Japanese Expansion Strategies: Shares, SEO, and Brand Impact

Expanding Sales and Enhancing Brand Value through Shares in Japan

For foreign businesses entering Japan, having users share information about their products and services is a desirable situation in terms of marketing strategy. This is because widespread sharing can rapidly increase exposure, potentially saving on marketing expenses and serving as a catalyst for sales expansion.

Web marketing strategies become crucial for users to share content or increase favorable backlinks for SEO. Even if your products or services are compelling, sharing is not guaranteed. It’s essential to offer attractive products, provide valuable information, and create content that encourages sharing.

Marketing Strategies for Shareability and Backlinks

Environments conducive to content sharing by users include:

• Unique products not yet available in Japan.
• Existing products with a foreign appeal.
• Content with an interesting angle or trending topics.

Products not yet available in Japan, with practicality for users, are likely to be shared, especially since there is minimal competition in terms of SEO and social media within Japan. Users who have used the product may spread word of mouth, and media coverage in TV or magazines might also occur. In this case, active dissemination of content in Japanese is crucial to reach as many users as possible.

For existing products, highlighting foreign design or unique features can make them more shareable. As previously discussed in Insights, the success of Costco in the Japanese market compared to the withdrawal of Carrefour demonstrates the importance of differentiation.

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Carrefour struggled to customize its supermarket model for Japan, while Costco succeeded by embracing its American identity. Thus, emphasizing differentiation from other products in Japan can provide a fresh perspective for users.

Additionally, strategies involving unique and interesting content, influencer impact, or capitalizing on trending events, news, etc., can also lead to content going viral. The Arab Spring, a large-scale anti-government movement around 2010, utilized platforms like Twitter and Facebook for significant impact. While achieving virality can have a substantial influence, it also carries the risk of brand value decline. Intentionally making content go viral is challenging and often depends on the results of a company’s business activities, leading to transient effects.

In Conclusion

For recently entered foreign businesses in Japan, an increase in user shares and backlinks not only raises product awareness but also creates a synergistic effect by boosting domain power through increased website access. While three cases were highlighted, the fundamental goal for companies is to provide continuous value through product-based information, differentiating themselves from domestic competitors in Japan. While building a web marketing strategy with virality in mind is possible, the associated risks are significant.

At BizMOWA, we’re here to help you implement effective SEO strategies. We assist you in selecting the right keywords, optimizing titles and headers for SEO, and incorporating Japanese localization into your website.

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