Creating a Buzz Requires Credibility

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

A good friend of mine once said to me, "Credibility is hard to get but even harder to buy." When I heard this I thought it was simply genius. It's so absolutely true.

Lately, I've been reading Malcolm Gladwell's most recent book, "Outliers." In one section at the front of the book, he writes about how kids get into the Canadian Major Junior A Hockey League; the premier league for children and teens hoping to become professional hockey players.

Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers

Gladwell writes:

You can't buy your way into Major Junior A hockey. It doesn't matter who your father or mother is, or who your grandfather was, or what business your family is in. Nor does it matter if you live in the most remote corner of the most northerly province in Canada. If you have the ability, the vast network of hockey scouts and talent spotters will find you, and if you are willing to develop that ability, the system will reward  you.

Gladwell then goes on to point out that there's a lot of luck and being in the right place at the right time is so important towards becoming successful... But he also delves deeply into working at success and dedicating time and effort practicing and honing one's skills.

I'd like to point out that if a kid gets into Major Junior A hockey in Canada, then that kid gets "status." With Major Junior A hockey comes credibility. And this credibility is impossible to buy.

It's the same when you are trying to build a buzz for your product or service... Credibility is crucial. Without credibility, you will never build a long-term lasting success. Quality is crucial to credibility.

Not only is this critical for other people's perceptions, but it is also, I think, the deciding factor for yourself and your team. Think about this: If you or any of your team member's are not 100% sold on your idea, product or service; If you do not have complete and total faith in what you are doing, then you will have doubt in the back of your mind somewhere...

This doubt, no matter how small, will do great damage to your efforts so the elimination of this doubt is so important... This is where, even more than what others think, what you think, in your heart and in your sub-conscious, is critical. You must believe in what you are doing to be successful. It is even written in the bible, "Belief can move mountains."

I've told this to many people that I work with; creating a buzz and almost everything else we do is a form of sales. In sales, I must believe in my product absolutely to be totally effective. Why? Because sales is not a transference of data. If it were just passing along facts, then car salesmen could sell the best cars with a copy of a pdf. But it doesn't work that way. Sales is a transference of emotions. I, the salesman, must transfer my excitement and belief about my product to you, the customer. You must get excited about what I have to sell.

I have to believe. You have to believe. This is the key to sales (and creating a buzz)!  

I am now working with partners on promoting tourism to a former Eastern Block country in Europe. In some circles, this promotion has been extremely difficult. Why? Because twenty years ago, this country was involved in a civil war and many Japanese people still have the image of war when they think of this nation.

We have to change that image among the Japanese. Maybe you have guessed the name of this country already.... A war 20 years ago in Europe? Yes. It had to be one of the countries in former Yugoslavia. I'm talking specifically about Croatia.

Actually, Croatia is nothing like the image that many Japanese people have; a cold and dreary former Soviet Bloc territory. Croatia has a rich history; formerly part of the Hapsburg Empire; formerly Rome. Croatia's tourism promotional copy is "The Mediterranean the way it used to be." Croatia has 7 world heritage sites, glorious architecture, fantastic gourmet (including seafood) and more! See some sites here.

But some Japanese still have the image of war.

Recently, two things have greatly helped us to gain trust and credibility among the Japanese. One has been the push from Japanese travel agents for Japanese tourists to visit Croatia. It really helps to show people the tourism and travel brochures made by reputable Japanese companies like Japan Airlines (JAL), All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Travel Bureau (JTB) recommending Croatia. I mean, if Croatia weren't safe, they certainly wouldn't recommend it.

Regent Esplanade Zagreb

But the most recent thing that I think will be the watershed moment for Croatia tourism will be this December. From this December, Tokyo FM (TFM) will run a station-wide promotion on air and on the Internet (this will include, of course, SNS, blogs, Twitter, Pick, Mixi and Facebook!) The promotion will be for three lucky couples to win a vacation to Croatia including airfare and hotel....

The hotel stay is at one of the most prestigious hotels in all of Europe! It's the Regent Esplanade Zagreb. See photos here that will drop your jaw.

