Marketing Japan: How to Find Social Media and Internet Experts in Japan (Part One)

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers


There are many many companies in Japan, and here in Tokyo, who sell their services as "Experts on the Internet" and/or "Experts on Social Media". It was actually a pretty big eye-opener when I realized that all these people, who knew little about Internet and Social Media, were going around and selling themselves as "Internet savvy" and full of experience and expertise when, in all actuality, they were not.

Hey! I know this guy!

It is very surprising. I mean, when they know less than I do, there's no way they can claim expertise. This Internet and Social Media business is an education in progress.

I have also had some other friends and companies ask me to introduce them to good, dependable, experienced people to handle their business or services or Internet duties in Japan. That I can do... But, even though I know many people here, there are only a few that I could, in good faith, recommend. (In Japan, recommending people carries along with it responsibility to the person that you are recommending to. So if something goes bad, I lose face.) 

But the one thing that I'd really like to point out about people who claim to be experts on Japan (who aren't) and people who claim to be "Internet Savvy" (who aren't either) is they have one thing in common; they talk a good game, but the actions do not support the words.

Japan experts are harder to find than people who claim to be "Internet savvy" but just what is an "Expert"? Can they speak Japanese extremely well? I like to think that I can speak Japanese very well - I've even hosted TV and radio programs here - but I am reluctant to claim to be an expert on Japan... I've met lots of people who speak poor Japanese but still claim to be experts on Japan. 

Well, I suppose everything is relative. (Yes, I guess I am more of an expert on Japan than some guy who has never been outside of Idaho.) 

People who claim to be "Internet savvy," but are not, are easy to spot with just one question.  

I will give you that one question that you can use to judge if someone has some credible expertise, is Internet savvy, or up on Social Media; or is just blowing smoke in your face.

The other day, I mentioned during a conversation that a friend was "not Internet savvy at all." This friend heard about it and seemed to take offense. I don't know why. I meant no offense and that person is not Internet savvy by any stretch of the imagination. 

I've stayed in hospitals before but I wouldn't be telling people that I am an expert on hospitals or the medical profession. 

When this friend complained to me about that comment, I brought up a point that you can surely use in the future yourselves when you are searching for someone to help you with the Internet or Social Media. I said to my friend,

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were Internet savvy. What is your blog URL? How about Twitter, Pick, Mixi, Facebook, Myspace, or anything else? Can you send me your URL's by e-mail so I can check them out?"

Of course, this friend did not do any blogging or any of those other things. (Anyone who blogs would love for you to visit their blog. Blogging can be a lonely job!) And I haven't received any e-mail.

Of course he knows what these things are, but knowing of something and actually doing it is a world of difference. To be sure, just knowing how to surf the Internet or send e-mail does not make one 'Internet savvy' by any stretch of the imagination. So, whatever we do, if we do business, let's do smart business. If we market, let's do smart Marketing. 

So, for at least preliminary investigations into possible Internet or Social Media partners, pay attention to what they do, not what they say they do. So ask the one question, "Can you send me the URL's so that I can check them out?"


It works every time.


In Part Two, we'll hear directly from an expert who, in a little over six years, built an Internet company that had sales of over $50 million (USD) per year and went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

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Keywords: Social Media, business, Pick, japanmarketingnews, expert, experts, Tokyo, URL, Internet Savvy, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Marketing Japan, Mike Rogers, Google, blog, smart marketing, catchy idea, promote,  U-Stream, Buzz, Twitter, advertising, Japan, marketing, Internet,  blogs, 

Internet and Social Media? Get a Great Name

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." -  Juliet from Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

What's in a name? Most people would say, "Not much." But in these days of Social Media and with how the Internet is coming to dominate business, then what is in a name means a whole heck-of-a-lot.

Today, I want to talk about how having a unique name is critical to smart marketing for you. And how you will need a unique name if you want to have any hope of creating a buzz.

And this is not only in Japan, but all around the world. Having a great name for yourself for your business, product, service, or Internet idea is critical for success; especially in this day when people are actively searching for a special topic or item.

Take the example of a blog. The other day, a friend of mine, who is not Internet savvy at all, told me that he was thinking of a name for an online television show that he wanted to begin and he called me to ask me if his idea for a name for the program was good. The program was about interviewing foreign businessmen in Japan, in English, about doing business in Japan.

