5 Tips on Making Instagram Polls

Why polls anyway? Polls on Instagram are a great way to create engagement and conversation with the people that follow you. By asking questions and having them answer, you get to know them as they get to know you. This allows you to be knowledgeable about what your audience actually is, to build your brand, and even market whatever you're promoting or offering. And, it's FREE!

So, here are 5 ways you can up your IG Poll game:

1. Give your audience good options

By options, I mean "YES" or "NO". But don't just stop at that. Create other types of answers. But please make sure that these options don't embarrass anyone or make them feel like they can’t answer.

For example, if I ask this question: "Have you seen my latest blog post?" and offer the following options: "YES" or "NO", I put my audience in an awkward position. If someone did see my latest post, great! But if they didn't, I am putting them in an uncomfortable position of admitting this, I'm making them feel guilty. And, in some cases, people who are direct enough (or for other reasons) will answer "NO". However, people who aren't confrontational (like me) will simply swipe away and won't participate. So you see? Instead of "NO", I could simply offer "NOT YET" or "MAYBE LATER". Those options are more inviting and understanding. This allows me to be more kind to the people I'm engaging with.

2. Boost their participate

This tip is very much related to the first one. Not only is it ideal to have good options, but push a little further. Think about how people might react to the question and providing those options so that they identify with either of them.

For example, if I'm asking my audience about something that may be controversial like adding spices like cinnamon, vanilla extract, or cardamon in my coffee (see image below), I can tell that this might shock certain people or excite others. So, the options I provide in the poll are here to reflect that. In that particular case, the options would be the following: "SURE!" and "OH NO".

Pro Tip: to add even more emphasis and describe the emotions related to each option, add emojis. So I can transform "SURE!" into "SURE! 😁" for excitement and, "OH NO" to "OH NO 🙊" for pure shock and even repulsion.

By translating their thoughts unto the poll, you're inviting and encouraging your audience to participate even more.

3. Ask a good question

Use your poll wisely. Ask questions that might spark a conversation or a follow-up. I have had so many lovely conversations or quick chats with people as a result of one of my polls. I've gotten to know people a little bit better, whether old friends or new ones. And, if you're hoping to offer a service or product, for free or for profit, asking the right question might certainly help you understand how you can best serve and meet people's needs.

4. Have good visuals with it

You can use the "create" option to make a quick poll. But why stop there when you could do much more? Make the background of the poll something interesting. It could be a video or photo describing and showcasing the topic of the poll. Add gifs, play with fonts, draw people in. Step it up, you know...

5. Think button location too

Finally, make sure that the "poll" button is ideally located. Location is important! If the button is too small or too close to either edge of the screen, it can be hard to press the right option. Make it as easy as possible for your audience to click and engage with you.

I hope these tips were helpful! I can't wait to see you try and apply them on your next poll. If you would like more IG Story tips, the IG STORY HACKS blog post will help you as well.

If you have questions or remarks, or if you found this helpful, let me know in the comment section and SHARE this with a friend who might like this as well!