Experian: Email volume up 10% YoY

"For Q2 2012, overall email volume increased 10 percent while open rates were slightly above the 2011 Q2 rates, as more than 55 percent of brands had statistically significant increases in open rates for Q2 2012," said Regina Gray, vice president of strategic services, Experian CheetahMail. "While click rates continued to show a year-over-year decline, there is some evidence that the rates are stabilizing. Email is still the most effective channel to connect with customers as we've seen a growing trend of brands utilizing social capabilities to acquire and engage consumers and fans across these new media channels."

One growth trend: the integration of social features into email marketing.

CheetahMail reports a 70% increase in campaigns geared toward getting consumers to 'like', 'pin' or 'follow' the brand through the social sphere. Pinterest, especially, is getting play from brands and consumers. The report indicates Pinterest mailings are getting about 25% higher clicks than other campaigns. However, Twitter wins for open rates.

Researchers found open rates for Twitter 'follow us' email campaigns nearly 10% higher than open rates for other campaigns.

Meanwhile, the report shows getting consumers to click hasn't changed: coupons are still one of the best ways to get a shopper to click on an email offer. Coupon-based mailings were responsible for about 50% more clicks than other campaigns.

Tags: email marketing, email social integration, email trends, Experian CheetahMail, social marketing