like Marc Jacobs get bitten in the back by not monitoring who is in charge of their social media postings. We’ve seen business blogs get mismanaged by untrustworthy sources. Companies big or small have to carefully and thoughtfully create content for their brand or, like Ron Paul, pay the price for not paying attention.

We’re all for digital engagement that uses email marketing to give their followers exactly what they want. Online retailers and deal hucksters who sling out the goodies have to practice a delicate balance of staying ahead of trends while giving discounts on cool items that inspire folks to whip out their credit cards. We don’t use the word “art” lightly when we talk about well-done email marketing because most of the things that land in our inboxes are anything but artful.

We started thinking about the potency of email marketing because of the Slanket. Surely you remember the Slanket, the precursor to, but less popular version of, the Snuggie? The blanket with sleeves but without the catchy marketing campaign popped back up on periphery when it showed up in our daily deal email from Living Social. Surely you remember Living Social, the less cool, but slicker-looking, version of Groupon? It’s the holidays and the best they could come up with is a deal on the Slanket? Living Social ran a half off deal on the Slanket this week after a week that also included discounts on Botox, gourmet popcorn and bowling. While all of those items are super, they don’t exactly inspire us to smartphone our way into debt.

The point here is that with email marketing — and all of our online marketing, for that matter — brands have a teeny tiny amount of time to get consumers to respond. And folks won’t think you’re giving them a huge deal if you’re offering things they don’t actually want. But more than deals, the content of our email marketing messages matters. We spend time and money on newsletters and email campaigns in hopes that people will be engaged enough to visit our websites, buy our services and products and talk about us on social media. Churning out messages with no soul or personality doesn’t do our brands any favors. In short, do we want our emails to be a Snuggie or a Slanket?

We could go on and on about how bad email marketing is the Internet’s version of pollution. Instead, we want you to try this: Go through your email and junk mail and see which messages actually catch your eye. Make notes about what interest you and what doesn’t work. And then come back here and share your findings!

Brandsplat Report-iPhone4S, Sears Zombies and Groupon Truthiness from Enzo Cesario on Vimeo.

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Consider this, cereal lovers: You can thank the maker of your beloved Honeycombs or Fruity Pebbles for those annoying Groupon emails that seem to endlessly show up in your inbox. C.W. Post of the breakfast empire is widely credited for innovating coupon use in 1909 when the company offered 1-cent coupons in conjunction with the launch of Grape Nuts. Some 102 years later, coupons have become a vital part of businesses’ online marketing plans — and with the recent big-dollar backing of CouponCabin, our discount delirium has only just begun.

CouponCabin made headlines last week for raking in a massive $54 million in first-round funding, according to Inc.com. The upstart hopes to bring in even more investor dollars by offering a twist on the coupon game. The goal of the company is simple: to offer legitimate deals that don’t expire — and, if users happen to attempt to redeem a bunk deal, CouponCabin will give them a $25 gift card to stores like Target or Best Buy. CouponCabin deals are also different from other deal sites in the way that they mainly target online shoppers. Major brands are already represented on CouponCabin by offering one-of-a-kind deals. Yet like Groupon, users can find offers from local businesses, too. The site is easy to use and is sure to endure itself to deal-crazy divas.

Whether it’s CouponCabin, Living Social or Groupon, the sites are each tapping into our collective need to get a deal. Marketers are now challenged to find the right deal website for their clients in hopes of bringing in more customers. In 1930, Post and his contemporaries experienced another coupon boom. The country was recovering from the depression and businesses were trying to bounce back. Brands did all sorts of things to get people to shop again. Hmm… Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

We’ve talked a lot about how newsletters can be a cool, content-rich way to spruce up your email marketing. And we here at Brandsplat love newsletters. So much so we even have one of our own and we’ve devoted this week’s list to 5 newsletter tricks, tips and innovations you might have missed!

1.) Grab ‘em with great headlines: There are some email newsletters you just have to open. We can’t resist ones that tease great deals, pimp new products or seduce us with scandal — all in the subject line. Using magnetic copy for our subject lines and headlines is a sure-fire way to get people to open our email newsletters… and maybe even read them!

2.) Tantalizing templates: Great newsletter copy is one thing, but let’s face it — we want it to look pretty, too. Thankfully, there are hundreds of cool, easy-to-load and even free newsletter templates. For the best, click here.

3.) Engage, not enrage: Most of us hate getting business-sponsored email. A recent study according to Mashable found that 91 percent of newsletter subscribers decide later they no longer want the emails. To help prevent this from happening, try giving readers something to respond to in each newsletter, like a trivia question, a contest or a survey that gives them a discount.

4.) Pass the buck: So maybe you’re not the email newsletter writer you thought you’d be. No biggie. Most companies have somebody else write and create these inbox goodies. And we happen to know of some geniuses who could help you.

5.) Get inspired: Not only are there plenty of newsletters that we love, but there a tons of blogs, traditional magazines, art books and more to provide us with ideas for newsletter magic. So get out there and become the newsletter star you were always meant to be!

While we were enjoying this blog from Social Media Examiner about the perks of social media and public relations, we remembered our good old days at a ’90s PR firm. Spending hours stuffing press kits, faxing stacks of press releases to news outlets, running to the post office and FedEx every time we needed to get materials to a client quickly. Good times. Those PR practices of yesteryear seem downright archaic today. Modern PR would be sunk if it wasn’t for social media, online branding and digital press releases. But more than the ease of this new phase of PR, it occurred to us how much more affordable digital PR is than the old school ways of doing things.

