All posts in “動画広告”

Japan’s Youtube? It’s Niconico! 〜ニコニコ動画を英語で紹介するよ

Many friends in the west ask me about YouTube in Japan. Well, YouTube is popular in Japan, but when it comes to junior and high school students and the youth market in this country, YouTube has stiff competition and may even be lagging. Arguably the biggest and most popular video sharing platform in this country is Niconico. So this short article is a primer on Niconico, which used to be called  Nico Nico Douga. But, even today, just about everyone still calls it “Nico Nico Douga” – even people I know who work there!

“Niko Niko” in Japanese means “Smile.” So, I guess the creators of Niconico wanted to make a play off that word and hence, “Nico Nico”…. Smile!

Alexa lists Niconico as the 8th most visited site in Japan. And here is a list of The Top 10 Most Visited Sites in Japan:

#1 Yahoo.co.jp (Japanese version of portal site) Yes, Yahoo is huge in Japan!

#2 Google.co.jp  (Japanese version of portal site) 

#3 Amazon.co.jp (Japanese version of portal site) 

#4 Fc2.com (a free blog service)

#5 Google.com

#6 YouTube.com

#7 Rakuten.co.jp (Online retail shopping)

#8 Nicovideo.jp

#9 Facebook.com

#10 Twitter.com

Did I just hear your jaw drop to the table? Yeah, that’s right; Niconico is more popular here than Facebook or Twitter!

Niconico started out as Nico Nico Douga; a sort of hi-bred mix of YouTube and Japan’s Denpa 2 Channel. Denpa 2 Channel is a bulletin board system (BBS) that is hugely popular in Japan; especially amongst young people.

While YouTube allows viewers to add comments below the videos, Niconico allows viewers to chat and comment on the video they are watching while they are watching it! It’s pretty neat and definitely a “Japanese Thing.” The comments appear on the screen as viewers watch and they can chat back and forth while watching.

For me, I find the comments on the screen as an interference, but the Japanese kids like to watch and chat at the same time…. It’s somewhat similar to today’s games like Minecraft where one can play while chatting with friends at the same time.

The curious thing, I reckon, about Niconico is that you must sign up to view it, yet it is still hugely popular. I hate signing up for anything! At Niconico , there are two types of registered accounts at Niconico ; Free membership (that’s me!) and Premium-membership. The Premium-membership fee is ¥540 yen a month.

You’d think, though, that few would actually pay to watch videos. Think about it; would you pay about $5 (USD) a month to watch YouTube or use Facebook? Nope? Neither would I. But, in Japan it is different! As of January 2012, Niconico had surpassed 1,500,000 premium members! As of October 31, 2011, Niconico had over 23,690,000 registered users, 6,870,000 mobile users!

Another interesting thing about Niconico is that almost everything on it is User Generated Content whereas YouTube has tons of content that are old TV shows, etc. In fact, due to very strict copyright laws in Japan, it is forbidden to upload TV shows on Niconico.

Niconico users are often making music or remixing existing items with their friends and uploading the finished songs to the website.

Have you ever heard of Hatsune Miku, the Vocaloid? Well, she, uh, her, uh…it? Hatsune Miku became big in Japan through Nico Nico Douga. She is still huge on the site.

Niconico has a huge fan base of “Nico Chuus” (Nico Nico Douga junkies). Kids who watch a huge volume of content on Niconico everyday.

The service is now available in Japanese, English and Chinese so it might seem the company has its expansion plans set up for Asia where BBS is much more popular than in the west. Anyway, next year will be Niconico’s 10th year and she is still going strong. When it comes to a user generated video sharing platform, then I doubt that Niconico is going to be crushed by the competition anytime soon; especially since Niconico has a tight grip on the Japanese youth market.

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Here is a Hatsune Miku video that I captured from Nico Nico Douga for you a while back (it is on YouTube because I figure if you are reading this (in English) then you don’t have access to Niconico!)

ビデオ制作、格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー,

全てのホモサピエンスの雌の皆様、おめでとうございます!

