Polls are a powerful yet often underused tool in social media marketing. They’re quick to create, easy to engage with, and give your audience a voice, all while delivering instant feedback and valuable insights. I love using them. Whether you’re testing product ideas, gathering opinions, or sparking fun conversations, polls boost interaction and build stronger connections with your followers.
Let me use X (Twitter) polls as an example. They were introduced way back in October 2015. Twitter had stated that its was a great way to engage and to ask your audience about their opinion on almost anything. It is a major step forward from adding up hashtag mentions, counting retweeets and replies or using third party paid tools, which I have done on the odd occasion over the past years.
Polls have improved since they went live with just two voting choices. They now have a maximum of four choices.
3 Step Guide For Great Results
I have been using polls and voting on many polls over many years and I conclude that there are 3 essential steps to achieve great results with brand accounts:
Step 1 – Polls should be on aligned with your brand messaging or theme.
I would suggest that creating random polls about anything is not a good way to go. From many of the polls I have reviewed and used in the past, staying on topic and true to your theme or brand is essential.
Step 2 – Use a topical and engaging poll question with a strong call to action.
Why would anyone want to vote on old news? Make your audience feel that they are talking part in a debate that is important to them. Use a content marketing approach to create the best set of voting choices for your audience. They should get valuable and useful take aways when they view the final results. If you look long and hard at your poll question and feel that it is not compelling enough for your audience, change it there and then and do not go live with it..
Step 3 – Promote your polls.
I have seen some great poll questions with only 7 or 9 votes. Maybe they were placed on the wrong days or time of day? Do you know your weekly or daily time slots when your audience read or interact with your content the most? There are many tools that can help you determine those sweet spots.
I recall my early years managing my company social media account years ago. I knew the exact high engagement moments, and selected my best content for the week for those time slots. I would often train my colleagues and show them theirs. I recall the PR accounts peaking when the journalists were busy looking for the best story for the day ahead, but my audience was different and their peak engagement times were much later in the day. Below is an example I made using a set of accounts. I created this using Sprinklr.
Lastly, add some paid promotion to get an extra boost. To illustrate this effect I picked my peak moment for engagement and added a very small boost by having a paid promotion of just £20. I then used the using the quick promote feature. The two combined created an impressive result of over 2,000 votes when combined with a strong call to action. I monitored the progress during that day. Imagine how many votes if I had increased the paid promotion amount to £100, £200 or £300?
Look at the number of impressions! Over 41,000 and over 600 engagements.
In a fast-scrolling digital world, polls offer a simple way to pause the scroll and invite meaningful interaction. They turn passive viewers into active participants and provide real-time data you can actually use. So next time you plan your social content, don’t just post, ask! Your audience is ready to vote.
Imagine the super results you could obtain with your next poll?
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