Get High Google Rankings: Blog and Write Everyday!...

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

It is my purpose to get my name and the name of my company and service out to the public in the most effective way possible; and the best way to do that is to use the Internet. The Internet is targeted marketing and media and it allows me to focus my message to the audience; and it does it for free. I cannot think of a cheaper price than free, can you? 

I go to the Internet to get great information with a focused message; and I get that information for free. I hope that this is the same reason some of you good folks come to see me everyday. I'm trying to give you all tips on how to empower yourselves and increase your business in Japan everyday. 


One reader asked me how it was possible that I was able to get my name at #1 on a Google search if someone merely searched "Mike" and "Tokyo" (remember that there are millions of foreigners in this country and there's been many many famous Mike7s to come here; think Mike Tyson in Tokyo, etc., etc.) Well, let me tell you that you can do the same thing too! You can get high rankings on a Google or Yahoo search in the most cost effective way possible. But, just starting a blog or a vlog and letting sit there isn't going to do it.


You can either buy search words like BP did for "Oil Spill" etc., or, if you are on a limited budget, then you can put in the effort. Elbow grease is the answer, my friends!  


I believe that the only way to get great Google or Yahoo search results is to keep hammering away at putting out a lot of good quality stuff on a consistent basis. You must keep at the blogging and writing and to continually put up good quality, useful stuff, for your readers. You need to put up new information at least 3 times a week and you need to keep the message focused.


But how to keep the message focused? That could be tough, especially if there are so many topics that interest you. Like me. I'm interested in many things Japan. So I write for three different places; my blog, my company blog, and on wwwlewrockwell.com 


This blog (my blog) is targeted to foreign businessmen wanting to sell their products and services in Japan to the Japanese... Only. (If that seems obvious or absurd, realize that there are many foreigners in Japan trying to sell their products and services to the other foreigners living here. I do not deal with those). That's why this blog is called, "Modern Marketing Japan." 


On my company blog, Universal-vision.jp, I mirror items on this blog, but I also place Japanese language news releases there too. Here's a recent example. The final place that I try to blog consistently is at Lew Rockwell. Lew Rockwell is the most read Libertarian site in the world and ranked by Alexa in the Top 15 of the most read sites in the entire world. 


Blogging, making YouTube videos, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Mixi and doing U-Stream are all important but remember that just setting up a blog or a YouTube channel and then putting up new information on it once a month or once every two months is just not going to get you the results you need. You need to put up new blogs, information or videos at least three times a week.


As David Meerman Scott wrote in the bible of new media marketing, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, when he quoted the president of The Concrete Network;


"You need to think about how a series of one hundred news releases over two years will benefit your business and then commit to it, understanding that nothing is an overnight thing." 

Of course, this is all a part of my ever continuing opinion that, if you want to succeed in Social Media, Marketing and the Internet, then you must continually produce content by writing and on your own blog and give it away for free. 


Write a lot but keep messages focused... By the way, I have another new article on Lew Rockwell about silly things in Japan here.


I hope you get a laugh.




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Twitter a hit in Japan as millions 'mumble' online

I just found this on AP and, since I post about Twitter and Social Media so much, I thought I'd post it as is.

Twitter a hit in Japan as millions 'mumble' online

Twitter a hit in Japan as 'mumbling' tweeters give micro-blogging a distinctly Japanese flavor 

Twitter is a hit in Japan, succeeding where other social networking imports like Facebook have foundered as millions "mumble" -- the translation of tweet -- and give mini-blogging a distinctly Japanese flavor.

The arrival of the Japanese language Twitter service in 2008 tapped into a greater sense of individuality in Japan, especially among younger people less accepting of the understatement and conformity their culture is usually associated with, analysts say.

A mobile version of Twitter started last October, further fueling the Twitter boom in a nation where Internet-connecting cell phones have been the rule for years.

These days, seminars teaching the tricks of the tweet, as the micro-blog postings are known, are popping up. Ending Japanese sentences with "nah-woo" -- an adaptation of "now" in English -- is hip, showing off the speaker's versatility in pseudo-English Twitter-speak.

A TV show features characters that tweet. A Tokyo bar has screens showing tweets along with World Cup games. And pop idols, a former prime minister and plain regular people are all tweeting like crazy.

The proportion of Japanese Internet users who tweet is 16.3 percent and now surpasses the ratio among Americans at 9.8 percent. Twitter and Japan's top social networking site, mixi, have been running neck-and-neck with monthly visitors between 9 million and 10 million but in April Twitter squeaked past mixi, according to ratings agency Nielsen Online.

In contrast, only 3 percent of Japanese Internet users are on Facebook compared with 62 percent in the U.S., according to Nielsen. MySpace has also failed to take off in Japan, at under 3 percent of Net users versus 35 percent in the U.S., according to comScore Inc.

Twitter estimates Japanese write nearly 8 million tweets a day, or about 12 percent of the global total. Data from Tweet Sentiments, a web site that analyzes tweets, show Japanese are sometimes tweeting more frequently than Americans.

"Japan is enjoying the richest and most varied form of Twitter usage as a communication tool," says Daisuke Tsuda, 36, a writer with more than 65,000 "followers" for his tweets. "It's playing out as a rediscovery of the Internet."

One reason is language. It's possible to say so much more in Japanese within Twitter's 140 letter limit. The word "information" requires just two letters in Japanese. That allows academics and politicians to relay complex views, according to Tsuda, who believes Twitter could easily attract 20 million people in Japan soon.

Another is that people are owning up to their identities on Twitter. Anonymity tended to be the rule on popular Japanese Web sites, and horror stories abounded about people getting targeted in smear-campaigns that were launched under the shroud of anonymity.

In contrast, Twitter anecdotes are heartwarming. One well-known case is a woman who posted on Twitter the photo of a park her father sent in an e-mail attachment before he died. Twitter was immediately abuzz with people comparing parks.

So far, people are flocking to Twitter in positive ways, reaching out in direct, public and interactive communication, debunking the stereotype of Japanese as shy and insular, says Noriyuki Ikeda, chief executive of Tribal Media House, which consults on social media marketing.

"Twitter is turning out to be like a cocktail party," he told The Associated Press. "Japanese see how fun it is to network and casually connect with other people."

Twitter is also proving a good business tool. Companies are exploring Twitter as a way to reach consumers and get feedback, a function that holds potential in Japan where broadband connections are widespread and cheap, and mobile phones outnumber the population.

Retailer Tokyu Hands uses Twitter to answer queries from customers, while clothing-chain Uniqlo has used Twitter in marketing by setting up a virtual queue where people tweet with each other and get freebies.

Motohiko Tokuriki, chief executive of consultant Agile Media Network, who has nearly 200,000 followers, believes Twitter is on its way to be chosen the hit new word of the year, a coveted honor that draws great publicity here.

"It's telling that Twitter was translated as 'mumbling' in Japanese," he said. "They love the idea of talking to themselves," he said.

Twitter may even offer Japan's web entrepreneurs global opportunities that had so far eluded them because it's the first digital "global-standard" outside of search engines like Google or Yahoo! to catch on here, says Toru Saito, chief executive of Loops Communications, which specializes in social networking businesses.

That means software applications Japanese develop for Twitter could win acceptance from a global market. Japanese mobile software products have tended to be for Japanese up to now.

"I'm getting so many queries, including those from abroad," Saito said.

Rocky Eda, corporate communications manager for Digital Garage, which supports Twitter's Japan operations, is thrilled people are embracing Twitter.

"In finding fulfillment in expressing what's on your mind for the moment, Twitter is like haiku," he said. "It is so Japanese."

(Article from AP see here)

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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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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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