With new technologies rapidly changing the face of marketing, it’s easy to get lost in a vast array of innovation and how it could be applied to marketing. Out of all of the new tech, however, 5G seems to be the most significant. On paper, 5G simply promises greater network speeds, lower latency, and greater network stability. For marketers, the practical implications of these changes are quite substantial. Here are just 5 ways in which 5G could revolutionize marketing.
1. Access to Greater Personalisation
As was recently revealed by Google, 90% of marketing experts noted that personalization was a significant driver of business value. The hands of marketers, nevertheless, were tied by the fact that 46% of consumers completed the entire purchasing process from their smartphones.
With pages taking an average of 15.3 seconds to load when using mobile networks, marketers had to find a compromise between speed, reliability, and personalization. With 5G promising an increase in network speed up to 100 times in comparison to 4G, this might no longer be a problem.
Marketers will be able to rely on videos, animation and other bandwidth-intensive tools much more frequently than before. Greater network speeds would also mean that marketers would be able to receive real-time data on product or service usage.
For example, experts would be able to monitor real-time traffic on specific intersections to evaluate the possible reach of billboard advertisements. Personalization, however, raises ethical and privacy concerns. Experts have already argued that 5G provides more opportunities for exploiting one’s personal data. Being aware of the newly arisen risks and ethical behaviors should be one of the priority tasks for marketing specialists.
2. Expanding the Available Marketing Tools
Low network speeds also limit marketers in their choice of available marketing tools. Augmented reality (AR) presented the most significant example. AR provides unique brand impressions by adding new features to video and photo footage as well as mobile apps.
For instance, the IKEA AR software allows users to design their kitchen or a living room in real-time using the digital versions of the IKEA furniture. However, the usage of AR so far has been limited by unreliable and slow 4G networks.
With access to 5G, almost every form of marketing communication could integrate AR one way or another. Apple has recently patented the use of AR in FaceTime calls, suggesting that marketers will be able to use AR-supported videos with little resistance from the network providers.
The use of AR, on the other hand, also poses a notable risk. With the switch to 5G expected within the next few years, marketers are required to significantly improve their technology skills. Only the most knowledgeable will be able to use 5G to their advantage.
3. Revolutionizing Product Innovation
5G is frequently mentioned when talking about smartphones and mobile internet. These 2 areas are, nevertheless, far from being the only fields that are affected by 5G. According to Ericsson, the rise of 5G could transform product innovation in a variety of industries, most notably car manufacturing.
One example was the fact that 5G networks could significantly expand the tech available to self-driving cars. Specifically, cars collecting data using 5G would be more aware of traffic jams and vehicle incidents statistics for specific highways. The implication is that the impact of 5G goes far beyond advertising and designing new methods for promoting products and services.
Instead, 5G in itself was a valuable product or a service to be integrated into other offerings. Another highlight is the use of 5G to facilitate machine-to-machine communications. 5G was not all about accessing the Internet. Companies could use the network to avoid Internet connectivity altogether by integrating 5G connectivity into sensors or adapters. This could revolutionize the home appliances market by allowing different appliances to transfer data to one another.
4. Reducing the Usage of Ad Blockers
The conflict between ad blockers and marketers has been one of the key issues facing marketers worldwide. On the one hand, using websites to promote products or services is an inherent part of modern marketing. On the other hand, web advertising is frequently cumbersome and poorly designed, leaving users with few incentives to visit the Internet without an ad blocker.
According to the latest surveys, 40% of the respondents used ad-blocking software within the last month with 22% of the participants using these tools on their mobile devices. 5G could finally put the conflict to rest. With an increased network speed, users would receive a far smoother web experience.
Ads will no longer slow down the page loading time and present less annoyance to the customers. This does not mean that adblockers would go out of business. For many surfers of the web, ab blockers were a response to intrusive or irrelevant ads; these problems had little to do with Internet speed. To use 5G to its fullest, marketers were also required to design sleek informative ads that were aligned with the overall design of web pages.
5. Increasing the Significance of Video Marketing
Analytics have suggested that 80% of all web content will be in video form by 2022. 5G could play a fundamental role in this by allowing everyone to watch high-quality videos from their mobile devices at any time. A shift to video would mean that other forms of web marketing such as promotional images or email could gradually lose their relevance.
Another implication was that all marketing communications would need to be supported by videos to improve their visibility and effectiveness. That said, a greater emphasis on video might also transform the relationship between marketers and video hosting platforms such as YouTube. Experts would need to be aware of this risk to keep the advantage on their side.
Arguably, 5G represents the most significant innovation of the last 5 years. While the technology is not yet fully ready, its implications are significant for marketers and their clients. Keeping a pulse on 5G might mean the difference between marketing failure and adjusting to a network-driven world.
NOTE: This article has been written by Anna Clarke.
Anna Clarke is the owner of the online essay writing service 15 Writers. She is a successful entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience in freelancing and consulting, specializing in Business, Economics, Finance, Marketing, and Management.