How will 5G impact digital marketing?

In the past years, there has been a digital revolution where new technologies have been created at a very fast pace. We've witnessed big technological advances such as Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality or even Internet of Things (also known as IoT).

As technology advances, mobile devices have also improved - incorporating new functionalities and technologies to offer users a better performance.

At the same time, mobile networks have also improved, offering faster download speed and better connectivity amongst users. From 1G, that only allowed for voice calls, to 4G, which is the standard right now, citizens have witnessed how their experience has improved considerably when surfing the web on mobile devices. And despite the fact that navigation speed has been increasing little by little since mobile bandwidth appeared in 1991 (this is, with the 2G), it is nothing compared to what 5G is expected to bring.

Although there's nothign defined yet, it is said that 5G will have a much faster upload and download speed in mobile devices. This means that, for example, we'll be able to download a full high definition movie in a matter of seconds. With such a big differente, both in the speed increase as well as the reduction of the network latency, many opportunities will arise.

Generation	Year	Main charactetistics	Maximum speed
1G	1980	Analog technology, only for calls.	2.4 Kbps
2G	1991	Digital technology, supports text messages	50 Kbps
3G	1998	Higher data transmission rate, increased capabilities and multimedia	384 Kbps
4G	2008	Integrated with 3G to support wireless mobile internet and overcome the 3G limitations. It also increases bandwidth and reduces the cost of resources	1 Gbps
5G	2019	Faster data rates, improved conection density, less latency and more energy savings, among other improvements	20 Gbps

Source: Lifewire.

These advances won't only translate into faster navigation speed in mobile devices but it will also imply an improvement in the access to Internet in isolated areas (for example, rural zones), it will facilitate the development of smart cities and it will also contribute to the growth of technologies such as the Internet of Things. There are plenty of opportunities here!

Apart from the implications the launch of 5G will have in our day-to-day life, there are other areas such as Digital Marketing that will also see big changes and new chances to undertake their activities and strategies. Faster upload speed will allow for the use of richer ad formats (like, for example, video and interactive ads), apart from improving user experience - think that users won't have to wait much to download the images.

Advantages of 5G.

5G will bring huge benefits to people who use Internet on their mobile phones. These are the main advantages that this new generation of bandwidth will bring:

Network speed 10 times faster..
Responsive designs without network latency.
Great quality of streaming.
Improvement in the connectivity between electronic devices.
Availability of the information in real time.

Below, we'll take a look at the 6 main ways in which 5G will affect Digital Marketing.

6 ways in which 5G will impact digital marketing.

Faster upload and download speed.

Thanks to the great speed 5G will offer when surfing the web through mobile devices, consumers will use much more their phones: to look for information, watch movies, play videogames and a long etcetera. The more the people use their phones, the more opportunities advertisers will have to talk to them.

Hyper-personalization.

In the same way, when using the cellphone more often, there will also be more data generated. If making use of Big Data, brands will have more information about their users, allowing for the creation of more personalized campaigns where advertisers can take into consideration factors such as user location in real time.

Seamless user experience.

The user experience in mobile devices , it is easily affected by the newtwork speed. This means that 5G will bring a great improvement in user experience when loading web pages while surfing the web on their phones. Moreover, users will be able to use their devices for activities that were a bit complicated previously due to the loading times, such as playing videogames or watching TV shows or movies via streaming.

Importance of video.

Having a faster speed will allow advertisers to use richer formats to design ads that catch users' attention. Thanks to the 5G, using videos or interactive ads won't be an issue for users. Related to this, some sources point out that there will be a decrease in the use of AdBlockerssince many people only use them to avoid having their navigation speed affected by the loading time of the ads.

IoT and the new ways to communicate with users.

When it comes to increase in the use of Internet of Things will bring new opportunities for businesses to talk to consumers depending on the stage of the funnel they're in. This will mean that brands will also have new touchpoints to build a relationship with users.

Lifestyle knowledge.

Also as a consequence of the use of IoT (Internet of Things), brands will have more information about consumers' lifestyles. This type of technology will be present in many of their activities, from early in the morning until they go to sleep. Because of this, companies will be able to collect useful information such as when and why people use certain products or services.

It was said that 5G would arrive in 2020, though it is already available in some countries through certain providers.

As we can see, new opportunities will emerge that will allow advertisers to reach their target audience through mobile devices 1) in a more personalized way and 2) offering a seamless user experience. Are you ready for what's to come?

In order to show you the huge technologic growth we've lived in the last 30 years, we've created an infograph with some of the most important inventions since 1990. Click on the button below to download it.