Characteristics of Japanese Influencer Marketing for Fashion Brands

Social media including YouTube, Twitter, and other forms of channel has been part our lifestyle for decades.

These channels are now commonly used for searching clothing and accessories that are in trend, as many of the items are now promoted by what they now call fashion brand influencers (also known as apparel influencers) in Japan.

Here are some characteristics of Japanese apparel influencers along with different case scenarios.

Characteristics of Japanese Fashion Influencer

Let’s learn about the characteristics of Japanese fashion brand influencers before diving into marketing.

Japan’s fashion brand influencers are separated into two major categories.

One category of influencers is focused on fashion styling and tips, while the other category is influencers who are focused on representing the brand as a model.

There are cases where these Japanese influencers are centered on only one brands, while some choose to commit to a full-time modeling while also co-working.
Situational marketing is necessary.

Challenges and Advantages of Limiting to One Brand

When Japanese influencers are limited to promoting a single fashion brand, marketing strategies need to be considered.

In cases where Japanese influencers are restricted to promoting one fashion brand, they often find difficulty in creating new fans.

Promotion of fashion brand creates consistency in contents and themes, however, the lack of variety in contents can lead to boredom of their follower base.

Despite the challenges in fan acquisition, Japanese influencers promoting single fashion brand is often seen with high conversion rate due to their loyal fan base with strong affinity towards the products that are showcased.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Modeling as an Influencer

When Japanese models also serve as fashion brand influencers, they seem to have no issues with fan acquisition or marketing.

However, regarding conversions, the fan base tends to be more interested in the model themselves rather than the promoted products. Therefore, without knowledge of marketing, models may struggle.

Despite the disadvantages, for Japanese models taking a role of fashion brand influencers, acquisition of new fan base usually comes naturally due to their inherent charisma and appeal.

Original Fashion Brand Development

You can also market your own fashion brand products by having influencers introduce them.

However, another marketing strategy involves collaborating with influencers to create products for an original fashion brand.
If the original fashion brand is not well-known among Japanese people, the conversion rate might be low even if introduced by influencers.

But since influencers have their own fan base, the conversion rate will increase if new products are commercialized.
Additionally, it helps in making the original fashion brand known and acquiring marketing opportunities.

Ensuring Marketing Success

Japanese people tend to feel uneasy about foreign languages.
Therefore, care should be taken with the purchase flow in fashion brand influencer marketing.

For example, Japanese people learn about overseas fashion brands through influencers.
They visit the website out of interest, only to find it in English.
This makes it difficult to increase the conversion rate among Japanese people.

The website should provide a Japanese version, even if using translation tools.
If possible, include prices in Japanese yen.
This way, Japanese people can purchase products from the fashion brand with confidence.

It is not enough for influencer marketing to succeed and attract many users to the website.
The purchase flow must be streamlined to ensure effective influencer marketing.

Understanding Japanese Trends

“If you want to engage in influencer marketing for fashion brands, you should know the trends in Japan.”
This might seem obvious, but it is sometimes overlooked in overseas marketing efforts.

One reason Japanese fashion trends are challenging is the presence of “four seasons” in Japan.

For example, in Southeast Asian countries, the hot temperature year-round means there is little change in fashion style.
However, in Japan, where temperatures change significantly throughout the year, influencer marketing that matches the seasons is necessary.

Of course, there are fashion trends that are popular in Japan each year.
Therefore, fashion brand influencer marketing must consider both seasons and trends.

Risk of Finding Fake Japanese Fashion Brand Influencer

There are some pre-cautions when selecting the right Japanese fashion influencers to represent your brand.

You must first check whether the Japanese influencers have legitimate followers that are not purchased.
To check whether an fashion brand influencer has a legitimate fan base, you must strictly check the engagement rate on their contents for signs of active interactions.

Furthermore, you must also look at the demographics of their fan base, as unusually higher number of international followers may be a sign of purchased followers (as these services are run by overseas entities)
This is not an fashion brand influencer who has conducted proper marketing.

Most importantly, it is the most challenging to find the right Japanese fashion brand influencers that aligns with you brand content and perception due to the language barrier and cultural difference.

hotice Provides Matching Support

At hotice, we can help you select the right models for your marketing without you having to contact the influencers individually.

Selection of Japanese models, specifically the influencers for marketing purposes, can be very challenging.

hotice can help you facilitate the selection of influencers while also helping you communicate efficiently with these influencers.
Some models and influencers can be troublesome even after joining an agency, causing issues.
However, with hotice, you will have no problem of such.

If you are looking to optimize Japanese model marketing, hotice is the company for you.