These platforms need to be up to date with the latest information because of the numerous amount of people using them.
These domestic and foreign users of major social media such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LINE, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc. from the published data of each medium.
Real-time and spreading power!
Twitter is characterized as a real-time ability. This allows users to immediately know and utilize “what is happening now”. Many companies have taken advantage of the follow-and-retweet campaigns because of the ease to spread information.
Although Twitter is known to be associated with the younger generation, the average age of users is 36 as of December 2020. So it is used by people of all ages. Many users have multiple accounts for different hobbies and communities, and it is used as a medium to connect people with similar interests.
The true meaning of the tweet may not be conveyed well since there is a limit to tweeting with 140 characters. With a large number of anonymous users and a high degree of diffusion, Twitter can be a place where social wars can occur.
When operating on Twitter, try using expressions that do not cause misunderstanding.
Twitter announces the following figures in the Twitter Japan account (Twitter Q4 2021 IR materials).
The number of daily active users (DAU): 217 million (Q4 2021)
- 6 million increase from Q3
The number of domestic monthly active accounts:
- Over 45 million (October 2017)
According to the IR materials, Japan is Twitter’s second-largest market. Also, as of February 2021, it was announced that the company is on track to expand its monetizable daily active user base to 315 million users by 2023. There’s been an increase from advertisers, so be sure to expect this and other features to be added.
According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the usage rates by age group are as follows, with approximately 80% of teens and 70% of those in their 20s using this media.
Elimination of “Home” and “Latest Tweets” Tabs in iOS Apps Due to Unpopularity
On the IOS app, the “Home” “Latest Tweets” tab was removed due to unpopularity. Twitter listens to users’ criticism and has switched the timeline back to where users see the latest Tweet first and removed it.
Thus, Twitter announced that it is ” considering other options” while returning to the status quo.
Twitter enables gif creation on ios
You can now create GIFs from the camera in your app and tweet them!
Twitter Expands Community features
Imagine a timeline where everyone just gets you.
Since February 13, 2022, this community feature is able to provide a place for users to connect, share, and become more accessible to topics of particular interest. This feature was first tested in the US in September 2021, then it slowly was integrated into Android. Now people in Japan are able to utilize this feature.
To become a Twitter community administrator you must meet all of the following requirements:
- Twitter account must be public
- Twitter account that has been opened for more than 6 months
- Twitter account with a verified email address or phone number
- Twitter account that does not violate Twitter’s Terms of Service and has no history of violations
Carousel advertising
This was launched on November 11, 2020. The carousel was advertising as a more creative space through a horizontal scroll. Users can have 2 to 6 images or videos to display your product lineup and various features one after another or tell a story.
Click here to read how Twitter is the leading SNS in Japan.
Feed and Stories is Key!
Instagram was released in 2010 as an SNS for posting images, and is known as a platform for “creating what you like and want.”
While the number of monthly active accounts in Japan was not disclosed, the growth of users in Japan was emphasized at the “House Of Instagram Japan” in September 2021.
There’s been more focus on e-commerce on Instagram such as the shopping feature. Japanese users are three times more likely than those in other countries to view product details from shopping tags. This is different from last year where now 65% of domestic users see product details from posts with shopping tags.
Currently, the order in which feeds are displayed is determined by an algorithm. However, there’s been an announcement where it can be sorted in chronological order and is under development.
According to a January 2022 report, Instagram is now #1 in total global downloads, ahead of TikTok, making Instagram the first Meta-owned app to rank #1 in downloads since WhatsApp took its place in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Instagram announces the following numbers on their official website and Instagram Business website.
- Monthly active accounts: over 1 billion
- Number of daily active users: 500 million or more
- Number of domestic monthly active accounts: 33 million (as of June 2019)
According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the usage rate by age group is as follows, it is the media used by about 70% of teens and 20s.
Setting Moderator for Live Streaming
On March 11th, Instagram introduces the ability to set moderators for Instagram Live. Since the moderator can negative comments, harassment, and/or remove specific viewers while life, creators can focus on creating content.
This feature allows those going live to set one of the viewers to be a moderator. More specially, moderators can report comments, turn off comments for specific viewers, and remove them from the Livestream. Viewers who’ve been removed will not be able to watch the live stream again. Users watching the life will see that the broadcast has a moderator, but not who is the moderator.
