There's clearly something we're missing on how to get women interested in stuff.
I agree.
I think the short answer is a lot of social/sharing/interaction and very little marketing.
I am NOT claiming to be an expert on this shit.
I DO think there's money there.
I think the allure is giving people a place to talk about photos/topics that interest them. I think that anyone who dedicates time to providing value there can figure out a way to eventually cash in on it.
I think you need to look at social media as a whole, from Myspace, Twitter, Youtube, Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn... And IF that's been worth your time and you still have time to build up a presence on Pinterest, go for it.
If it aligns with your biz model it makes sense.
For me, if I'm selling skin creme (I do) there are tested/proven ways to do it. Direct mail, SEM (where they're searching for a solution), Facebook (where you can nail down demographics), media buys, etc etc...
I look at the big picture and think about the fastest way to go from $0 to profit.
Looking at Pinterest, I can't target ads, I can't target buyers or problems and it makes no sense to me, personally, right now, to waste time building up a "presence" on a site that in my eyes is very much designed to be browsed by a market who's not there to spend money.
Yeah, it's an opportunity. There's a lot of eyes there.
People will bank.
But I know plenty of people who are "experts" at "social marketing", who spend hours on the top sites, who will spend hours on Pinterest but at the end of the day have fuck all to show for it.
I agree there's opportunity there.
But I think there are much bigger, faster and easier to reach markets in established channels. I'd rather try "I'll pay $x to see $y return in a week" than "I'll spend months on this and hope it pans out"...
And that's not me saying there's anything wrong with Pinterest. The opportunity is definitely there.
That's just me saying, from my personal point of view, that there are better opportunities and markets for immediate ROI than Pinterest.
I have a word for people who spend all day networking on social media - "unemployed".
The flip-side is yeah, it can be powerful. It just depends on your strategy. I have no doubt there's a fortune there. And I have no doubt there are countless fortunes in places other marketers leave behind for the next "shiny thing" in social media.
From a purely marketing POV, I'd rather deal with markets actively searching for solutions to their skin problems than engineering a social media campaign to try and convert random chicks browsing pics of Twighlight boys into potential buyers.
That's just me.
And that may very well change.
Your quote...
There's really a great market
My gut reaction "I'll take the markets that pay over those with potential"...
There's definitely potential here. But for now I have zero time to focus on markets that don't pay me. Short-sighted? Maybe. But the thought process has always worked well for me.
I'm not diving in, but I definitely have both eyes on it.
If you can monetize I'd do it as fast as you can. It depends on your model and strategy.