6 Ways You Should Be Using Polls to Drive Engagement and Build an Audience on Instagram
In 2019, engagement and interactivity are the name of the game on Instagram. Where brands are trying their best to find creative ways to engage with the audience, one old school tool has made a resurgence – polls.
Polls have always been popular on the Internet, but due to Instagram Stories, they are making a big comeback. Polls not only stop audiences from mindlessly swiping through Stories, they also create an opportunity to get real feedback from your customers and buyers.
Today, we will be talking about how you should be using polls on your Stories and profile to entertain and interact with your audience.
· Using Polls to crowdsource ideas for product launches and content
If you want to create better products and content, why not go straight to the source – the audience and buyers!
Instagram Stories polls offer brands a great tool for getting the audience to tell them what they’re looking for, collect honest feedback about products and what kind of content they would like to see.
By including your audience in the product and content creation process, you make them feel like they are a part of your journey and thereby increase the chances that they will develop a stronger connection to your brand.
Product launches can be a tricky thing but a surefire way to steer it in the right direction is by directly addressing pressing problems that your audience themselves has revealed to you through polls.
People like to see that they’re being heard and if they see the direction of your content or product change after their suggestions, they will become staunch supporters of your business.
· Driving traffic to your website and other online properties with polls
Ever since links became a part of Instagram Stories, brands have been looking for creative ideas to get people to swipe up and follow their stories back to a website or landing page.
Polls are a nice way to get people to swipe up on Stories. You can include simple questions like “How much do you think Product X costs?” and people can swipe up to see the answer. Another way brands are using this feature is by creating a landing page or an article that people are encouraged to read, and within the page will be a snippet or piece of information that is addressed on the next Story with a poll sticker.
This is a great way to drive some traffic to a new product page or a newsletter you are getting people to sign up to.
· Peek into the minds of your audience with polls
One of the most difficult tasks for any brand is creating an accurate buyer profile. Businesses spend a tremendous amount of money trying to understand exactly what makes their audience tick, and how they can convince them to buy whatever product/service they are selling.
Polls allow you a quick and easy way to gain some insights into the hearts and minds of your prospects. Asking real questions like “What is the #1 problem you have with businesses in our industry?” or “What is the most important thing to you when you choose whether to buy X or Y?” are great conversation starters and will usually give you a bunch of ideas about how you can improve your own offers.
· Using polls on your Stories to educate your audience about your business
People like to know more about the businesses they engage with. Instagram Stories polls allow you to do just that – let your audience in and educate them about your journey and your products.
Whether you’re launching a new product or just showing off what makes you great, polls can help break up the monotony of your usual content. If you have a series of stories talking about the features of your latest product, you can include a small poll in between which asks your audience simple things like “What do you think so far?” and keep them clicking to see the rest of what you have to offer.
· Adding a much-needed dose of entertainment to your followers’ feeds
Too many brands on Instagram take themselves too seriously.
Poll stickers on your Stories are a great way to have some fun and make your audience laugh, showcasing your human side along the way.
Simple things like sharing pictures of 80s pop culture icons and asking your audience which ones they like more are great to break up some monotony. If you’re a fitness brand, you can share questionable fitness clothing pictures to have some fun with your audience.
Making a game out of your stories like this allows your audience to stop and interact with your brand in a different, non-corporate way. Bonus – this kind of content doesn’t require much effort to create and is a fun memory for your followers.
· Using the emoji sliders to give your viewers multiple choices
Some questions need to have more than two answer choices. Luckily, you can circumvent the Instagram limit by using the emoji slider to give more choices to the audience and moving away from the usual A or B questions.
If you add text adjacent to your slider, you can create more answer options by allowing the audience to drag the slider left or right. For example, if you’re asking people to guess how much something weighs or costs, you can use the emoji slider to create more interactive polls.
Polls are a simple but incredibly effective tool for audience engagement and demonstrating your personality and style as a brand. Take note of all the ways we have outlined in this article and you too can start creating your own fun polls that your followers will love and keep coming back for!