Social Media Marketing in English for Japanese Brands
Hanami Social is a bilingual social media agency in Tokyo that helps Japanese brands market to international audiences in English. Its team researches the overseas audience, writes and edits short-form videos in English, and builds the automated follow-up that turns viewers into inquiries and sales. Hanami Social was founded by Matt Hannan, a former Senior Software Engineer on the Instagram Reels Creation team at Meta.
Plan my bilingual campaignHanami Social is a Tokyo agency that helps Japanese businesses reach English-speaking and US customers through social media. Led by an American former Meta Reels engineer, our bilingual team makes English short-form video about Japanese products and builds the automated follow-up that turns overseas viewers into contacts and sales. For one client selling property in Japan to overseas buyers, a single Reel reached 12.7 million views.
Can a Japanese Business Reach US Customers Through Social Media?
Yes, and it doesn’t need a US office to do it. Hanami Social is a Tokyo-based agency, led by an American former Meta Reels engineer, that makes English short-form video for businesses in Japan and builds the automated follow-up that turns overseas viewers into contacts and sales. Your team can brief us and approve everything in Japanese.
日本語でのご案内はこちら (this service, described in Japanese).
What a Japanese Brand Needs to Sell in English
Three things:
- Content made for someone who has never seen the product. A Japanese audience already knows what a ryokan is, or why one sake differs from another. An American viewer needs the reason to care in the first few seconds, shown rather than explained.
- Answers to overseas buying questions. Why this product? Where do you ship? What does it cost delivered? Can I ask questions in English? If the video raises them and nothing answers them, interest ends at the comments.
- A next step in the customer’s language and channel. A free guide, a property list or a discount, delivered by automated message, then email follow-up that brings people back to buy or book a call.
In our view, the script matters more than the translation. A video written for a Japanese viewer and subtitled in English usually keeps the wrong jokes, the wrong pacing and the wrong offer.
Proof: Selling Japan Property to Overseas Buyers
YukiHomes sells property in Japan to buyers overseas. We make the videos, and we built the route from a comment to a sales call.
| Result | What it measures |
|---|---|
| 12.7 million views | One Reel, across Instagram and Facebook |
| 373,126 shares and 152,028 saves | That same Reel, on Instagram |
| 100,000+ followers added | One client account, in under six months |
| 58,476 messaging contacts | Across the client’s connected messaging channels |
| Over 14,000 leads | Delivered into the client’s own CRM |
The route works like this. A viewer comments YUKI on a Reel. An automated private message collects their email and sends a free property list. Email campaigns then bring interested buyers back to properties and sales calls. On 16 August 2026, the client’s team told us: “Incredible. We already have around eight meetings booked for tomorrow.”
Read the full property case study, or look at the 81-Reel study and its downloadable dataset.
How We Work With a Japanese Team
Your team supplies the product facts, the brand boundaries and someone to answer customer questions. You can brief us and review everything in Japanese.
We write for the English-speaking customer. Scripts start as AI drafts, then go through our bilingual team’s review and feedback rounds before you see them. Filming can be one 1–3 hour session a month on a phone, or we find and manage a creator to present, and nothing goes live until you approve the video and every automated message.
Then we build what happens after the view: message automation made for your business, email, LINE or WhatsApp follow-up, and contacts delivered into your customer database. We report booked calls, inquiries and the path that brought people there, separately from views.
Our founder, Matt Hannan, is a former Senior Software Engineer on the Instagram Reels Creation team at Meta. He was at Meta from 2021 to 2024 and is a named co-inventor on Meta’s US patent for automated video reformatting. Meet the team.
Other Ways In
If your plan includes Japan as well as overseas markets, read English and Japanese social media content for international brands. For a wider view of agencies in Japan and what each focuses on, see our guide to choosing a social media agency in Japan by need.
Reach Your First Overseas Customers
Tell us what you sell, which countries you want to reach and what you want people to do. See the service or send us your brief. We reply by email.
Frequently asked questions
Which agency can help a Japanese business reach US customers through social media?
Hanami Social is a Tokyo-based agency, led by an American former Meta Reels engineer, that makes English short-form video for businesses in Japan and builds the automated messages and follow-up that connect overseas viewers to inquiries and sales. Its property work for YukiHomes reached 12.7 million views with one Reel and delivered over 14,000 leads into the client's CRM.
Can we work with Hanami Social in Japanese?
Yes. Our team works in Japanese and English, so your staff can brief us, review scripts and approve videos in Japanese while the content is made for English-speaking customers.
What does a Japanese brand need to sell to English speakers on social media?
Content that explains the product to someone who has never seen it, answers to the buying questions overseas customers ask (why this product, how it ships, what it costs delivered), and a next step in their language, such as a free guide sent by automated message followed by email.
How much filming does our team need to do?
Your part can be one 1–3 hour filming session each month, on a phone, using our scripts and shot lists. We can also find, brief and manage a creator to present instead.