Tagging feature Evolved to Credit Staff Involved, etc.
On March 7th, Instagram released an extension tag to make it easier for creators to receive credit for their work. This makes it possible to display a profile to creators such as make-up artists and cameramen who were involved in one work.
This was released as part of Instagram’s creator support, which picks up creators and co-editors who have been unfeatured and underrated and deserve the credit for their careers.
In addition, on March 22 it was announced that it is expanded its tagging function of products to all US users. So users in the United States will be able to tag products of companies that support Instagram shops. It can be assumed that the same thing will occur in Japan.
New Feed Display Options “Favorites” and “Following”
On March 23, Instagram announced that it was introducing viewing options such as “Favorites” and “Following.” Unlike Twitter’s “Home” display, these viewing options display the order of posts changes according to each user’s interests in chronological order. With these options, users will be able to choose the experience that suits them and manage how they use the app more easily.
Begins Testing Paid Subscriptions
Subscriptions allow creators to monetize and become closer to their followers through exclusive experiences:
– Subscriber Lives
– Subscriber Stories
– Subscriber Badges
The following are available
- Limited live limited
- Stories
- Limited badge
Currently, only a few creators in the U.S. are testing these services, but it is most likely that they will be expanded over the next few months..
Popular Spots on Maps
Instagram launched a map search feature in Japan that allows users to find popular spots in their neighborhoods. By tapping the map icon on the discover tab, popular spots such as cafes, restaurants, and tourist attractions will be displayed on a map. The map will also appear on the search results page for some hashtags, allowing users to discover nearby spots related to that hashtag.
“Spoofed account” is Increasing
The number of “spoof accounts” created to look exactly like official accounts is rapidly increasing. Fake accounts, also known as spam or fake accounts, send DMs and cleverly try to trick users into their information. It is necessary to take measures to protect the company’s account and brand by patrols and alerts for early detection. Check the actual status of spoofing accounts, countermeasures, and services.
AR camera effect –SAVE THE DUCK
SAVE THE DUCK is a sustainable and vegan outerwear brand that is conducting an ethical enlightenment campaign using AR camera effects.
As a sustainable and vegan outerwear brand, they develop and use materials made from PET bottles. This brand is widely held by people with a high level of ethical awareness in Europe. In this campaign, leaders ranging from climbers, animal scientists, teachers, and students to hackers can be “CHANGEMAKER” by disseminating global environmental issues such as animal protection, marine pollution, forest protection, and environmental protection to society
On Instagram, SAVE THE DUCK created an AR camera effect so that everyone can raise it as “CHANGEMAKER” and send out their ethical messages. “Stand Up And Quack” is the mask filter with a DUCK motif to match the campaign.
Huge platform with worldwide users
Among the many SNSs, Facebook has by far the largest number of users worldwide.
Even in Japan many users register with their real names and use Facebook as a place to connect with people they have met, such as classmates and colleagues as well as family and sometimes even bosses. With this, it is characterized by having a more formal atmosphere than other SNS.
Post can be long or short, with or without image, and has a high degree of freedom in the expression of content. Its strength lies in functionality, such as being able to make reservations for posts and being able to analyze posts with a full range of insights.
Of course, one of the biggest features is that Facebook has by far the largest number of users worldwide.
Facebook publishes various figures in the official newsroom and so on.
- Monthly active users: 2.91 billion (as of December 2021)
- * 2 million more than Slides from September 2021
- Number of daily active users: 1,929 million (as of December 2021)
- * 1 million less than Slides from September 2021
- Domestic monthly active users: 26 million (as of March 2019)
The most active users are in their late 30s to 40s or older. So, it can be said that it is an effective medium for approaching the relevant user group.
According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the usage rates by age group are as follows with approximately half of the users in their 30s using this platform.
If a company has its account, it is necessary to create a “Facebook page“. The feed posting algorithm was changed in 2018. While this has made it difficult to reach on Facebook pages, it does have a high targeting accuracy for ad serving. So it is recommended to have this in combination with ads.
In addition, “Like” has been hidden from January 2021 on the Facebook page.
On October 28, 2021, Facebook announced that it will change its name to “Meta,” but there is no change in the service names operated by Meta such as Facebook and Instagram. This will explore the social possibilities of the “Metaverse” such as using a virtual reality space using virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and other technologies (From Connect 2021).
