6 Polling Tools for Engaging Audiences on Social Media

Are you struggling to find the right polling tool to engage your audience on social media? We asked a senior community manager and a social media expert to share their top recommendations. The first insight explores utilizing built-in polling tools, while the final insight emphasizes leveraging Google Forms for quick polls. Discover six expert insights that could transform your social media strategy.

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Utilize Built-In Polling Tools

I’m a huge advocate of social media’s built-in polling tools. Their appeal lies in their simplicity and efficiency: they’re direct, simple, easy to use, and, most importantly, don’t require downloading any additional app. 

These polls are visually engaging and transparent. The real-time feedback option allows you to check results immediately and share them with your audience to make them feel involved. Since each platform is tailored to specific audience types, polling tools are designed to fit seamlessly into the user experience. Moreover, by leveraging the built-in capabilities of each platform, you’re maximizing engagement without extra costs.

While the features of these polls can vary across platforms, some seem universal. Whether you’re using Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, you can customize the question, add up to four options, and set how long the poll will remain active. The poll can be published and promoted on Stories or posts, giving you flexibility in how you present your questions.

With built-in polls, you fully utilize the platform’s native capabilities without relying on external apps for audience engagement.

Nina Paczka, Community Manager, MyPerfectResume

Create Engaging Polls with Typeform

When running polls on social media, I highly recommend Typeform. It’s an incredibly versatile and user-friendly platform that allows you to create simple but engaging, interactive polls and surveys that stand out.

What makes this tool so unique is its emphasis on conversational design. Instead of overwhelming users with a long list of questions, Typeform presents one question at a time in a clean, easy-to-navigate format. This makes it feel more like a conversation, which leads to higher completion rates.

You can also share polls directly on social media through a link, allowing you to engage your audience across all major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Another reason I love Typeform is its plethora of customization options. You can fully brand your polls to match your style, incorporating logos, colors, and visuals that enhance their appearance. Finally, they have above-average analytics that give you detailed insights into your audience, helping us make more insightful decisions for future polls.

Ultimately, if you’re looking to create simple, user-friendly, but also professional-looking polls, you can’t go wrong with Typeform.

Peter Bryla, Senior Community Manager, LiveCareer

Engage Followers with Instagram Stories

I use Instagram Polls through Instagram Stories to engage my audience on social media. I recommend it because it’s highly interactive, easy for followers to participate in, and the engagement is almost instant. Instagram Polls provide a quick and casual way for audiences to share their opinions, preferences, or feedback with just one tap.

The polls also appear directly in followers’ stories, which means they’re seamlessly integrated into the content they’re already consuming. This makes engagement rates significantly higher compared to external polls that require more effort. Additionally, Instagram provides real-time poll results, which allows us to react to audience preferences on the spot, providing a more dynamic and responsive experience.

This tool is effective not only for gaining insights but also for making the audience feel heard, which strengthens the connection between the brand and followers, ultimately improving brand loyalty.

Aviad Faruz, CEO, MANOR

Use Poll Everywhere for Real-Time Feedback

I recommend using Poll Everywhere as a polling tool to engage your audience on social media. Poll Everywhere allows users to create interactive polls that can be easily shared across various platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. One of its key features is the ability to gather real-time responses, enabling immediate feedback during live events or online discussions.

The tool supports a variety of question types, including multiple-choice, open-ended, and ranking questions, making it versatile for different engagement needs. Additionally, Poll Everywhere provides insightful analytics, helping you understand audience preferences and trends based on their responses. Its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with presentation software make it an excellent choice for enhancing audience interaction and participation. 

Overall, Poll Everywhere is an effective tool for creating engaging polls that foster conversation and community engagement on social media.

Shreya Jha, Social Media Expert, Appy Pie

Gain Insights with SurveyMonkey

As the founder of a digital marketing agency, we regularly use poll tools like SurveyMonkey to gain insight into our audience and guide our strategies.

We recently ran a poll asking if our followers prefer social media ads or email marketing. Over 80% said social media, so we shifted more budget to platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The poll results have directly impacted how we allocate marketing spend and the services we recommend to clients.

For a construction client, we polled homeowners on their priorities for a new backyard. “Low maintenance” and “entertainment space” ranked highest, informing the ultimate design. By using data to guide decisions, we’ve boosted customer satisfaction and ROI.

Tools like SurveyMonkey provide analytics to see how different audience segments respond. We can then tailor messaging and services accordingly. For example, one poll showed homeowners over 55 care most about security, while younger groups want smart home features. We now suggest options aligned with our clients’ key demographics.

Polls have been instrumental for adapting our strategies to audience needs and keeping a pulse on trends. The insights gained translate into more effective marketing, happier customers, and business growth. I highly recommend other agencies use polling to better understand and engage their target customers.

Josh Hook, Agency Owner, Hook’d IT Up

Leverage Google Forms for Quick Polls

As a CRM expert, I rely on Google Forms for quick polls and surveys. It’s free, easy to set up, and integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics.

For a SaaS client, a poll asking users about their preferred support-contact method resulted in over 2,000 responses. Email dominated, so we optimized our help desk to resolve tickets faster. Response times improved by 54%, and CSAT rose 22% in 6 months.

Google Forms filters and exports responses to Sheets, where I analyze data by customer attributes. A poll of enterprise clients found larger companies prefer live-chat support. We launched 24/7 chat, reducing call volume for this segment by 28% and shortening sales cycles 17% on average.

Polls provide key insights to boost metrics like CSAT, call-volume reduction, and sales velocity. The feedback helps build solutions custom to your audience. For any SaaS company, polling users is critical to optimizing the customer experience. As a marketing operations leader, I’ve found polling tools invaluable for gaining audience insights and optimizing strategies. Personally, I recommend SurveyMonkey for its robust yet intuitive interface and powerful analytics.

For a SaaS client, we polled customers on preferred support channels. Live chat ranked highest at 82%, so we implemented 24/7 chat support. This drove a 16% increase in renewals the following quarter.

For another client’s social media ads, we A/B tested multiple messaging options and selected the two highest performing to poll the audience. The winning ad touting “50% off for life” saw a click-through rate 54% above the alternative. We’ve since used that language in follow-up campaigns with similar success.

The data from these polls has translated into significant business impact. I continue using SurveyMonkey and similar tools to validate assumptions, improve the customer experience, and maximize ROI across marketing initiatives. The insights gained are invaluable.

Ryan T. Murphy, Sales Operations Manager, Upfront Operations

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