Anyone who is familiar with digital marketing in 2021 will know how important social media are in the marketing landscape of companies today. Social media are the perfect online space to find your target audience, make them aware of your brand, publish valuable content for them, and interact with them. If you’re looking to break into the Japanese market with a superb social media campaign, you’re first going to have to become familiar with which social media are popular in Japan and the way people use social media. Here are 8 popular social media in Japan and how they are used!

YouTube in Japan for Video Marketing

The popularity of YouTube has greatly increased since the pandemic hit in 2020, and it became the most popular social media channel in Japan. The audience also became younger, with more people aged 15-40 turning to YouTube for their entertainment. The types of videos that became especially popular are food-related videos, videos you can use for training at home, and videos with business information. Younger audiences tend to prefer watching videos over reading long texts when they gather information, making videos a potentially very strong part of your marketing campaign.

Line in Japan

Line is the only social media channel in this list that is not that well-known outside of east Asia. Nearly 70% of all Japanese people are on Line, and almost all people in their 20s and 30s have Line installed. The messenger app’s main function is similar to WhatsApp, but it has a lot more integrated functions that offer plenty of interesting marketing options. Line has a social media-type timeline, games, news, etc. What’s most interesting about Line is that companies can open company accounts that allow them to reach interested consumers with coupons. Advertising is also an option, and for now mostly interesting for B2C business.

Twitter in Japan for Social Media Listening

After the US, Japan has Twitter’s second largest user base in the world. Almost half of the Japanese population uses Twitter, and many businesses do as well. The average Twitter user in Japan is a younger man, and the platform is often used to voice opinions on products, services, and brands, making it a great social media network for social listening. Because Twitter can be used anonymously people don’t hold back on their opinions, providing brands with valuable information that can help improve their products or services. Twitter is also used to give the latest update on information about things like a store’s opening hours and temporary special offers.

Facebook Messenger and Facebook in Japan

While the percentage of Facebook users in Japan is significantly lower than in many other countries, the number of users is still growing and you can still reach a whopping 18 million potential customers through the social network. Because Facebook isn’t an anonymous social media channel like Twitter, users are a lot more careful with their engagement as they know their friends will likely see what they liked or said. This means that your ads will likely not see much engagement on Facebook, but if done well, an advertising campaign can still bring you business. Don’t forget to keep testing with slightly different audiences and ads, though, so you can see which combinations are most effective.

Instagram in Japan

Instagram is currently used by over one-third of the Japanese population and it is still growing. The typical user in Japan is a young woman, and users are especially looking at content relating to their hobbies and interests such as fashion, cooking, and music. This is no wonder, as Instagram is especially attractive for industries that are all about good-looking visuals. Instagram offers many ways to interact with your audience, the most common ones being pictures, videos, and shopping posts. Especially if you have a trendy and visually attractive product to market to young ladies in Japan, adding Instagram to your social media marketing strategy is indispensable.

TikTok in Japan

As TikTok is still relatively new, it is still in its growth stage in Japan. TikTok is especially picked up by teens and young people in their 20s so if you’re looking for ways to reach Gen Z, TikTok is the way to go. As many more conservative companies in Japan are still taking a wait and see approach when it comes to advertising on TikTok, you won’t have as much competition as on some other platforms. Plus, growth is projected to be strong for the foreseeable future. Creating a TikTok account for your brand and trying to find your audience is not that different from elsewhere; make creative and fun content, follow the fast-changing trends, and make sure it is clear that the content is from your brand. TikTok is also very helpful in finding your niche, as users aren’t bound by their friend list in what they see in their recommendations, but by their interests and content they watched before. Using popular Japanese influencers is also a great way to enter into your target audience’s TikTok space. 

Pinterest in Japan

Picture: https://unsplash.com/photos/1K4h3ZOsPSA

Not dissimilar from Instagram in that Pinterest also relies heavily on picture content, a good reason to consider using Pinterest for reaching your audience in Japan is the different audience that tends to hang out here. Ladies between their mid 30s to mid 50s, who tend to have strong household finances, make up more than 80% of the audience on Pinterest. They come to the site or app when they want to get inspiration in areas like fashion or home decorations, and around half of them come with an intent to purchase. This is very impressive, as usually that number hovers around 10%. Especially if you want to market a new product or service that can be presented in a visually attractive way, Pinterest is a very interesting channel.

LinkedIn in Japan

Because of privacy concerns, LinkedIn is not as popular in Japan as in the rest of the world. Japanese employees prefer to not show their resume for everyone to see. This makes LinkedIn less important for most marketers than other social media channels. Having an official company page on LinkedIn, however, will never hurt as any way your company presents itself is another way to gain brand awareness.

Japanese Social Media Strategy

As you can see, while there are many similarities to the way that Japanese people use social media, there are some differences as well. When planning your marketing strategy, it is important to incorporate these differences in your plans, and even let them work for you. Besides the variety in social media usage, you should also keep in mind that not only translation but also localization is a must in many cases. 

Moreover, social media listening and competitor research are important and valuable parts of any social media marketing strategy, and to be able to do that thoroughly you need someone who knows the market you are trying to enter or enlarge inside and out. A bilingual digital media company in Japan could provide you with this expertise. It can save you a lot of money and effort to get it right the first time around, and even more importantly, a digital media company can keep a close eye on how your Japan campaign is faring and make necessary adjustments.

Your Digital Media Partner in Japan

Hashi Media is Japan’s go-to content marketing and social media company. If you are planning on entering the Japanese market and don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered.

• Content creation
• Social media management
• Digital marketing strategy
• Brand localization

If you enjoyed what you read today and found it valuable, contact us today and let’s talk about your project.