New Facebook Groups Announced
On March 9th, Meta announced that it will add new features for Facebook group admins to manage groups more safely and easily. This includes the ability to automatically reject posts that contain false information.
- New features for Facebook Group administrators, including the ability to automatically delete new posts that contain information deemed false by a third-party fact-checker
- Added features such as efficient management of Facebook Groups as part of an ongoing effort to manage the community more easily
- Added the ability to invite interested users and admins who want to grow their Facebook group to join the community.
“Facebook Reel” is Expanded Globally to Support Monetization
On February 22, Meta announced the expansion of Facebook Reel on iOS and Android to more than 150 countries around the world, including Japan. It also introduces ways to support additional monetization opportunities for creators and new product features to make it easier to watch and create Facebook Reels on Facebook.
Facebook Sees Its First Decline in Users
Meta (formerly Facebook) announced its earnings highlights for the fourth quarter of 2021 (October-December) on February 2, 2022 (US time).
In this report, the company stated that Facebook had 1.929 billion daily users at the end of December 2021, 1 million fewer than the September figure, marking the first decline in Facebook users globally.
By region, North America, the most profitable region, saw a decrease of about 1 million users, while “Others,” such as Latin America, also saw a decrease of about 1 million users. Although Europe and Asia/Pacific maintained an upward trend, they were unable to compensate for the decline in North America and other regions.
Facebook’s New Name “Meta” Focuses on Metaverse
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on October 28th at the online conference “Connect 2021” that the company name will be changed to “Meta”.
He explained the background behind the name change, saying, “We’re bringing apps and technology together under one new corporate brand.” Going forward, the company will focus on “bringing the Metaverse to life, helping people connect, find community, and grow their businesses.”
The company’s SNS “Facebook,” “Instagram,” “Messenger,” and “WhatsApp” will continue to maintain their brand names, but the company’s AR / VR team “Facebook Reality Labs” will be changed to “Reality Labs.” The “Oculus” brand will also shift to the “Meta” brand from the beginning of 2022.
Line
Established as a domestic message infrastructure
According to the “LINE Business Guide January-June 2022,” LINE users in Japan are roughly evenly split between men and women, and range in age from teens to over 50s. LINE’s strength lies in its ability to reach a wide range of users regardless of age or gender. Thus, the number of domestic MAUs exceeds 90 million ( as of the end of December 2021). This covers more than 70% of the Japanese population and has become an established part of Japan’s domestic lifestyle infrastructure.
The biggest advantage of an official LINE account is the ability to send messages to users who have registered as friends via push notifications on their smartphones. The biggest advantage of LINE Official Accounts is that they can send messages via push notifications to users who have registered as friends.
In addition, by linking the LINE API with the company’s services, you can also deliver personalized information to users and engage in two-way communication.
LINE published various figures in the media materials “LINE Business Guide January-June 2022” and LINE advertisements.
- Domestic monthly active users: 90 million or more (as of the end of December 2021)
- Used by 70% of the population (as of the end of September 2021)
According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the usage rate by age group is as follows, it is the media used by about 90% of all age groups. Since LINE has become established as a living infrastructure, there is an advantage that users can easily receive information from companies.
“LINE NFT” will be available on April 13th
LVC Corporation, which developed LINE’s crypto-asset business and blockchain-related business, announced that it will start offering the NFT comprehensive marketplace “LINE NFT” from April 13, 2022.
“LINE NFT” is an NFT comprehensive marketplace where users can purchase and trade NFTs. “LINE BITMEX Wallet” users can easily exchange and send their NFTs with their LINE friends. Furthermore, it will promote cooperation with other LINE services such as the campaign platform “Apply with LINE” operated by LINE, increase opportunities to grant NFTs as purchase benefits and campaign prizes, and at the same time, NFTs to LINE profiles. It is planned to utilize NFT in the settings and LINE stamps that are currently on sale in Japan with more than 6 million sets.
“LINE Campus”: a comprehensive learning platform for “LINE Official Account” and “LINE Advertising”
On February 24, LINE announced the opening of “LINE Campus,” a comprehensive learning platform for users of LINE Official Accounts, the LINE account for businesses and stores, and LINE Ads, the management-based ad serving platform, to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for account management. The platform has been used as an online learning program for some time now. This is in the form of a major renewal of “LINE Green Badge”, which has been used as a learning online program in the past.