My friend seemed very pleased with the title he thought up for the TV show. It was, Tokyo Exchange.

Sounds like a typical business interview on your typical terrestrial TV station, right? Sure. It does to me. Now just think about how poorly terrestrial TV is doing. Do you want your business to emulate them? I sure hope not.

I told him that this was very old-fashioned thinking and that Tokyo Exchange was a terrible name... Can you imagine what people will think when they see a, er, "catchy name" or press release that says "Tokyo Exchange"? When someone hears this, the first thing that will pop into their mind will be the Tokyo Stock Market.

If you do a Google search on Tokyo Exchange, then you will get 25,400,000 results.

Now think about this for a moment. If you do, you will realize why this kind of name has to be one of the worst ideas a person could have. My friend is going to do an online TV show on a small Internet TV station that few have ever heard of. Now, if someone like you or me want to find his show by doing an Internet search, we would enter Tokyo Exchange in the search engine.

Now, also consider just how many tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of people per day search for financial information concerning the Tokyo Stock Exchange... How in the world will anyone find my friend's online TV show? They won't.

The resulting Google search page that shows my friend's TV show will probably not be even in the first 100 pages... It probably wouldn't hit the first 1,000 pages. And, as you know from your own personal experience, if you do a Google search and the result that you are looking for does not show up in the first page - maybe the first 2 or 3 pages - then you'll stop looking.

I know that if it doesn't show up in the first five on page one, I rarely search farther.

My friend would be better off with a name like "ZZXZ Dorky Tokyo." I'd bet they'd show up on the first page of an Internet search with a name like that.

Of course, I'm not saying that ZZXZ Dorky Tokyo is a great name. But it is a heck of a lot better than Tokyo Exchange.

To prove to you that I know what I'm talking about here, think about my name. My name is Mike Rogers. Mike Rogers is a very common (boring) name. If I do a Google search on Mike Rogers, I find a US congress-critter; a K-1 fighter; a professional hockey player; and a zillion others.

But Mike Rogers is a western name and I live in Japan. Ah! A unique name: Mike in Tokyo Rogers.

Now, let me brag to prove to you that I do know what I am talking about here. If you do a Google search of my name; "Mike in Tokyo Rogers", you'll find me #1 on a search. If you search "Mike in Tokyo" (without knowing my last name) you will find me #1. If you search merely "Mike Tokyo" I show up in the top 3.

Now that is a useful and killer name!

So it doesn't matter now what I do. Whether it is Twitter, Pick, blogging, U-Stream or any Internet Social Media or promotion or marketing. I always use the name "Mike in Tokyo Rogers."

So, before you decide on what name you will use, do Google searches. Use your imagination and find something unique. Use your middle name or find a new and cool moniker.

Make and use a name like this and people will find you.... If you don't, you or your service will be just like one of the millions of pieces of paper on the floor at the end of the trading day at the Tokyo Exchange; lost in the shuffle and headed into the trash.

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Keywords: business, Pick, press release, Mike Rogers, Marketing Japan, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Google, Tokyo Exchange, blog, smart marketing, catchy idea, publisher, Google search, terrestrial TV, web page, promote,  U-Stream, Buzz, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Twitter, advertising, Japan, marketing, Internet, Social Media, blogs, 

How to Capitalize on Events and Happenings

Staying in the public mind is a mightily difficult thing to do. You need to constantly be thinking and upgrading your efforts. You always need to keep one step ahead of the others. Today I will show you an example of how a tiny country like Croatia does a job a hundred times better than many of her European competitors.

This is not heaven or Hawaii... It's Croatia!

In this day and age, the Internet is the key to doing so. But many companies confuse the issues. As Brian Tracy writes in Focal Point:


Many Internet companies define themselves as providers for free information geared towards attracting as many eyeballs as possible. In reality, the Internet is a communication and distribution channel that must be focused on selling products or services and making a profit, like any other business.

Anyone who reads this blog with any regularity knows that I often harp upon the need to giveaway great free content to get readers... But how to reconcile that with the need to make money? That's what I'd like to blog about today; giving away great content online and offline and using that offline content to increase your online appeal by use of press releases and more.

