Vol.71 – Promotion Strategy in Japan: Google+ vs. Facebook

As of December 8, there are 40 million users for Google+ worldwide. In the case of Japan, as in the previous article Vol.64 – Facebook and Twitter vs. LinkedIn and Google+ in Japan Google+ has mostly been dominated by a small portion of early adaptors even after it became open to the public, and there are only 2 million users for Google+ in Japan.




However, according to what Mr. Bradley Horowitz, a VP of Google said to Japanese media on December 9 when he visited Japan, it is likely that at last Google+ is to breakout in Japan at last with an extremely strategic promotion plan, which is alliance with a very popular Japanese pop group called AK48.



1. Why Google+ did not outbreak until today in Japan?



One reason is the fact that it is only recently that global social media such as Twitter and Facebook became popular in Japan and therefore Japanese people have been still at the point in which they are still learning and enjoying Twitter and Facebook. This would make them unable to think of starting another new social media now.



Another reason, according to some comments the author had from her Japanese online friends, seems mostly is the fact that most Japanese online users currently enjoying Twitter and Facebook including those with high IT literacy (e.g. experts in web marketing and social media) could not really understand the functions and user friendly operations of Google+.



This may attribute to the fact that there were few online articles in Japanese explaining such things. With the same reason, most Japanese online users did not (and probably still do not) understand the benefit of Google+, i.e. functions and services (including potential) integrating with other Google products and services as well.



2. What kind of impact the alliance with AK48 has on Google+, the most popular pop group in Japan today?



It will surely have an enormous positive impact on Google+ expansion in Japan. AK48, a pop group of many young girls, is currently the most popular pop group in Japan. The most popular member of the group has been acting as the heroine of a TV drama based on a comic that became extremely popular in Japan. China has created their pop group referring AK48.



Using a popular TV star, singer or pop group is a very popular promotion strategy adopted by many Japanese companies engaged in business such as AV products and beverages and they have mostly been successful. Therefore, leveraging the popularity of AK48 would surely boost the proliferation of Google+ in Japan.



3. How is Google+ to be promoted by AK48?



The promotion is to be done leveraging a function of Google+ of “Hang Out”, with which maximum of 10 online users can enjoy video chat.



AK48 members is to leverage the function to interact with their fans to regain the concept of “TV start that their fans can meet and interact” online. The group used to be designed to be close with their fans, interacting with them. However, because the group became very popular, it became extremely difficult for their fans to meet and interact with the group. The function would be a solution and Google say that AK48 and Google+ is a “perfect match”.



4. How effective Google+ promotion likely be compared with Facebook promotion in Japan?



The author would say that the both are equally effective; it is simply that the both are different.



Facebook leveraged the founder, Mr. Mark Zuckerberg in promoting Facebook worldwide including Japan, which is a good strategy. Mark was chosen as the man of the year by a leading business magazine Times for 2010. Then in January 2011 there were much coverage about Facebook in Japan. The movie about Facebook “Social Network” started to run in Japan from January 2011. And the Japanese version book about Mark was published in March 2011.



In the case of Google+, the follower in SNS without a person equivalent to Mark of Facebook, they just had to take a different approach. In the case of Japan market, the author understands that Google came up with a popular approach take in Japan which is adopting a popular TV star or pop group in their promotion. And in the current situation in Japan, AK48 is a good option to attract the attention of the general public.



In fact, already as of December 10, many of the favourite content of Google+ in Japan are the taste of AK48, which implies that many online users of AK48 fans have registered Google+ and started using it. A Japanese IT expert who started his business in Silicon Valley and has been providing latest information about IT to Japanese audience commented “I had a look at the status of Google+ favourite content after a long time and was surprised how the trend changed after the announcement of the alliance of Google+ with AK48!”



5. What are the author’s final thoughts?



In addition to products and services, promotion also is an important factor for the success of marketing and business. There is no one-fit-for-all promotion strategy, though.



Breakout of Google+ in Japan is a great news just that for some people (e.g. those who would like to use mainly for business) they may need to be extremely careful who to circle and/or follow on Google+ to make sure that they create their Google+ community that meet their needs.





References:-

Google+ has 2 million users in Japan, “a business opportunity for the follower” says a Google VP (in Japanese)

http://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/nl/articles/1112/09/news091.html



Resources:-

Google+ has been mainly dominated by early adopters in Japan and was not popular even among many Japanese with high IT literacy because they did not understand the good functions, user friendliness and (potential) benefits provided by integration with other Google products/services attributing to lack of explanation of such issues. However, with recent announcement of alliance with AK48, the most popular pop group in Japan today, Google+ is likely to outbreak at last in Japan. Already some general public seem to have started to join Google+.