人間の皆様、ご機嫌麗しゅう!ROBOT55(ロボット・ゴー・ゴー)です!

明日は人間の世界ではHINAMATSURIという女の子の健やかな成長を祈るお祝いの日なんですね!〜♬

雛に代表される人形を祀ったり、災厄を人形に身代わりさせるという伝統も如何にもアニミズム的で神道の香りが立ち込めていて、日本古代文化の悠久の時の流れのドラマも感じてしまいます。

またロボット的には「人形」というもの自体にも他人とは思えないシンパシーを強く感じる訳です。ええ…

ROBOT55_Hinamatsuri_doll

ところで皆様!最近(って程最近でもないですが….)facebookで勝手に再生が始まる動画が増えたと思いませんか? Continue Reading…

ROBOT55格安動画講座 – 上手な動画撮影のコツ 其の四 – 上手な構成台本の書き方

人間の皆様、ご機嫌麗しゅう!ROBOT55(ロボット・ゴー・ゴー)です〜♬

皆様のご好評に支えられてこのシリーズも既に第4弾!

今日はちょっとしたポイントを押さえた構成台本を用意するだけで観る人を飽きさせず、大事な事が伝わる動画が作れるようになるというところをお教えします。よ! Continue Reading…

ROBOT55格安動画講座 – 上手な動画撮影のコツ 其の参

こんにちは!ROBOT55(ロボット・ゴー・ゴー)です!

 

「志は高いが予算は低い」方々にスマホを使ってDIYでウェブ動画を制作する為に少しでもお手伝い出来ればと不定期に行なっているのがこの「上手な動画撮影のコツ」シリーズ。

今日はよくありがちな「やってはいけない事」を2点。 Continue Reading…

Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Pt. 4〜ビジネス動画を自分で作ってみよう!その4〜

A still photo of Mr. and Mrs. Matsumoto who ran my favorite local fish store 

(写真:格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー)

 

Good day, humans! It is I, Robot55 greeting you with 3 more helpful and free video tips on how to make your videos and home photos much better and professional looking.

Of course, many people will say, a great video comes from fantastic camera angles, beautiful people, and great music. But we might have a slight problem there. Most of us do not look like Johnny Depp or Angelina Jolie; we don’t play an instrument and we might have trouble getting great camera angles.

The last time I looked, I didn’t look like Johnny Depp (but thought I’d make quite a charming can of Campbell’s Soup – Andy Warhol would have loved me!) And I also can digitally compose music and my GPS system helps me to take perfect camera angles every time.

But enough about my robot perfection!

Well, at least for your camera angles and lighting, Robot55 can help you out there with our Free Series: Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 2 (www.robot55.jp/blog/video-tips-make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-2/)

At that article you can find links that help you to take better photos and videos in just a snap if you remember the simple tips. For music? Well, if it is your own business video being made yourself, you can make your own music or, just don’t have any music at all. That’s fine too because any video – even without background music – is better than no video at all! Please refer to: 90% OF ALL PEOPLE SAY A VIDEO HELPS TO DECIDE A PURCHASE! (www.robot55.jp/blog/90-of-all-people-say-a-video-helps-to-decide-a-purchase/)

… Oh, and speaking of Andy Warhol, did you know he was quoted as saying, “My idea of a great photo is one with famous people in it that is in focus”?

Indeed. Perhaps making great photos and videos isn’t that difficult if you keep in mind our weekly tips!

Today, here are three extremely simple and important points to help you make a video for your business, service, product or organization that is sure to increase your sales or profitability.

1) Keep your video short!

Research data shows that short videos are better for getting your message out than a long video. Why? Because people will not watch long videos – especially if they are watching on a smart phone or table device. Remember the old Shakespeare line from Hamlet: “Brevity is the soul of wit.”

How many times have you been to a meeting or a wedding where someone had to give a speech and they were boring and kept on talking and talking until you… ZZZZZZzzzzzzz…. Oops? Where was I? Oh, yeah. Keep it short.