Let me introduce you to a guy named Edouard Tripkovic Katayama. Edouard is in charge of the Croatian National Tourist Board in Japan and, since he set up the office here, three years ago, they've been a party to a 300% increase in sales and Japanese visitors to Croatia. That's incredible! (Disclaimer here: Before I go on too much, I must state that I know these things to be facts as I am proud to be a part of Edouard's promotional/marketing team and an advisor to such a cool service and wonderful country).


A 300% increase in Japanese visitors to Croatia? And in a down market? Are there any others who could make the same claim? I doubt it. Those are amazing results in any market, not to mention in a down one. I can't think of another organization that has shown such excellent results in Japan.


Of course there are many things that have all played a part in this success story, but let me give you a good example of one that we have coming up that is a marketing dream. The event will fulfill all the requirements that I always mention that are necessary: online and offline elements; news releases; promotion before, during and after; and mutually beneficial tie-ups to help defray costs amongst the partners.


Edouard had correctly decided that Croatian needs a URL that is Japan specific (I wrote the reasons for this here) so we are about to launch an Internet Funnel site for them. At about the same time that the Funnel site will be launched, a famous Croatian Classical Pianist named Kemal Gekic will be touring Japan...

Hear some of Kemal Gekic's fabulous music for free here!

Croatia is launching a new Japan specific Funnel site? A famous Croatian Classical Pianist is touring Japan?


I smell a great promotional opportunity!


Now, here we have an incredibly lucky convergence of events that we can use to promote Croatia Tourism, Kemal Gekic's tour, Croatian cuisine, and to increase awareness amongst the Japanese of just how cool and cultured Croatia is; and what a wonderful travel destination it is for the entire family. Not only that, since there are several parties with vested interests here, we can keep the costs way down. Anyone can spend massive amounts of money and run a good event. It takes imagination, planning and creativity to run a great event on a shoe-string budget!

Croatia: The Mediterranean as it once was

昔のままの地中海

What we are planning is to have a get-together with 30 - 40 of the most important writers for Tokyo's top Women's, Travel, Dining and Culture magazine's. The event will serve several purposes. It will be the announcement and unveiling of the new Internet Funnel site for Croatia as well as an opportunity to show off Croatian Culture with Mr. Gekic. We will also announce a secret (it's so secret that I can't announce it yet) promotional tie up with the most famous Pizza  delivery company in Japan...Also, we will use the event of create a buzz and to kick off our weekly newsletter that will come as part of joining our web community. (Concurrently running along at the same time as all these other goodies we have planned will be updates using our favorite Social Media like Twitter, Mixi, and photos (of course) with Pick).

The event will be held at the Croatian Embassy and we plan on featuring a short speech by the Croatian Ambassador as well as delicious food and refreshments from the top Croatian restaurant in all of Tokyo, Dobro. Throw this in with a few videos showing the striking beauty and history of the country and, there you have it, the seed of the buzz has been planted.  

Of course, as I said, this is a marketing dream. Everyone gets what they want; The magazines get exclusive information (as well as delicious free food and drink); Croatia Tourism (organizer) gets people to notice; the Embassy (provides the banquet hall) and makes themselves accessible; Kemal Gekic (performs) and his promoter gets people to see and hear his music and, perhaps, write about him; the restauranteur (provides food and drink) gets access to the magazine people who really matter and then he can invite them to write about his restaurant...

Dobro Croatian Cuisine in Kyobashi, Tokyo

〒104-0031 東京都中央区京橋2-6-14 日立第6ビル1F      03-5250-2055

This is a beautiful promotion that can cause nothing but smiles and handshakes (well, in Japan, lots of bowing)... And what does this cost Croatia Tourism? Almost nothing but the time it took to come up with this idea for a great opportunity and make the phone calls to bring in the partners.


So, perhaps, you might have guessed, even now, that this blog you are reading is, in fact, promotion for this event. It is the beginning of the creation of the buzz... I hope I have provided you with some ideas as to how you could steal my ideas and use it for yourselves.... If you can, by all means, please do!

