5G to Explode Short Videos in Social Media, Spark Viral Videos & Create Brand Loyalty.

As it’s only just launched, 5G is currently pricey and only available in a handful of big cities. Connectivity is expected to be patchy for some time, but once the network is fully up and running, it promises to revolutionise the way that we consume videos. In fact, it will be so fast that users will be able to download a 4K feature-length film in a matter of seconds.

When it comes to social media, video content is king. Every day, 500 million people watch videos on Facebook, and around 80 per cent of all web traffic comes from video. However, when Facebook introduced auto-play videos back in 2013, users weren’t happy about the impact it would have on their data consumption and found the slow loading speeds frustrating. Page loading times are one of the key features that Google ranks for especially on mobile. So if video is slowing your site down, it will take a hit on your page ranking.

The short video is becoming a new industry engine to attract a new generation of consumers and has opened up an unusually large digital marketing market. 5G has focused on the higher bandwidth it will deliver, enabling experiences such as high-definition virtual reality, augmented reality and 4K streaming video. Especially in the current 5G has begun to commercialize, the short video industry will usher in a huge outbreak. Based on the 2019 Internet Trend Report by Mary Meeker, from 2017 to 2019, daily usage of short video apps in China increased from less than 100 million hours to 600 million hours; an important stats that should not be ignored by marketers.

Instagram has a massive 1 billion active users and 400 million daily active users through Instagram stories. Just two years ago, the global entertainment ecosystem was firmly held by giant products such as Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Since 2017, TikTok has disrupted the market share held by the incumbents topping several national app stores, covering more than 150 countries and regions, ranking fourth in global downloads and surpassing Instagram, making it one of the most popular apps in the world. 500 million monthly active users (26.5 million of which are in the U.S.).

TikTok has recently embarked on in-feed advertising under a call-to-action (CTA) approach. The platform also hatched the "hashtag challenge" campaign, which lets brands engage with TikTok by urging users to participate in activities such as making short video clips about specified purposes. The campaign is expected to spark viral videos and create brand loyalty among users. Tik tok makes it easy to create short-form video with real time rendering of AR effects and filters.

TikTok's biggest home-made stars:

1.      Jacob Sartorius - 19.9 Million Followers.

2.      Baby Ariel, - 29.3 Million Followers.

3.      Loren Gray - 30 Million Followers.

Livestreaming is used by celebrities and social media influencers, bands and brands alike. One of the most exciting applications for 5G is in the live arena, where it has interesting potential benefits for sports, concerts and other big events. Madonna’s recent Madame X campaign will also feature a few more surprises  including further use of the growing short form video platform TikTok, where Madonna launched the "Medellín cha cha cha challenge".

Top 8 Countries with the Largest TikTok Database:

1.      India – 119.3mn users,

2.      USA – 39.6mn users,

3.      Turkey – 28.4mn users,

4.      Russia – 24.3mn users,

5.      Mexico – 19.7mn users,

6.      Brazil – 18.4mn users,

7.      Pakistan – 11.8mn users,

8.      Saudi Arabia – 9.7mn users.

Having users who have creativity and become content creators with lots of followers to become influencers, and Social Medias will connect those influencers to brands!

A short 15-second video clip, which is enough to grab attention from Gen Z, who pay attention for eight seconds, and millennials, who have a focus of 12 seconds. Marketers need to come up with campaigns to engage with young customers through the social media platform.

Augmented reality (AR) is already firmly embedded in our culture, including live selfie effects of Tik Tok and Facebook. But 5G’s arrival heralds a whole new wave of deeply integrated, highly social AR experiences. Statista estimates that the value of the AR market will rise from $5.91 billion in 2018 to $198.17 billion in 2025. It’s no coincidence that this rise will coincide with the rollout of 5G networks. 5G will usher in the next era of immersive and cloud-connected experiences.

Source: Ericsson Consumer Lab, 5G Consumer Potential (May 2019)

As 5G becomes more prevalent, we can expect to see brands investing more not only in video content, but in immersive experiences such as virtual reality and augmented reality, which rely on heavy data processing to work correctly. 5G will also revolutionise live streaming of events, as it can provide high quality, real-time updates. The stability of the connection will make sharing and watching 4K video easy.

5G promises to transform the way in which we consume video, brands should start thinking about how they can improve their social content to take advantage of the advancements in technology.