See more photos of the Regent Esplanade Zagreb here

There's not a person in Japan over the age of 18 who hasn't heard of Tokyo FM. Tokyo FM is the flagship station of a 34 station Japan-wide FM network. Tokyo FM is prestige.

Will Croatia become the huge buzz and "place to be" amongst the Japanese within the next two years? That remains to be seen, but Tokyo FM accepting Croatia as a partner for a big Christmas campaign gives Croatia the respect and credibility Croatia needs. With this credibility in hand, it is the final critical factor needed to build the buzz among the Japanese who like to travel.

Now, with this credibility, they can get to work on building a buzz.
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Keywords:
Croatia, SNS, ANA, Europe, Twitter, Social Media, Outliers, Japan, Christmas campaign, All Nippon Airways, credibility, Mike Rogers, Tokyo FM, U-Stream, Tokyo, Pick, Regent Esplanade Zagreb, blogs, Internet, Japan, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Malcolm Gladwell, The Mediterranean the way it used to be, JAL, Japan Airlines, Japan Travel Bureau, JTB

Mike in Tokyo Rogers (me) New Music Videos Japan on U-Stream

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

I remember an old saying that prudish grandmas would say, "Don't jump into the pool until you learn how to swim!" Well how are you going to learn how to swim if you don't get into the pool?

How are you going to learn how to blog, video blog, or do Social Media until you jump into the water?

I do Internet marketing and SEO services in Japan now, but, in my former life, I was a TV and radio producer, director, and caster... When it comes to U-Stream, I am just getting my feet wet.  I've had a YouTube channel for a long time as YouTube is more like traditional TV, but U-Stream is different.

To learn how to do U-Stream well, I've been helping George Williams on his daily show for about 7 months now and started doing my own weekly do a weekly underground new music video show on www.georgewilliams.jp where you can find the weekly Top 5, where I find and play totally new and undiscovered cool artists and play them for you.

As I mentioned many times before, you need to consistently blog or video blog (vlog) at least 3 times a week to be successful on Social Media and using it to do marketing in Japan...

I make the video and, before it airs live, I use Twitter, Pick, Facebook, Mixi and my company web page at Universal Vision to notify people that it is about to air, then, after it is over and recorded, I do the same.  The link is here:

It's all a part of keeping on top of the game for Internet Social Media Marketing. There's no real rule book, it seems to me, the best ideas will come to you from just doing it and thinking up new and creative ways to market your self or your product.

So, instead of just waiting to start because you don't know what to do... Just jump into the pool! You'll learn as you go. The water is great!

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Keywords: video blog, Mixi, Social Media, Facebook, YouTube, Japan, Internet, U-Stream, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Twitter, blog, Mixi, Social Media Marketing, Universal Vision, George Williams, Marketing Japan, vlog, New Music Videos Japan

Marketing Japan: Increase Your Google Rankings by Use of Keywords...

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Just a quick piece of great advice for you bloggers who - with quite understandable frustration, believe me - get discouraged because they see no quick results from their blogging or video blog (vlog) efforts.

Remember that every time you blog something, anything, you need to use all the Social Media tools in your toolbox to drive people to your blog and increase your rankings. That means when you write a new blog, then I suggest that you go to Pick, Twitter, Facebook, Mixi, U-Stream, whatever and announce that you have some new blog that you would like people to check out.

Always be thinking... Well, about something useful, if possible.

I write about Japan at Lew Rockwell.com and then announce all of those everywhere I can - even here at this blog - and I plug my modern marketing Japan blog (this blog) at the bottom of my Lew Rockwell articles.

I suggest announcing new items at least twice (on Twitter, Pick and other Social Media); once immediately after writing and then, once again, five or six few hours later (perhaps once more 24 hours later?).

It is also advisable to go to related sights and post the information there. This particular blog is about smart marketing, advertising and PR using the Internet and intelligent media in Japan, so I will also go to Linkedin and announce my new musings on the marketing groups that I belong to.

OK, so maybe, even with that, people won't follow your blog and sign up. Not to worry. Here's another piece of great advice that will get you high rankings on a Google search.

