Are Social Media Platforms Becoming Too Complicated?

Less is more. More is less… Or is it? Well, in my opinion it’s the former rather than the latter, as no matter how much social media platforms get more and more complicated, all of us do seem to yearn for simplicity.

But, as many social networks start off really simple, they tend to get more and more complicated. But are they getting too complicated?

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A new study by Siegel+Gale suggests that simplicity really does pay off and that social networking platforms are getting too complicated. This makes the average marketer’s job a lot harder.

The company conducts an annual report assigning what they call a simplicity index and in this year’s report – after examining data from 12,000 consumers in 8 countries about the complexity or simplicity of their interactions with 500 brands – has a section dedicated to social media.

According to a new Siegel+Gale report, simplicity on social really pays off!

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In the social media section, the company has ranked social media platforms based on their simplicity index and Instagram is the winner scoring a 48 on the simplicity index scale versus the loser – LinkedIn as the most complex platform at 108. This is definitely something that rings true to me – and I don’t think you need a study to tell you this.

Instagram is the easiest social platform to use. LinkedIn the most complicated.

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Sure, every platform has its own very specific use, therefore complexity does somehow “come with the territory”. However, this isn’t always the case. While Facebook and Pinterest are used mainly as discovery tools for consumers, one makes discovery a lot less complex than the other – that one is of course, Pinterest.

The report also shows the difficulty that marketers are facing to stand out on certain networks – Snapchat, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram all cause marketers difficulty in this respect. Native advertising seems to take its toll in this sense. However, when asked about ads on YouTube or Facebook though users did express their distaste.

You can download the report right here to have a better look at what it has to offer.