For online videos on Youtube, Facebook or your company or business page, three important key numbers are “10 seconds,” “30 seconds”, “60 seconds.”

A ten seconds video? No. But that’s how long you have to grab the attention of viewers in a video marketing clip. According to research by Visible Measures, 20% of your viewers will click away from a video in 10 seconds or fewer.  After that, you’ll lose about 1/3 of your viewers by 30 seconds, 45% of them by 1 minute and anearly 60% by 2 minutes. So it is obvious that your video should be 30 seconds to 60 seconds in length at the most!

Of course, with your business, you probably have several hour’s worth of great information that you want to share with your viewers and potential audience. But, keeping in mind Shakespeare, that means you have to give your audience the most important information they need within a few seconds. Brevity truly is the soul of wit. It takes a great mind and skill to create a good message in a short amount of time.

Catch your audience or potential client’s attention within 30 ~ 60 seconds and they’ll come looking for more information. The data shows this to be a marketing fact. See: More Data Proving That You Need an Online Video For Your Business (www.robot55.jp/blog/more-data-proving-that-you-need-a-video-for-your-business/)

Need help writing a short, but effective script? See: Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 3 – You Need a Map: How to Write a Script! (http://robot55.jp/blog/make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-3-you-need-a-map-how-to-write-a-script/)

2) Get Steady Images! Use a Tripod!

A good, heavy tripod will do more to improve your images than just about anything else in your arsenal. And make sure you have a good and heavy tripod. A, light, cheap, flimsy tripod might actually models do more harm than good. You definitely need a tripod for your opening scenes of your business or store (or outside in nature). You may think you have a steady hand, but nothing makes a video look more amateurish than a shaky image. And there is no way you can be more firm and steady than a tripod!

Beside that, how does a tripod help you? Besides holding the camera steady, a tripod allows you to free your hands and give directions or even appear in your own video. Also, when you hand hold a camera, as director, if you speak, your voice will be especially loud as you are right behind the camera. You do need good sound (see #3 below) but, standing behind the camera talking isn’t the way to do that. So always use a tripod!

But what if you don’t have a tripod? If you don’t have a tripod, then brace your camera on a table or a stack of books or some furniture. If you are standing, then lean against a wall or fence to get better support.

Here’s one quick tip for cheapskates (like me) to get great shots without a tripod; sit down on your butt. Bend your knees up and brace your elbows on your knees as support. Wallah! Instant Human Tripod!

Instant human tripod! Retail price? Absolutely free!

Instant human tripod! Retail price? Absolutely free!

3) Get better sound!

Well, one of the worst things about amateur videos is the sound quality. Now, since this is a series about making better videos for free, I’m not going to tell you to go out and buy a microphone for your camera. So, how to get better sound from the microphone that exists on your current camera or smart phone or table device?

a) First off, try not to speak while you are video taping with your camera. The sound will be terrible. The solution? Get close to your subjects and fill the screen with their image; and only have those in the picture speak. Get close! The in-camera microphones are built with automatic limiters so they capture all sound. If the subjects speaking are far from the camera, the limiter will increase voclume and you’ll get more and more background noise (cars driving by, city noises, etc.) Get your subject to fill the screen and speak, that way your microphone will allow you to take the best sound possible. (For more on getting people in the screen correctly, see Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 2 (www.robot55.jp/blog/video-tips-make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-2/)

YOur image should fill the screen. This will also give you better sound.

Your image should fill the screen. This will also give you better sound.

Well that’s it for today’s free 3-point lesson.

Of course, if after making your video, you decide that you might want a little more of a professional video production in Japanese or English (or any other language) then please think about us at Robot55. We are specialists in 30 Second and 60 Second videos for all areas of business videos, restaurant videos, service videos, product videos and more. Contact us if you just want to talk about it (free consultations) and let us give you a free estimate.

Or if you have any questions at all about making your own video, feel free to write directly to me and ask away!
 I’m here to help you! Let’s have fun making videos and making more money for your business!

