leximaha
Tried natto; not a fan
Posts: 59
CIR Experience: Former CIR
Location: Nagano
Gender (Pronouns): she/her/hers
|
Post by leximaha on Jun 24, 2020 11:12:32 GMT 9
Hello all! It's been a hot minute since I've been on these lovely forums, so 久しぶり and GOBUSATA  If there is another thread or discussion on this, please send me in that direction so I don't reinvent the wheel here as it were. I work in the Tourism Promotion Section at my shiyakusho, and I am getting the chance to do some kankou milyoku 取材 around my area and promote them via several SNS channels. One of these channels will be a shiny, new YouTube channel (once we get enough materials to upload a good amount of content). I want to make these channels as wide-reaching as possible so they don't peter out and die (like the city's current FB ToT RIP) I know I've heard CIR-senpais at conferences talk about inviting influencers to their areas to promote tourism etc., but I wanted to see if anyone has had any direct experience doing this, what kind of channels you went through, approximately how much it cost (hoping to put it in next year's budget), etc. Thank you for your wisdom! YOLOSHIKU  |
|
|
|
Post by Leita on Jun 24, 2020 11:40:14 GMT 9
I'm going to assume you're talking about inbound here? Or are you talking about tourism in general/Japanese influencers as well? Here's an example of a company I know here in Tohoku which makes youtube videos with influences for places. As you can see, they're charging up from 70万円 for 1 video.
My city hasn't worked with them for video stuff but I've worked with that company for other stuff. For reference, I've talked to a couple people who work for 自治体 that they made videos for. One person was saying the video had a great impact on tourism there, whereas another person was saying they were really disappointed with the content put out for the price it cost.
I've also tried to cold-email youtubers who I've seen making Japan travel videos in the area, but I didn't get replied to hue. I mean, we do have a budget, but yeah... I'm sure it depends, but maybe it's better to go through an agency like the example above. There might be some influencers out there who have already done some work with your area, so you could try figuring out who those people are, or getting in contact with them? Are there any foreign residents in the area who are bloggers and might have connections with influencers? You could also ask the kencho tourism people or prefecture tourism association (if there is one) if they have worked with influencers before, or you could look around to see if other cities/towns in your pref have you could get in contact with them to ask how it was. |
|
leximaha
Tried natto; not a fan
Posts: 59
CIR Experience: Former CIR
Location: Nagano
Gender (Pronouns): she/her/hers
|
Post by leximaha on Jun 24, 2020 13:10:06 GMT 9
I'm going to assume you're talking about inbound here? Or are you talking about tourism in general/Japanese influencers as well? Here's an example of a company I know here in Tohoku which makes youtube videos with influences for places. As you can see, they're charging up from 70万円 for 1 video. Ah yes, inbound! Once that's a thing again  I was hoping to contact a channel like Abroad in Japan, Rachel & Jun, 等 to get some international attention. ワオ, I had no idea that there was a company that connected people with influencers, though I guess in this 時代 it definitely makes sense! 70万ね...やっぱ Interesting! I think I will reach out to our prefecture-wide tourism group to see if they've done things like this before. From what I'm hearing around the office, our city hasn't done this specific thing before, but if I dig around a bit I'm sure to find something! Thank you for the info! I'll move forward knowing it'll likely be upwards of 70万 to invite someone here |
|
|
|
Post by Leita on Jun 24, 2020 13:28:30 GMT 9
leximaha I think many influencers work for agencies. The company I posted sponsors Abroad in Japan. *also I assume it was just a typo but just in case you read it wrong it was 700,000 yen/70man, not 7man ahah ;;. nvm i see you edited it! But yeah networking and asking around to people in your prefecture definitely sounds like a good idea! Channels will also probably have contact info listed for business inquiries.
This isn't specifically about influencers but researching and reaching out to journalists who have made pieces about your area could work too. I once reached out to a journalist who made a mistake in a piece they made independently about the area, and they followed up and offered to include my city in other other stuff if I could 情報提供 for them.
|
|
|
|
Post by Leita on Jun 24, 2020 13:43:59 GMT 9
Double post but this company seems to manage inbound influencers in Japan as well. |
|
leximaha
Tried natto; not a fan
Posts: 59
CIR Experience: Former CIR
Location: Nagano
Gender (Pronouns): she/her/hers
|
Post by leximaha on Jun 24, 2020 13:46:03 GMT 9
Leita AH yeah I saw it and then I looked again at your post and the website and I was like WAIT no it's much more hue Thaaaat might be a difficult budget to sell to my 課 xD That's a really good idea about journalists, too! Nagano definitely relies a lot on tourism and what with Corona madness it's taken a dive (as everywhere has of course  ) so I really want to be able to bring back some focus on the area for people who already loved it, but also introduce it to people abroad who might not know about it at all Thanks for the other company link as well!! 
|
|
|
|
Post by marudate on Jul 16, 2020 18:53:49 GMT 9
I tried to lure Abroad in Japan for 10万 (he lives in Sendai so it was only a short trip) but didn't get much interest through LifeBridge.
To be fair, we probably should have come up with a unique concept to pitch to him/them.
With Abroad in Japan or similar top-shelf video producers you aren't just paying for the content but also exposure to their base of fans. The same video on a random YouTube channel would get no views.
We did other stuff with intl. travel influencers with JNTO and they paid. That was a lot of fun. Even got to do a shoot with Genki Sudo of World Order fame (funded by ryokan association or something like that).
|
|
leximaha
Tried natto; not a fan
Posts: 59
CIR Experience: Former CIR
Location: Nagano
Gender (Pronouns): she/her/hers
|
Post by leximaha on Jul 30, 2020 10:28:50 GMT 9
I tried to lure Abroad in Japan for 10万 (he lives in Sendai so it was only a short trip) but didn't get much interest through LifeBridge. To be fair, we probably should have come up with a unique concept to pitch to him/them. With Abroad in Japan or similar top-shelf video producers you aren't just paying for the content but also exposure to their base of fans. The same video on a random YouTube channel would get no views. We did other stuff with intl. travel influencers with JNTO and they paid. That was a lot of fun. Even got to do a shoot with Genki Sudo of World Order fame (funded by ryokan association or something like that).GENKI SUDO?! That is so amazing!!! I love World Order! Yeah, we've hit several setbacks with the creation of the channel, so I'm unsure at the moment of how best to reach out and pitch to influencers effectively. Definitely the main reason for reaching out would be to reach a larger fanbase, so I understand the selectivity and prices on their end for sure. Ahh that would be so cool to do something with JNTO! Did they reach out to you with that opportunity or did you set something up with them? |
|
|
|
Post by marudate on Jul 30, 2020 12:38:25 GMT 9
I think JNTO was through the prefectural government. We did have our hand up as ready and eager to accept international visitors (doing both promotion and local trainings) so I think that helped us get included. JNTO, Tohoku and Tokyo, Tohoku Tourism, etc. I think it's worth having the town network with them and push to be included. [Sorry, I see you are in Nagano. These might be more relevant for Leita] Genki Sudo was really sweet in real life. I told him he had a lot of fans outside Japan too and he thanked me for that. Some young women watched him from a distance and got the courage to say hello between shoots. He took the time to chat with them and sign autographs. |
|
) so I really want to be able to bring back some focus on the area for people who already loved it, but also introduce it to people abroad who might not know about it at all