You might notice that I always put a list of keywords at the bottom of my articles and blogs like this:

Keywords: TV, focused message, Google, product, radio, Japan, business, Japanese, buzz, radio station Twitter, vlog, U-Stream, Internet, Social Media, Mike Tyson, intelligent, Pick, White House, GDP, Mixi, video blog, smart marketing, rankings, solution, Linkedin, vlogging, blogger, advertising, Google search, TV station, service, video blog, Facebook, japan, japan's, blog, blogger, intelligent marketing,  marketing, 

You have to do this every time on every blog to get great Google search engine results. Just to show you that I am right about this. Go to Google and search "Mike" and "Tokyo." Yep, that's me at #1 on the search results. Pretty amazing if you consider the fact that there must be over a million Mike's who've ever been to Tokyo... Notable ones include even Mike Tyson in person and on world-wide TV(Hey! I beat Mike Tyson in Tokyo! Rah!)

Make sure that when you do a keywords listing that you change the order of the words in your keywords so that they do not appear in exactly the same order that the do in the body of the article.

Also! One last important note. Make sure that you use the same name for yourself everywhere on the Internet and make sure you use the exact same avatar (I mean a real one with your photo!) Remember that you are selling yourself when it comes to the Internet, so branding and image are critical to your success.

That's smart business with a focused message and intelligent marketing!

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Keywords: marketing, Google search, blogger, focused message, Google, product, intelligent marketing, Facebook,smart marketing, Internet, radio, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, search engine results, business, Japanese, buzz, rankings, Twitter, vlog, video blog, U-Stream, Social Media, vlogging, Mike Tyson, intelligent, Pick, Japan, TV, Japan's, Mixi, video blog, advertising, blog, Linkedin,   

Marketing Japan: The Theory of the Future of Online Advertising by an Entrepreneur...

I like Shelly Palmer.

There's an extremely interesting Blog by Shelly Palmer about advertising goods and services in the future and her conversation consider it with a successful entrepreneur that I'd like to direct you to. Here is an excerpt from that article:

...Joe presented his theory of the future of online advertising empowered by social media. He articulated a future where traditional media and big brands were dead, and, just for good measure, he postulated a consumer-controlled, self-selected future of infinite choices of goods and services. His monologue was pervaded by phrases like, “advertising doesn’t work” and “people don’t want to be interrupted.” And, my favorite, “Social Media marketing is the only possible future … brands are completely out of control and marketers have to realize that. Consumers control everything! Besides, everyone wants targeted, measurable messaging, it’s all going to be online.” 

The rest of the article talks about Social Media and Social Media Marketing versus traditional media. I have issues with both sides, but it is interesting to read what "Joe" and Shelly think.  But there is one thing that Shelly writes that I thought was completely wrong:

You need to brush your teeth. You need inexpensive, nutritious food. You need durable goods, soft goods, hard goods and you need them packaged and delivered to a venue near you … everyday. In fact, the more organic, unpreserved, special and perishable the produce and goods are, the more time and energy must be expended to get them as close to you as possible. Not just in your town, nationwide — and in some cases, worldwide.

OK, it might sound as if I am nitpicking, but what I think Shelly is implying here is that organic, unpreserved, perishable produce needs advertising since this s not an article about food distribution. So, here Shelly is wrong. Generally speaking, basic foodstuffs do not need TV, radio or any other mass media advertising at all as they are basic to survival and are sought out by people. This is why is is unusual to see advertising for raw fruits or vegetables, etc... Processed food, and things that come in colorful boxes, on the other hand, are a different story.

But there is one thing that Shelly writes that had me howling:

most self-described Social Media-types are too into technology to understand real business. 

How true! If you get people to help you with marketing, advertising, buzz marketing and Social Media, including blogs, vlogs, U-Stream, Pick, Mixi, Facebook, Twitter, whatever - in the west or in Japan - especially in Japan - then get people who have true business experience.

Read the full article here. 

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Keywords: U-Stream, Twitter, intelligent marketing, marketing, TV, vlog, targeted, marketers, targeted message, vlogs, goods, services, message, Facebook, product, online advertising, radio, mass media, mass media advertising, Marketing Japan, technology, Mike Rogers, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Marketing Japan, Japan, business, buzz, radio station,  Internet, Mixi, Social Media, intelligent, advertising, traditional media, blog, 

Write a Blog! But at Least Spell-Check!

