In this article, we will talk about the top 3 digital marketing trends in Japan, but before we talk about these trends let’s look at marketing in Japan.
It is said that marketing in Japan is hard because supposedly Japanese consumers have the strictest product selection standards in the world. Japanese consumers always prefer quality over quantity. Quality standards and service expectations like delivery, packaging, or sales process are very high in Japan.
Japan has one of the largest luxury markets in the world. Some brands like Salvatore Ferragamo and Gucci earn 27% of their global revenue in this market alone.
Now that we have a big idea of marketing in Japan, let’s see the top 3 digital marketing trends.
- Ecommerce
The Japanese market has reached a point where buying online is very common. 75% of Japanese people like the idea of online shopping. In the past 7 years, the Japanese e-commerce market has more than doubled its size.
Now, Japanese companies are not just looking at the domestic market. They are also interested in entering new markets and growing their businesses abroad. This is a big change for Japanese companies because Japanese businesses tend to only focus on the Japanese market.
You may be wondering why did the Japanese businesses want to go abroad? Well, to answer the question, the demographic of Japan changed radically. There is a sharp increase in the number of elderly and a sharp decrease in young people. This played a major role in influencing businesses to consider global expansion.
Japanese companies are facing a smaller national market and growth opportunities have become scarce. Therefore, Japanese companies are looking to overseas in their markets.
However, global expansion is a challenge. There is a barrier to language and culture. For Japanese companies, communicating with non-Japanese companies is an issue. Furthermore, the culture, preferences, and expectations of Japanese brands are different for non-Japanese clients. This can become a big challenge for the global expansion of the Japanese market.
Influencers
Many brands are investing not only in well-known celebrities but also in micro and nano influencers with less than 50k followers. This allows brands to penetrate smaller communities, making an increased engagement, and providing personalized content.
Youtube is one of the most popular platforms in Japan. Many influencers have their own channel on Youtube; therefore, Japanese businesses are investing in advertising their products through the influencers.
Social media
Social media platforms in Japan are a significant source of potential customers. Businesses have to prioritize the selection of the social media platform based on a match of their goals and target audience.
Social Media is different in every country; in Japan Twitter is more popular than Facebook. Furthermore, there are other social media platforms such as LINE that are not used often outside of Japan.
Understanding how people in the local market use social media is very important.
For example, Instagram:
Instagram is one of the most important social media platforms in Japan. On Instagram, there are more younger people than older people. Japanese companies post their new products and do advertisements for their products.
Typically customers like to learn about new products or sales. This is a great way to advertise because Instagram allows Businesses to engage with customers in fun ways. For example, host Q & A questions about the company’s products, or make polls to see which product they like better
As one of the world’s largest economies, the Japanese market is a great opportunity. Consumers recognize quality not quantity; furthermore, they are willing to try new products and services if they meet their standard.
