Although I have been a consumer of Complex’s material for many years now, I have recently come into contact with much more the brand offers, regarding their website and all that the media source provides. I first found Complex on Instagram, giving them a follow after scrolling through their posts and realizing what the brand is. Their tagline: “Making culture pop”. After experiencing complex I feel that this could not be truer. I definitely see that I have a certain bias when it comes to the brand as I am fascinated by all sides of media the brand offers, but given their 4.1 million followers, it’s obvious I’m not the only one.
Complex supplies information and media alongside their yearly event “Complex Con,” including fashion, art, music, and every other side of pop culture imaginable. After being a long-time follower of the brand I can confidently say that whoever runs their social media accounts is doing an amazing job. Whether the posts are reminiscent, newsworthy, or just plain cool, every aspect of the feed stands out and demands attention in one way or another.
Within their posts, a handful refer to a “link in bio” at the end of some captions, directing consumers to their website, where they publish galleries, articles, and updates in depth. I recently came across a story of a boy egging an Australian senator after comments he made on the New Zealand tragedy. I wanted to learn more, hit the link in the bio, and was directed to Complex’s website. While I have been on their website many times before, I have never looked through it. I have always seen it as a substitute to their social media but less interesting, but I was wrong. Stuck in an airport and with time to peruse, I looked through their tabs including shows, music, style, sports, life, and more. What I realized: Instagram has the quick interesting picture you want to see when you scroll, but their website is a well-organized mass of information all of their followers would love to read through, but aren’t looking for.
Based off the replies and liked among the articles on their website, I am not the only one who hasn’t taken advantage. So why is their website undervalued by their audience? They rarely try to advertise it. It appears that the audience of Complex are widely associated with the brand’s Instagram account for the cool pictures. A smaller group knows it for their yearly convention in Long Beach, and an even smaller take advantage of the website. Their Instagram is seen more than their website, which makes sense, as more people like to look at pictures than read a whole story, but I’ve realized many of these social media followers would be interested in parts of this large website if it became more aware. This engagement with their website also drew me to go buy one of their magazines, furthering my interest in the brand. I feel that drawing more attention to their website and magazine subscription through their social platforms would draw more engagement with their larger information, in turn growing the brand’s reach and effectiveness as a source of news and media. I’ve learned through this website experience that Complex is much more than what it appears to be on Instagram, and simple marketing of their other offerings as a brand could grow their reach drastically.
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