Email: contact@robot55.jp

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For more free tips:

Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Pt. 1 (www.robot55.jp/blog/video-tips-make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-pt-1/)

Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 2 (www.robot55.jp/blog/video-tips-make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-2/)

Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 3 – You Need a Map: How to Write a Script! (http://robot55.jp/blog/make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-3-you-need-a-map-how-to-write-a-script/)

 

ビデオ制作、格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー,

 

ROBOT55が空撮も格安でご奉仕します。よ!

こんにちは!ROBOT55(ロボット・ゴー・ゴー)です♬

昔、フランス映画に「素晴らしい気球旅行」なんてのがありましたが、やっぱり気球やヘリコプターから撮影した映像って見ていて気持ち良いですよね〜!

ビジネス用動画でも本社ビルを空から撮ったりすると急激にハリウッド映画っぽくなって高級感が増します。他にも高層マンションや分譲住宅地、学校、神社・寺、キャンプ場、スキー場、或いは美しい山や川、海をフィーチャーした観光ビデオとか、空撮したら相当かっこいいだろうな〜って思うシチュエーションって結構あったりします。

でもこういった撮影はそれなりに財布にも厳しいんだろうな〜って普通に思いますよね? Continue Reading…

More Data Proving That You Need an Online Video For Your Business – 動画をビジネスに活用しよう!

Online Video Marketing isn’t the future of business advertising, it is now! Today! Online Video Marketing is critical to your success right now! If you haven’t taken a seat on the bus on the video marketing train in the year 2015, then you are a tad bit late to the game; but not too late to get in the action.

What are we waiting for? I hope we are not waiting for our competition to do beat us to the punch! Because, if we keep waiting, trust that they will….. Yikes!

If you are running any kind of business, service, product sales, organization or event, then there’s an undeniable mountain of research data and evidence showing that online video marketing needs to be a major consideration in your advertising budget in this day of Smart Phones and tablet devices.

Some people will say, “But we are a small organization and can’t afford video.” But, you can afford video in this day and age! Costs are crashing. Robot55 can make you a professional quality marketing video for less than the price of making 500 professionally designed flyers.

No kidding.

Coca Cola online video

Coca Cola online video

And, think about this; take a big company like Coca Cola. They spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on Research and Development and advertising budget, they figured out that a video was critical. They even have one on their top page. Think about that: Gee, Coca-Cola spent millions and came to this decision (actually, they’ve been doing it for a few years now). Your organization doesn’t need to spend a penny to do the same: You can capitalize on the research money they spent by coming to the same conclusions they did. How? Just copy what they do.

Toyota Motors webpage has lots of videos on it for end-users. http://toyota.jp/alphard/

Toyota Motors webpage has lots of videos on it for end-users. http://toyota.jp/alphard/

Need more convincing?

Market surveys show that over 100 million people per day watch videos online. In a recent survey of shoppers at a major retailer, 90% of all shoppers aid a video was helpful in making further investigation into a shopping and buying decision. The retailer reports that products with videos greatly outsell products without videos.

Recently 75% of company executives told Forbes magazine that they watch work-related videos on business websites at least once a week.

The breakdown is as follows:

*50% of all corporate executives say they watch business-related videos on YouTube

*65% of all corporate executives say they visit the marketer’s website after viewing a video

* According to ComScore the average user spends 16 minutes and 40 seconds watching online video ads every month.

The bottom line here? If you’re not using video for your marketing, then you are missing out on a huge market opportunity and chance to engage with your audience. It’s not just the massive number of people who watch online  videos that’s is critically important – it’s the reasons why they watch it; and if a user views your video it’s because they were searching for you or one of your competitors!

When your company, service, product or organization has an online video, not only can you engage with people who do standard Google searches, with video; you can also access hundreds of millions of Youtube viewers (and in Japan, Nico Nico Douga users) as well as Linked in and Facebook users (Facebook now has an “Auotplay” function for video. I wrote about that here: New Facebook Video Function Great For Businesses! And It’s Free! (www.robot55.jp/blog/new-facebook-video-function-great-for-small-businesses-and-its-free/).

