Social Media Marketing - The Japanese Way

Author:

Motoko Hunt

Source:

In 2010, there's no doubt that social media is a very important part of a company's Internet marketing program. This may sound bold, but I think that social media marketing really started in Japan. It's no surprise since the Japanese are very sociable people. We value communication and social interaction, and love to belong to groups with people who share similar interests. And, of course, we practice these in a very harmonious way.
 
I'm sure that many of you have heard about Mixi, one of the most popular SNS (define) sites in Japan. It launched in 2000, years before MySpace and Facebook. GREE is another big one in Japan. But I believe Japan's social networking culture really started when 2channel opened its door in 1999 as a massive BBS (define), offering forums ranging from hacking to cooking. Here, people discuss and exchange information on different topics of interest, which are neatly organized into easy-to-follow threads. Businesses are starting to adopt Facebook and Twitter for their social media marketing efforts, but many businesses in Japan have been monitoring and responding to these threads related to their business or products for more than 10 years. Many popular elements of Japanese online culture and slang originated here. 2channel holds the distinction of being the world's biggest BBS site with over 12 million users.
 
Social Media Groups
 
The above three sites are not the only major social media players in Japan. Let's review the key players in different social media groups ...