While the advertising sector in Japan made the move toward digital advertising later than their counterparts in most other developed countries, digital advertising spend is increasing year on year and traditional advertising is losing popularity. This is no wonder, as digital advertising is a very cost-effective way to spread brand awareness and drive sales. Social media plays a large role in many digital marketing strategies, and this is no different in Japan. Setting up your social media accounts across different channels and starting to manage them is just the start. Once they are up and running, it is time to start thinking about your social media campaign in Japan. What do you have to keep in mind?

Most Popular Social Media in Japan

First, it is important to know which social media are popular in Japan and how they are used. If you are planning to run a social media advertising campaign in Japan, you have to know where you can find the audience you are targeting and which social media channels are suitable for the kind of ads you want to run. Here is an overview:

• Line: used by over two-third of Japan’s entire population, advertising on Line can help you reach a large population. Coupons are one of the most effective types of ads on Line.
• Instagram: used by the majority of younger women in Japan, Instagram is good for reaching that demographic with visually attractive products.
• Pinterest: mainly used by women between 35-55 with an above-average income and high intent to purchase, Pinterest is very interesting for visually attractive luxury products or services.
• Facebook: used by a mixed, slightly older population than other social media. Facebook is good for testing different advertisements with different audience segments because of the possibility to target precisely.
• TikTok: used by Gen Z and still growing. Good for creative advertisers who like to try something new and could benefit from video.
• YouTube: used by most people under 40 in Japan. Especially good if you want to advertise with video.

Japanese Localization

After figuring out which social media channels you’d like to use for your campaign, it is time to get creative and make your ads! No matter which format you choose, whether it is pictures, text, video, coupons, or something else, if you are serious about trying to enter the Japanese market you will have to localize your ads. Localization is often confused with translation, but it is much more than that. Besides simply translating texts, you have to make sure that texts also work in a Japanese context.

When your target audience is Japanese, it is often better to (also) use Japanese models in pictures who are dressed according to Japanese trends. Things get even more complicated if you want to create video ads, as elements like voice, music, and movement are going to play a role. Even the way the material is shot and edited may be slightly different if you want to make maximum impact in Japan.

If you want to get it right, you have to be very familiar with Japanese culture and current trends in Japan. Even if you are targeting a foreign audience in Japan, it could very well be that you have to adjust your campaign to fit the lifestyle and environment of foreigners who live in Japan.

Of course, looking at similar Japanese brands or direct competitors (if you have competitors who are trying to enter the Japanese market as well) can help to see what could work in Japan, but chances are that you could greatly benefit from hiring a digital marketing agency who is specialized in entering the Japanese market to help you with this. They have the experience and bi-cultural knowledge to make your social media ad campaign a success, and they are up-to-date on the latest trends in Japan’s social media land.

SEO in Japan

A good SEO strategy should be in place to get the most out of your social media campaign. In Japan, Google is the most important search engine with a 76% market share and Yahoo comes at a strong second place with over 20%. Bing has a modest 3%, but there are no other search engines with significant usage in Japan. When you are launching any commercial campaign in Japan, you have to make sure that your website and social media are SEO proof for Google and Yahoo in Japan. When it is simply about search results, they are almost the same across both engines, but engine-specific results such as Maps and news boxes will be different.

Here are a few Japan-specific points you have to be aware of when thinking about an SEO strategy for Japan:

1. Characters for keywords: because Japan uses 3 scripts and the roman alphabet, searches can be entered in 4 ways. Which way is the most common way is very important in determining your keywords.
2. Domains: domains that end with co.jp and .jp are most trusted in Japan, but you can also opt to stick with your .com domain and add a sub folder with .com/jp. For now, it is better not to use Japanese characters in your URLs because its copied name becomes long.
3. On-page optimizations: good news on this front, as SEO ‘rules’ for optimizations such as links, headers, and picture alts are the same in Japan as elsewhere.

As you see, especially when it comes to keyword research it is important to know the ins and outs of the specific situation in Japan. Just as for localization of your content and ads, a digital marketing agency can help you with not only finding the best Japanese keywords but also with finding the best hashtags for your social media campaign.

Your Digital Media Agency 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.