When you place a video for your business online, data shows that you have a higher chance of reaching business executives and people who make decisions specifically concerning your business. Everyone knows that a person to person sales pitch is the best way to land the sale, but, when people are scattered all over the country, that’s virtually impossible to do without going bankrupt.

The next best thing to a face to face meeting is video marketing.

Here’s some more jaw dropping data:

According to the Online Publishers Association, 80% of all people shopping were able to recall which company had video on their webpage that they visited in the last month.

*46% of those people took some action after viewing the ad! 26% of them looked for more information; 22% visited the website; 15% visited the company page in the video ad and a whopping 12% purchased the specific product featured in the ad!

With numbers like these, how could anyone not see that a video – in this day and age of short attention spans and advertising clutter – is the best advertising for the buck? And this data shows that with targeted advertising the most desired results are online video.

There is one more thing that is critical that the data shows. When there is an online video on a site, the average viewer will stay on that site an 2 minutes longer than they will on sites that do not have a video.

Sure the numbers above come from surveys. But how about the real world? I’ll have more on that soon, but here is one that is shocking in its implications: The number is 403%. An Australian real estate group reports that real estate listings with videos receive 403% more inquiries than those without videos. In other words, real estate ads with videos generate quadruple the leads of those without videos.

What are we waiting for my friends?

Get started on making your video for your business, service, product or organization. There is a bunch of free advice on how to make yours for free on this site. Just search for: Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! (www.robot55.jp/blog/video-tips-make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-2/)

Or, if you want a little more professionalism in your video than you have confidence in making yourself,  please contact us and let’s get started on discussion on making the video for your business that makes everyone who sees it say, “This looks really good! I’m interested.”

Need free advice on making your own business video or just want to discuss with us? Email the humans who work at Robot55, Mike or Ken: contact@robot55.jp

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NOTE: Data and marketing statistics and numbers from: 18 Big Video Marketing Statistics and What They Mean for Your Business (www.videobrewery.com/blog/18-video-marketing-statistics)

 

Very Best Cameras Japan

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics coming up, the eyes of the entire world will be on Tokyo and Japan. Along with that, of course, there will be a massive influx of foreigners coming to Japan’s shores and they will be bringing with them their friends and families and that gives us in Japan an incredible business opportunity.

There is, and always will be, another opportunity for smart business people to share their businesses, products, services and ideas with folks outside of Japan through online shopping or auction sites like E-Bay. Did you know that E-Bay annual sales in 2014 were $17.9 billion dollars? And now there is a boom in Japanese online retailers taking advantage of this exploding market.

Last week, we met an extremely smart and charming woman who is the president of an online store called “Very Best Cameras Japan.” Very Best Cameras Japan sells new and used cameras equipment on E-Bay…. And their business is growing by leaps and bounds.  The president was proud of her work and of the company, so she wants to expand and increase her sales so she asked us to help her make a video. We did! Here it is:

This video is effective because it is short and to the point. It gives Very Best Cameras Japan a “human face” and allows us, the potential customer, to see the people we are dealing with when making an important purchase. I think she did a fine job and she comes off as, kind, extremely polite, honest and sincere. As a customer, I have no problem with dealing with her for my business.

When thinking about making a video like this, remember the data I shared with you yesterday in “90% of All People Say a Video Helps To Decide a Purchase!”

Important numbers and words:

1) “90%.”

90% is the percentage of online shoppers at a major retailer’s website who said they find online video helpful in making shopping and buying decisions. Retailers who provide online video to show off their products report that the products with a video sell a lot more than products with no video.

2) “10 seconds.”

