If only all brands made such contemporary and edgy digital content. Unfortunately, they don’t.

No doubt, digital drek is common, but fear not! If brands avoid these seven deadly sins of digital — which are as annoying as 10 straight head-on ads and as passé as an Avril Lavigne concert — they’ll be well on their way to success.

Corporate tone on social media

Kudos to companies like Kraft and Lowe’s that engage consumers with two-way conversations and social media teams. Both understand social media is not about posting $2 off coupons for cheese or lawn chairs that you have to buy right this minute. They post items that engage consumers and humanize their brand by acting like normal people and less like a car sale at the end of the month. It’s less about “sell, sell, sell” and more about “hello, hello, hello.”

MORE: The 7 deadly sins of digital marketing – iMediaConnection.com.

What kind of company has the best chance of success using email to acquire new customers? I’ve identified four key characteristics of successful programs:

Their target audience is small and medium-sized businesses

If you are marketing to Fortune 500 companies, it is extremely hard to achieve the scale you need to make email marketing cost effective. The list sizes just aren’t there, and the CPMs can be prohibitively high. If you have an extremely valuable offer, email might be viable, but direct mail or inside sales approaches probably make more sense. Yes, I just wrote that.

They have a very compelling offer

You are an uninvited guest, so you need to show up with some really good wine. Free trial offers, dramatic cost savings, and exciting promotions all have proven effective at getting emails opened. White papers are OK, but they don’t tend to attract those ready to make immediate transactions. (If you’re building a prospect database, however, they are very effective). You might never get a second chance to email to this person, so you need to swing for the fences right away.

MORE:  4 characteristics of successful email acquisition programs

Want to get in on the action? Here are eight examples of successful branding via YouTube.

via 8 Simple Tips For Your YouTube Ad Campaign : Money :: American Express OPEN Forum.

via Making Your Brand More Social On The World Wide Web | Online Marketing Trends.

“Based on the huge spikes in traffic on Sundays, it appears that consumer awareness of Sunday as the start of a new week of sales still appears to be strong. Sunday is one of the busiest days for consumers to visit both sites.”

via Sunday Still Drives Weekly Product Cycle – Even Online – MarketingVOX.

Let’s start out with addressing a few caveats. First, these senior Googlers could be posting a ton privately and we simply don’t know it. But it’s more likely that their lack of public engagement is indicative of their lack of engagement overall. This is especially true of Google’s management, which has an incentive to promote Google+ publicly.

You could also argue that the SVP of search or ads shouldn’t be expected to be heavily engaged on Google+, but given the fact that Google intends to integrate Google+ into everything it does, I don’t buy that argument either. When Google+ first launched, Gundotra told me personally that Google+ is an extension of Google itself, thus why the company chose the name.

It doesn’t matter how you slice it: if Google’s management truly believed in Google+ as the future of the company, they would be more engaged. Not being connected to a product that has such a direct correlation to the company’s future is dangerous. This is about leading by example. Why should Google employees be excited about Google+ if their managers aren’t excited?

via If Google’s Management Doesn’t Use Google+, Then Why Should You?.

Daily Deals sites are attracting millions of customers. It’s a lively marketplace with hundreds of companies competing for a limited number of users and businesses willing to give them a try.

How lively? It’s hot. According to researchers at Lab42, there are more than 660 deals sites online today. But is this sustainable? Certainly not all those sites will survive. Some of us here at Mashable are questioning whether the Daily Deals era is coming to a close.

via What’s the Deal With Daily Deals? [INFOGRAPHIC].

via Ways to tell your online marketing agency is faking it – iMediaConnection.com.