The “LINE Campus” consists of a “Learning Course” for those who have just started setting up an official LINE account and posting ads on LINE, and a “Learning Platform” for those who have already set up an account and are already operating and posting ads on LINE and wish to acquire deeper knowledge and skills, and a “Learning Platform” for those who are in charge of marketing at agencies and companies, and wish to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to operate an account on LINE. There is also a “Certification Course” for those who want to prove their knowledge level recognized by LINE, such as agencies and corporate marketing staff, etc. Within this course, you can choose from a total of 27 courses and over 90 lessons, which are subdivided according to your skill level and objectives.
LINE VOOM”: Video platform within LINE
The video platform “LINE VOOM” in the app “LINE” is now available as an iOS version app following the Android version.
“LINE VOOM” is a video platform that allows you to watch short videos of various genres and post your videos. You can post reactions and comments to your favorite videos, and share them with your LINE friends.
In the future, we plan to develop content in collaboration with other services such as “LINE Manga” and “LINE MUSIC”.
Providing Chat Support up to the Purchase of High-Value Products
Fantasista Co., Ltd. (referred to as Fantasista) is an agent for vendor auctions for the purchase of used cars and their sales and uses its official LINE account to facilitate contact with users who wish to purchase or sell cars.
When adding a friend, the company uses a menu and video to gently explain its business and then uses LINE’s chat function to provide detailed user care.
The ability to keep a text history helps prevent problems, and photos of actually used cars can be sent to users just as if they were on the LINE app. One of the advantages of using LINE chat is that employees can approach business negotiations involving high-value items with a sense of urgency. Furthermore, there are more than 150 inquiries including new car sales and purchase requests (average of October-December 2020 results, according to the company’s research).
Centralized management after the customer’s visit
Introducing “Craft Marche by Kirin City,” a system that allows customers to complete everything from ordering to checkout through their official LINE accounts.
By reading the QR code placed in the store, the menu is viewed on the official LINE account and orders are placed. Even if users place orders from different smartphones, the total amount is calculated for each seat.
The system has helped reduce customer stress by satisfying such demands as “I can’t find the waiter when I want to order” and “I want to confirm how much I ordered,” and is also used for ongoing communication after a visit to the store.
TikTok
Over 2 billion downloads!
A fast-growing app with excitement
TikTok is gaining popularity among younger users, and although its exact user count information is not available on its official website, in April 2020, five months after reaching 1.5 billion downloads in November 2019, the total number of downloads on the App Store and Google Play surpassed 2 billion! Since April 2020, TikTok has maintained the top position in downloads on the App Store every month except for August, when it was surpassed only once by YouTube.
The content that can be uploaded is mainly short videos of 15 (or 60) seconds, but since July 2021, users have been able to create videos up to 3 minutes in length. The app itself also features extensive video editing capabilities. Music content such as lip-syncing used to be popular, but now interesting and useful videos of daily life are also becoming popular, and the range of content is expanding.
The number of TikTok users was announced by MAU in Japan in February 2019.
- Domestic monthly active users: 9.5 million
- Number of users worldwide: 1 billion ( September 2021 )
apologizes for requesting influencers to post on Twitter
On January 25, TikTok apologized for requesting Twitter influencers to post TikTok content.
For context, from July 2019 to the end of December 2021, a total of 20 Twitter influencers were asked to post by paying a price, and since it was to publicize the content in TikTok, notations such as #PR and advertisement were recognized as unnecessary.
On February 10, the investigation report and future measures were announced. Currently, the team has been dismantled and all related videos have been deleted.
As a measure to prevent a recurrence, it has announced that it will create posting guidelines under the supervision of a third-party expert and conduct in-house training on advertising-related work.
enables gifting to videos
On January 21, TikTok announced the launch of “TikTok Video Gifting,” a new feature that will allow gifting to TikTok videos. TikTok Video Gifting will allow users to use virtual items (“gifts”) that can be used on TikTok to give to TikTok LIVE, as well as to give to TikTok videos themselves.