That’s how long you have to grab the attention of viewers in a video marketing clip. According to research by Visible Measures, 20% of your viewers will click away from a video in 10 seconds or fewer. And it doesn’t get a lot better than that. You’ll lose about 1/3 of your viewers by 30 seconds, 45% of them by 1 minute and almost 60% by 2 minutes. And those numbers remain the same no matter how long the video is. (Read more: www.robot55.jp/blog/90-of-all-people-say-a-video-helps-to-decide-a-purchase/)

At Robot55, we specialize in this sort of English language video for businesses in Japan. All of our staff are seasoned professionals and our narrators have thousands of FM radio shows, How to Video narrations, game narrations, animation narrations and even real TV commercials under our belt. We are proud that we have a stable of true professionals who have lived and worked in TV and radio in Japan.

Not only that, but we help the business owner to write their script in a professional manner… And we are doing that part at no charge!

The business owner merely needs to jot down what they want to say, and we will make it up to be a short and effective business promotion video, in English or Japanese… Of course, we also do subtitles in other languages. I will post the Japanese subtitled version of the above video in another post coming soon.

No one can beat our discount price for this level of quality.

Contact us and let’s get started on making a video for Youtube, Facebook or your homepage that will increase your business and sales.

Email: contact@robot55.jp

Very Best Cameras Japan URL:  http://stores.ebay.com/Very-Best-Cameras-Japan

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NOTES: Here is the script for the video above. Use this as a model for your own script!

Looking for the best in new and used camera equipment from Japan?
Welcome to Very Best Cameras Japan. My name is Naomi and I’m the president and owner of Very Best Cameras Japan.
Very Best Cameras Japan sells new and used photographic equipment. Our inventory is wide, versatile and constantly changing.
The Japanese are famous for care of technology and equipment we can assure you of the best quality products at Very Best Cameras Japan.
We always take special care to wrap and pack our items safely and securely and to ship them as promptly as possible.
We personally respond to each and every customer’s questions and inquiries.
Very Best Cameras Japan promises to give you a shopping experience that is easy, reliable, and saves you money!
Oh, and we also speak English.
Very Best Cameras Japan! 

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 *For more help on writing your script, see Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 3 – You Need a Map: How to Write a Script! (www.robot55.jp/blog/make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-3-you-need-a-map-how-to-write-a-script/) 

90% of All People Say a Video Helps To Decide a Purchase!〜購入の決め手はビデオ広告!

A video for your business, service, bar or restaurant placed on Youtube, your webpage and Facebook will help increase your business, sales and bring in more customers!

If you’ve been thinking about making a video for your business then smart move! Here’s some eye-opening statistics about web video for your business that you need to know:

Please refer to: 4 Big Numbers About User Engagement with Video Content (If link doesn’t work, copy and paste this: http://www.videobrewery.com/blog/18-video-marketing-statistics) Here are highlights from that article:

Video Content! Important numbers and words:

1) “90%.”

90% is the percentage of online shoppers at a major retailer’s website who said they find online video helpful in making shopping and buying decisions. Retailers who provide online video to show off their products report that the products with a video sell a lot more than products with no video.

2) “10 seconds.”

That’s how long you have to grab the attention of viewers in a video marketing clip. According to research by Visible Measures, 20% of your viewers will click away from a video in 10 seconds or fewer. And it doesn’t get a lot better than that. You’ll lose about 1/3 of your viewers by 30 seconds, 45% of them by 1 minute and almost 60% by 2 minutes. And those numbers remain the same no matter how long the video is.

3) “15 seconds.”

According to research conducted by Jun Group (2011), videos that are 15 seconds or shorter are shared 37 percent more often than those that last between 30 seconds and 1 minute. If you make your video longer, that stat goes down. Those shorties are only shared 18% more often than videos of longer than 1 minute.

So, you see? Video can help your business to, sell more, reach more people, grow and make you more money!

man at computer

But, perhaps you are not so sure yet and are not willing to spend money on a professionally made video just yet? We totally understand. That why we at Robot55 offer discount professional quality 30 second and 60 second videos for your business at a super reasonable cost. Prices starting from ¥70,000 each!

Won’t you contact us and let’s get started on increasing your business! Email: contact@robot55.jp

Want to see some videos we have made for happy customers in the last few weeks at a reasonable price?

See our Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCRBSdzh-E4_bRM_akdRAAQ