Instagram polls provide an easy and engaging way to gather public opinion and feedback from your audience. With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram offers a huge potential reach for polls and surveys.
This article provides a step-by-step guide to running successful public opinion polls on Instagram, covering everything from creating polls to analyzing results.
Table of Contents
Creating Polls on Instagram
The first step is creating an Instagram poll in your Stories. Here’s how:
- Open the Instagram app and tap the camera icon to access Stories
- Take a photo/video or upload one from your camera roll
- Tap the sticker icon and select the “Poll” sticker
- Type your question and enter two answer options
- Customize the look of the poll sticker and place it on your Story
- Share the Story with your followers
You can make the poll visually engaging by adding color overlays, backgrounds, gifs, etc.
Types of Poll Questions
When creating an Instagram poll, the question you ask determines the type of feedback you’ll receive. Here are some examples of poll question types:
Simple Opinion Polls
Get a quick yes/no opinion from your audience. E.g. “Do you prefer cats or dogs?”
Product/Feature Feedback
Gauge interest in potential new products or features. E.g. “Would you use an app that delivers recipes based on ingredients you have at home?”
Brand Perception Surveys
Understand how your brand is perceived. E.g. “Do you consider our brand eco-friendly?”
Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Check if customers are happy with your product/service. E.g. “How satisfied are you with your recent purchase?”
Promoting Your Poll
To get accurate results, your poll needs maximum visibility and participation. Here are some tips:
- Mention the poll in Instagram captions and Stories in advance to build hype
- Incentivize participation through giveaways and contests
- Promote the poll through emails, social media, and influencer marketing
- Retarget people who have visited your website/app to increase reach
Analyzing Poll Results
Once your followers start voting, you can analyze the poll results to gather actionable insights.
Real-time Analytics
Check votes in real-time to see which option is leading. This allows you to promote the Story further if needed to get more votes.
Voter Breakdown
See who voted and what each person voted for. This identifies your most engaged followers.
Post poll results on your feed or Stories. This keeps followers engaged and shows you value their opinion.
Export Data
Download poll data to perform more complex analysis on Excel or survey software. Analyze demographic splits in responses.
Best Practices for Instagram Polls
Running successful Instagram polls that provide genuine insights takes some strategic planning. Here are some top tips:
Limit Poll Length
Keep polls 24 hours or shorter. Attention spans are low on social media so longer polls see less engagement.
Vary Poll Types
Ask different types of qualitative and quantitative questions to get well-rounded insights.
Use Images/Videos
Polls with images/videos get more votes than text-only polls.
Monitor and Respond
Reply to follower comments on your polls. This builds rapport with your audience.
Offer Incentives
Encourage participation by offering discounts or prizes to select poll responders.
Promote Outside Instagram
Get more votes by promoting your Instagram polls through other channels like email and websites.
Ideal Frequency for Polls
A common question around Instagram polls is regarding frequency – how often should you post them? Here are some best practices:
For Individuals
2-3 polls per week is ideal for personal accounts. Space them out and experiment with different question types.
For Businesses
Post 1-2 polls per week. Promote each poll properly for good visibility before posting the next.
For One-time Surveys
If running a single survey campaign, post a new poll every 1-2 days until you get your target sample size.
Tools to Manage Instagram Polls
Running polls solely through the Instagram app can be time-consuming. Specialized tools can help manage the process:
- Later helps schedule and publish Instagram polls along with tracking real-time results.
- Iconosquare provides robust analytics on poll performance including demographic data.
- Preview allows collaborating with a team for poll creation and response tracking.
The key is choosing a tool aligned with your specific needs for poll management.
Increasing Engagement with Polls
As a highly interactive format, Instagram polls can significantly boost engagement when used strategically:
- Reward poll responders by featuring them in Stories or giving shoutouts
- Reply to follower comments and discuss poll results
- Ask followers to tag friends to increase poll visibility
- Tie polls to Instagram challenges or user-generated content campaigns
- Create serialized polls that tell a story and keep followers curious
Polls provide the perfect gateway to drive conversations, engagement and followers growth on Instagram.
Conclusion
Instagram polls help brands connect with their audience and get meaningful insights through simple, interactive questions.
By carefully crafting poll questions, promoting polls, analyzing responses and increasing engagement, you can run successful public opinion and market research surveys through Instagram Stories.
As Instagram usage continues to rise, leveraging polls is crucial for understanding your followers and customers. This will ultimately enable you to improve products, craft better content, and boost brand loyalty on one of the top social networks.