Testing has already begun with a limited number of users and will be expanded to include more users in the future.
providing long videos: more Up to 3 minutes
TikTok announced on July 1 that it will extend the maximum length of videos that can be posted on TikTok from the previous 15 seconds or 60 seconds to 3 minutes. Since the end of 2020, some creators have already delivered 3-minute videos, but within the next few weeks, all users will have the 3-minute video creation option available.
Posts that reach a wide range of people: mainly young people
The TikTok video of the taxi company “Sanwa Kotsu” in Kanagawa Prefecture is a hot topic.
The appearance of the director in his 50s and the director of external affairs dancing is supported by a wide range of people, saying “like a mascot”. The total number of views has exceeded 140 million, which is said to have led to the hiring of young people.
Business-specific SNS
mainly overseas
One of the world’s largest business-specific social networking services, launched in May 2003 with the concept of “connecting professionals around the world to increase their productivity and success.
Although the number of registered users in Japan is not large, 84% of members with more than 5 years of experience and 38% of managers and above use the service. As a social networking service mainly for business, information related to work and career is actively exchanged overseas.
LinkedIn, a professional network, officially announces the following numbers :
- Number of registered users: Over 810 million (as of March 2022)
- Number of registered users in Japan: 2 million or more (as of March 2020)
LinkedIn Testing Live Talk Feature Like Clubhouse
LinkedIn is exploring methods to bring audio-only content to its platform in response to growing interest in audio distribution services.
One feature that is believed to be in testing is a live talk room (similar to Clubhouse) with separate roles for speakers and listeners. A screenshot of a mock-up (prototype) was shared on Twitter by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, and LinkedIn PR confirmed the fact and announced that they are in the initial stages of testing. Monetization is also under consideration.
Other Popular Social Media
note officially announces the following numbers.
- Monthly active users: 63 million (as of May 2020)
- Number of registered members: 3.8 million (as of March 2021)
- Total number of articles: 15 million (as of March 2021)
- Corporate use: 3000 companies (as of June 2021)
A note that creators can easily send content. The feature is that it has a mechanism to support creators to continue their creative activities, such as content sales functions, subscription magazines, and circles. MAU has tripled in the eight months since September 2019, when it exceeded 20 million, and it has achieved dramatic growth.
The use of “note pro”, which celebrated its second anniversary in March, is also widespread.
“Note pro” is provided free of charge to school corporations, local public organizations, and cultural facilities.
Pinterest, an image-sharing site, publishes the number of users in a press release:
- Monthly active users: 454 million (as of July 2021)
- Domestic monthly active users: 8.7 million (as of December 2020)
Pinterest is more often used as a place to search for ideas than to communicate between users. Global MAU is an ever-increasing and steadily growing platform.
Snapchat publishes the following numbers on its official website.
- Number of daily active users: 293 million or more (as of July 2021)
Snapchat has the feature that the photos you send will disappear within 10 seconds. You can enjoy casual communication on the spot while utilizing abundant face filters. The number of users has grown further. A Japanese corporation was established in March 2022.
LIPS announced the following figures in the March 2020 release :
- Number of monthly service users: 10 million (as of March 2020)
LIPS is a cosmetics and beauty-specialized SNS with over 6.5 million downloads of apps (as of March 2021). You can search for reviews of cosmetics you care about and post your impressions of the products you used.
98% of the users are women, especially the generation Z to digital natives aged 18-24. The percentage of users who answered that they have purchased products regarding LIPS is very high at 97%, and it seems to be a medium of interest when dealing with beauty-related products.
Summary
Number of domestic active users of popular SNS
SNS Name: Number of the domestic users – Update date:
- LINE: 90 million – December 2021
- Twitter: 45 million – October 2017
- Instagram: 33 million – June 2019
- Facebook: 26 million – March 2019
- TikTok: 9.5 million – February 2019
- LinkedIn: 2000000 – March 2020
This is the number of domestic users of popular SNS.
Social media is appearing one after another, from the place where the number of users is increasing remarkably to the medium that has become a hot topic. However, social media marketing is not just about introducing vigorous media.
It is important to understand the characteristics of each media and select a platform that suits your marketing objectives. Choose the social media you want to use by imagining the actual usage scene, such as whether it matches the service you provide or whether you can meet the user who wants to deliver that service.
Click here if you want to see a comparison between Japan and the rest of the world’s SNS users.
