Email service provider CheetahMail for example, part of Experian Marketing Services, began providing some interesting functionality in late 2011 to help retailers make the most of their participation on the popular pin board site and the results, while modest by some accounts, definitely warrant some attention. Perhaps even some investment.
CheetahMail's Pinterest feature essentially allows brands to include "Pin It" functionality within promotional emails. Consumers can directly pin products they encounter within the email, sharing with their friends, fans, and followers immediately at Pinterest. You've likely seen similar functionality on the Web, but within email it is not a standard practice... at least not yet.
Home furnishings retailer Ballard Designs teamed up with CheetahMail to launch a Customer Spring Favorites promotional email. The email included six products with "Pin It" icons and received a 2.8 percent increase in click-to-open rates, a 15 percent increase in followers in the first week of deployment and experienced a 33 percent increase in pinboard activity.
"We recognized the viral value of Pinterest early and recommended the 'Pin It' functionality to clients to help with customer engagement," said Yara Lutz, vice president of Client Services at Experian CheetahMail. "The emails with the 'Pin-It' functionality have consistently delivered increased click-to-open rates and helped our clients, such as Ballard Designs, expand their presence on this valuable social networking site."