Take a short video tour of Dubrovnik, Croatia here

But please don't forget to go back to the top of this blog and see what was written in the third paragraph;


"the Internet is a communication and distribution channel that must be focused on selling products or services and making a profit, like any other business."


So, I hope you get good ideas from this post that you can use to create your offline events and how to use them to benefit your online activities... I also hope that you've gotten some good ideas on how you can use your Social Media and blogs to sell your products/services without having to say, "BUY! BUY! BUY!"




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Post-note: Of course, as I mentioned in a previous blog, weekly press releases are a must. The above gives us several weeks of press release material before, during and after the event... It also allows us to create a buzz whereby it is easier to get good partners for future events... Heck, who knows? If they go so well, we might even be able to sell sponsorships to these events and have the sponsor pay for everything. So, just remember, the ceiling is your imagination!


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Keywords: business, press release, blog, smart marketing, catchy idea, weekly magazine, publisher, web page, promote,  U-Stream, Buzz, Tweet, Pick, George Williams,  advertising, Japan, marketing, Croatia, European, Internet, Social Media, blogs, 

Make a Press Release Every Week

Creating a buzz is always hard work, but you can increase your chances of doing so by operating like a weekly magazine publisher and making a weekly press release. It doesn't matter if you don't have "Big" news every week... The important thing is that you use your creativity to make something newsworthy every week so that it merits a press release.

Some good folks have asked, "What is the best way to keep in the public eye?" Of course there are many ways, but one of the best and most profitable ways to do so is to create continual press releases about you, your company and product or service; and do it every week religiously.

女性自身 Josei Jishin (Women's Confidence)

Josei Jishin is Japan's oldest and most popular women's magazine

Over 50 years of gossip and still going strong.

Think about those weekly magazines; it is incredibly difficult to come up every week with an interesting jacket and headline that sells magazines. But they work at it and come up with a catchy idea and and catchy image that sells magazines. You should think like they do. The magazines and daily newspapers have it hard. You have it easy. All you need to do is to come up with one good idea once a week that will have people reading about you and thinking about your service.

You will also want to target your press releases to the public and certain people in the media - and I am including all forms of media. Find specific media targets that may be able to help you. Send out e-mails to them - not BCC - specific e-mails addressed to them personally. Keep doing this and, after a few months, they will start to pay attention. Trust me, I know this for a fact after years of working as a radio and TV producer; editors and producers get tons of mail and junk; it takes a special effort to get them to sit up and take notice. Items addressed to "anyone" just don't cut it.

With bloggers or online items, you might be able to get a bit more luck if you take the time to find out who these people are and then write to them directly. A warning though, people don't like it if you ask for favors without knowing at least a little bit about that person (it used to drive me crazy when a record company promoter would give me Hit Parade of Hell albums (Top 40) or a Madonna CD and ask me to play it on my show when I was producing a show that only played Punk and Alternative music.)

I talked to media star George Williams the other day and he mentioned that he was going to start his own blog and design it much like Max Keiser's web page or Mike (Mish) Shedlock's. Like the examples I mentioned, George's web blog will have blogs, videos, U-Stream, Tweets, Pick, and other goodies.

George Williams (right) with up-and-coming rockers,

"Nothing's Carved in Stone"

George and I also discussed promoting it properly. We talked about having a press release party whereby he announces his new web blog and, then for laughs, maybe he announces that he's changed his name to georgewilliams.jp. The party will have drinks and snacks and unveil the web page. This is a good opportunity for George to build a buzz. First, he gets to announce the event; then, report on it as it is happening; then he gets a follow up report... There's three press releases right there. From then on, it's just a small step to making a useful and beneficial press release every week to promote himself and his business.

You can do the same.

So, don't forget to think like a weekly magazine publisher; send out a press release every week. Target several important people who could help you or write about you. Then, of course, you place your press releases on your web page too.

Make a press release every week. It's good enough for the big boys, it's good enough for you...That's just smart marketing.

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Keywords: Buzz, business, press release, smart marketing, catchy idea, weekly magazine, publisher, Max Keiser, Mike "Mish" Shedlock, blog, web page, promote,  U-Stream, Tweet, Pick, George Williams, Nothing's Carved in Stone, publicity, advertising, marketing, Japan