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

I wonder if Barack Obama Twitters or, at least, does Pick, or any other Social Media? I guess he certainly must not blog himself. If he does, then, judging from his White House transcripts,  those must be nearly unreadable. And, if so, forget about his Facebook or Myspace... Those must be a total mess.

Marketing, blogging and doing Social Media is a must in this day and age.... Well, duh! You knew that already. You'd think that the president of the United States would know that too. You are about to be shocked by just how useless these people in government are!

But, I guess, Barack Obama is a moron, like his predecessor... Is Obama as dim as Bushy Boy? I think he is, but you be the judge.

Many people have asked me, "How do you blog so much?" Well, the secret, I think, is to - funnily enough - not to think too much. The secret to blogging often (3, 4, 5 times a week) is to write down what you want to say in your blog, Twitter, Pick, whatever  immediately on the fly - then spell check it - then upload as soon as possible.

You've got to strike while the iron is hot!

If you keep editing and re-editing your blog, it will kill the creative juices and slow down your productivity greatly.

So, when it comes to Social Media and Social Media Marketing, in Japan or your country, then the rules and hints to frequent blogging are to:

1) Write quickly while the ideas are fresh.
2) At least spell-check before uploading
3) Edit after uploading
4) Edit as much as you like using this method. Keep doing it until you get it right.

Simple enough.

Now, just for a laugh, I've got to show you the press release from the White House about president Barack Obama's latest comments. I know how hard it is to keep from making mistakes on a blog as I make them all the time, but you'd think the President of the United States could at least arrange to have work done better than a 4th grade level. Jeez, doesn't this guy have a proof-reader?

I'm not making this up. This is the White House press release. It is full of amateurish mistakes. I have highlighted the mistakes for you (if this is the level of work we get from the White House and Obama, then we are in serious trouble):

Obama: "We need to commit to fiscal adjustments that stabilize debt-to-GDP ratios at appropriate levels over the medium tenn. I am committed to the restoration of fiscal sustainability in the United States and believe that all G-20 countries should put in place credible and growthfriendly plans to restore sustainable public finances. But it is critical that the timing and pace of consolidation in each economy suit the needs of the global economy, the momentum of private sector demand, and national circumstances. We must be flexible in adjusting the pace of consolidation and learn from the consequential mistakes of the past when stimulus was too quickly withdrawn and resulted in renewed economic hardships and recession. For our part, we will pursue measures to SUppOit the recovery in private demand and return the unemployed to work. At the same time, we recognize the impoltance of setting a credible medium-term fiscal path: that is why my Administration will cut the budget deficit we inherited in halfby FY 2013 and work to reduce our fiscal deficit to 3 percent ofGDP by FY 2015, which will stabilize the debt-to-GDP ratio at an acceptable level in that year."

There are a bunch of other mistakes in this message, but I just copied and pasted one paragraph here for you. There are a bunch more at the original. Is this a joke, or what? I understand a simpleton like myself, making these sorts of spell-check errors, but the president of the United States of America? And in an official press release? Think about it folks, this guy is the leader of the western world!? Like I said, I'm not making this up... 

We're doomed. The insane have taken over the asylum.
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Keywords: Marketing Japan, TV, focused message, product, Barack Obama, radio, Japan, business, Japanese, buzz, radio station Twitter, vlog, U-Stream, Internet, Social Media, intelligent, Pick, White House, GDP, Mixi, video blog, smart marketing, solution, vlogging, blogger, advertising, TV station, service, Facebook, japan, japan's, blog, blogger, intelligent marketing,  marketing, 

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Keywords: intelligent marketing,  marketing, Internet, focused message,  Japan, business, Social Media, intelligent, radio station, Twitter, Marketing Japan, TV, product, Barack Obama, radio, Japanese, buzz, U-Stream, Pick, smart marketing, solution, vlogging, blogger, advertising, TV station, service, White House, GDP, Mixi, video blog,japan's, blog, Facebook, japan, blogger