SaaS GTM in Japan: The Power of Press Releases
Introduction
Press releases may not be a common part of go-to-market strategy in the US or EU, but they are common in Japan. Press releases add validity to the Japan entry. Announcing the entry on a well-known platform adds formality and helps gain the trust of the local market. The press release announcing the entry is particularly important because it is a declaration of commitment to the Japanese market.
Press Release Best Practices
PRTimes is the most established press release platform. Using PRTimes is a best practice because it screens the companies before allowing them to publish on its platform. This contributes to the validity of the press release itself. It is also used by a wide range of companies including large public enterprises to startups making their first announcement.
Press releases are most beneficial for creating awareness. They are highly effective in generating short-term awareness, so generally speaking, the more press releases the better. They help with generating noise, but the impact is quite ephemeral. They can generate thousands of views but the traffic usually doesn’t last more than a few days or weeks. Having regular press releases helps with awareness building, Though over-publishing diminishes the impact of each release, they help bring awareness to the specific topics.
Press releases seem like a great content strategy (and they are), but they shouldn’t be treated as part of the SEO strategy. There are SEO benefits from press releases (which will be covered in the next section of this blog post), but they should be treated separately or as a complement. SEO is generally a long-term play by creating compounding traffic with evergreen content. PRTimes press releases make a short-term impact because they rank highly on Google search, but don’t compound because they are treated as “nofollow” links by Google.
SEO Benefits
Though the link to the press release itself is a “nofollow” link, there are SEO benefits from the press releases. The main benefit is that the press release may generate backlinks from other media companies. PRTimes press releases are usually picked up by other media companies that publish the same post on their platform, which include “dofollow” links. Also, since March 2023, “nofollow” links are treated as hints for ranking purposes. The importance of backlinks cannot be underestimated, and publishing a press release could be a shortcut to getting a handful of local backlinks. Part of the diminishing returns is that the backlinks come from a similar group of media companies, so after a few, the backlinks may come from the same sources.
Types of Press Releases
Press releases are now a ubiquitous part of GTM in Japan and selling in Japan. They help with generating awareness and building a presence in Japan. The frequency and types of press releases vary by company. Press releases cost 30k JPY (about $200), so companies that have the budget will publish a press release for anything newsworthy.
Announcing Entry
For Japan entry, making a declaration of supporting Japan is an important step. Companies will usually announce their presence in Japan. Braze is one of many companies that have announced its Japan presence.
Shortly after the announcement of Japan entry, it announced the CEO on the same platform (Note: There seems to be a change in Japan Country Manager. This is to show the typical flow of announcing the Japan entry followed by the Japan Representative).
Announcing a New Product + New Features
There isn’t a platform like Product Hunt in Japan, so many enterprises and startups will announce new products and features through press releases. Some will announce any new feature to get as much publicity. SMBC, one of three megabanks in Japan, released a new app and has been making announcements of new features as they are added.
Announcing New Customer
Case studies have tremendous power in Japan, as they provide validation and social proof. Companies in Japan will announce working with new customers, especially if the logo is well recognized. Bringing awareness to the case study leads to further social proof and trust from the market.
Conclusion
Companies will announce press releases to get as much exposure. They’ll announce discounts, events (including webinars), and publications (reports/ebooks). Public companies will go as far as to announce that their quarterly earnings reports have been released. Press releases in Japan hold unique power and are a real part of GTM and selling in Japan, especially after you bring on your first customer and finding early signs of product-market fit. If you’d like to learn more about Japan entry or how press releases may fit in your entry strategy, book a consultation here.
Japanese 
English