It’s no secret the post office is in deep doo-doo and it’s easy to see why. PR firms and other communication businesses use to keep the Post Office in the black by constantly sending out packages and press kits. Now the dollars once spent on postage can be spent on hiring someone to upkeep social media accounts for clients. Think about it: How times have we ditched a card or a letter in favor of connecting with either someone on Facebook or Twitter? Our clients, as well as their clients, are all on social media, so getting in touch with them is not only easy, it’s free.

And let’s not forget how much we used to spend on printing. Printed materials in the PR world used to be churned out for every major (and nearly every minor) event. Those coins are now being sunk into digital newsletters and email marketing campaigns. Gone also are the big-time phone systems and group conference calls. Obviously, smartphones and Skype rendered those expensive dinosaurs obsolete. Gone too are the face-to-face lunches and day-long meetings. Those time- and dollar-sucking techniques have been dumped thanks to digital communication.

But the great thing about digital PR is that anybody with any budget can cook up an effective public relations strategy without the big money those fancy firms used to toss around. It doesn’t matter how good/bad the economy, nearly everybody has access to a computer and a way to reach out to clients for little or no money.

So readers, you tell us. What’s your genius recession-proof PR plan?

Like Bert and Ernie, chocolate and peanut butter and Michele Bachmann and crazy, email marketing and social media marketing are two things that go great together. We’ve heard from folks for quite some time that they feel restricted to use one or the other. Either they had to channel their marketing efforts into an engaging social media effort or an interactive email marketing initiative. But time and resources never allowed for both. Well, we say “poo” to that kind of thinking — and here’s why.

Let me be Captain Obvious here for just a minute. The point of both email marketing and social media marketing is to drive business to your site. So using both channels is bound to improve click-through rates since your odds are increased, no? In fact, businesses that use both email marketing and social media marketing recently reported higher click-through rates than businesses that focused solely on email marketing, according to a new study from Constant Contact. The social media and email marketing combo platter is also a great way to increase your contact list. Getting more followers and potential customers is the name of the game, so encouraging your social media friends to hop on your email list is a great way to do just that.

But let’s talk about the time thing. How much time does it require, really? We firmly believe you can do all of your digital marketing in just 60 to 90 minutes a day, 3 to 5 days a week. Thanks to nifty technology and people like us, there’s no longer a need to feel exhausted at the mere thought of tweeting and sending out emails. The best part is that email marketing and social media marketing can be created in advance to match your style and language. Aside from new developments, the majority of messages sent out on both platforms can be planned out well in advance, making execution even faster.

In the end, both channels are about reaching out to your clients — so why not try both to increase your chances of success?

Last week, we pondered the state of online shopping. On one hand, it seems simply unstoppable with brands like Zara finally opening virtual department stores. On the other hand, there still seems to be a disconnect. There is that generation who doesn’t want to shop online because of security concerns or because the thought of using the technology wears them out. But maybe it isn’t just people of a certain age who are turning away from online shopping.

Marketing Pilgrim ran the results of an iPerception study about online shopping and the results confirm that folks of all ages aren’t feeling the love. iPerception reports that only 60 percent of shoppers who visited a site with the intention of buying came away with what they wanted. Forty-two percent said they abandoned ship because they couldn’t find what they wanted, while 30 percent found the item they wanted but it wasn’t available. All of this adds up to major shopping frustration for people who honestly wanted to spend their money but because of a website’s downfalls, weren’t allowed to.

As marketers and small business owners alike, these statistics are a wake-up call. A big part of digital engagement is making sure the website we’re directing folks to from social media actually work. We can email market our little hearts out but if the dang website is hard to use, it’s a lost cause. While thankfully most of us marketing types are in charge of sparkle (and we’ll keep it that way, thank you very much) it is our responsibility to check and see if our client’s websites are working and easy to navigate.

So let’s hear from you, dear readers. Tell us your online shopping nightmares. Share your tips on keeping your site in shape and easy to use. And lastly, what sites do you love/loathe to shop on.

It’s curious watching the trends and tides of marketing. Sometimes we see formerly much-used channels (goodbye, MySpace!) drift out to sea, never to return. Some tread water and bob in place (somebody throw article marketing a life-preserver!). And there’s the rare marketing and branding platform that seems like it’s on the brink of extinction but rises again like a Phoenix. This is precisely what email marketing has done over the past several months, and we think we know why — and how anybody can put email marketing back on their branding to-do list.

Not since the early days of Internet marketing have consumers been so feverishly obsessed with checking their email. Thanks to Groupon, Living Social and other Daily Deal of the Moment websites that send out announcements of the latest and greatest and cheapest thing we never knew we needed, email marketing is relevant again. With or without the site-specific apps, anybody can be privy to these deals as long as they have an email account. Shoppers are just a click away in these emails from buying the day’s hottest discount — and the explosion has just begun. Other non-deal specific sites are returning to email marketing to alert followers of cheap stuff, free goodies and the latest products. Ans with email being more accessible than ever with smartphones, the options are endless.

We think email marketing should be given another look for brands of all sizes, especially since now it’s easier than ever. Thanks to technological advancements and handy email marketing services like Constant Contact, it’s not nearly as laborious as it used to be. But the ease isn’t the only reason why email marketing is more relevant than ever: Email marketing fits with the busy lifestyle of tech-savvy consumers who want their deals and favorite products to come to them. With thoughtful and fun-to-read content, email marketing can actually turn into something people look forward to getting in their inboxes.