NEWS

SearchLIFE co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hitoshi Yamanaka; hereinafter “Search LIFE”), a business providing internet advertising support, has launched an influencer discovery and development business in a joint venture with Raple CO., LTD. (Head Office: Chuo Ward, Osaka; President & CEO: Nobuyuki Kamitani; hereinafter “Raple”), a business providing advertising support for companies and stores based mainly in the Kansai region.

■Current Status and Issues in Influencer Marketing
The business of “influencer marketing” is growing rapidly. This works by attracting “influencers” such as Instagrammers and bloggers who have great influence on the wider public, and their viral content is very effective for raising brand awareness, attracting customers and promoting sales. The worldwide market for influencer marketing is thought to be 500 million dollars and is expected to grow to between 5 and 10 billion dollars within 5 years. (*1)
In Japan as elsewhere, there are many problems related to the management and control of influencers that prevent the further growth of influencer marketing. These include getting influencers to use platforms effectively and getting them to execute campaigns according to the plan. (*2)

■About the Influencer Development Business
SearchLIFE has started distributing Raple’s influencer marketing training courses on its “Jissen! Online” elearning service for use in influencer management.
The length of the course is 1 hour 46 minutes. A PR planner from Raple explains the roles that influencers should fulfill in PR, using case studies and starting from the basics. The course communicates the key points for success as an influencer and the knowledge required to become an influencer that is attractive to companies.

▼Raple’s “Influencer Training Course”

■Future Outlook
SearchLIFE is a human resource development business with expertise in digital marketing, and in the future it will be further involved in influencer discovery and development to accompany the rise in demand for influencers in all regions across the nation. In addition, SearchLIFE plans to expand support services for attracting influencers, such as tools for measuring the virality of articles posted by influencers and tools for analyzing the followers of individual influencers.