It’s 1959. You invent Cellophane. You say,
Hey, let’s wrap some babies in it to show it’s usefullness”
That seems reasonable, doesn’t it?
You say, “Ok … wait. NO!”
What now?
Here’s the thing…
The problem with new stuff, especially radically new stuff, is that the ‘use case’ isn’t clear. And as marketers we aren’t immediately clear on how people will use it. We have a limited (or wrong) vision of future use.
Act 2:
You’re a big time Venture Capitalist in Silicon Valley and some kid named Ben asks for a couple million bucks so he can build a site to… ‘Share what he loves’
You say, “Ok … Wait. NO! “
It’s easy for us to see those VC guys rejecting Ben’s idea as stupid because we’ve all seeen the ‘use case’. But they couldn’t see a reasonable use for it. But now that Pinterest is getting used by 19 million people, and growing at 50% per month, and slated to be at 180 million users by November, (per Techcrunch). And it is the fastest growing website in history, and we’re all addicted to it, …it’s easy to see the use case.
Act 3:
Imagine tomorrow, right after lunch, you walk into your bosses office. He’s hard core, 60, and not even on Facebook. And you say,
Hey, we need to be on Pinterest to grow our business”
What’s he gonna say?
Why?
He’s gonna say, “Ok…Wait. NO!”
Why?
Because he cannot easily envision how you could possibly grow your business on it. No use case.
Act 4:
You Forget trying to sell your boss on a future fantasy as a reason to jump into Pinterest. You just show the use case. Show it, and show it, and show it. Then wait for him to say,
Hey, we need to be on Pinterest to grow our business”
And you say,
“Yeah, I guess that sounds good”.
There’s just 1 question…
How do you show the Pinterest use case?”
Here are 4 ideas you might want to casually mention to hard core boss man:
1. Hey, did you hear Pinterest is the Fastest growing website in the history of the internet? (That’s per Techcrunch).
2. Hey, I guess that Pinterest site drives more visitors to company websites than Youtube, Twitter and Google+ combined, (per Share-A-Holic).
3. So, I guess that Pinterest site is being used effectively by smart companies like Nordstrom, Whole Foods and Liberty Jane Clothing, (shameless).
4. Did you know that Pinterest is already one of the largest social networks on the internet and still in invitation only mode? (Per Experian Hitwise).
Forget casting a vision for rah rah rah future growth of your business. Just share the facts that explain how people are using Pinterest. Then let them draw a conclusion.
Hey, don’t forget to…
marketingonpinterest.com 