Do you want to interact with your audience to learn more about them, but don’t want to inconvenience them with emails, direct messages, or meeting invites? Poll questions are your subtle foot in the door.
Whether you’re a business owner, a consultant, or just someone who thrives on social insights, polls offer a powerful way to gather opinions quickly and effectively. Read on to learn how to create effective interactive poll questions that will engage your audience and deliver the insights you crave!
Here’s what we’ll cover:
What are poll questions?
Poll questions are a the secret key ingredient to that unlocks spontaneous and therefore meaningful insights from your audience. They act as a prompt, sparking responses and opinions from a selected group of people. By crafting clear and concise poll questions, you can tap into a wealth of information, uncovering public sentiment on a specific topic.
Imagine this: you need to gauge customer preferences for a new product. A poll lets you access a wealth of data without bombarding people with lengthy surveys. Or maybe you’re planning an event – a poll can help you identify the most interesting topics or preferred format. The applications are endless, from market research and feedback collection to simply sparking insightful conversations with your audience.
In the past, polls were mostly carried out in-person. A poll question used to be given to a group of people, who were asked to raise a hand to express their opinion (of course, today you can also conduct offline surveys digitally). Later came the telephone polls wherein a respondent would be asked to dial a number as an answer. Today in the digital world, polls are conducted online and all a user has to do to answer is just click.
A poll helps you capture the respondent’s opinion about a subject by asking a single question to extract a specific set of information. Polls include multiple answer alternatives to a single poll question. You should use a poll when you need a general picture of where the market is going. A poll can provide you with fast results, since users only need to choose answers rather than think too much on what to write.
Surveys are more detailed, with several questions. You should use a survey when you need more detailed information about the state of your market. Surveys usually include multiple-answer questions and open-ended questions. For example, in a customer satisfaction survey, you can ask the user to rank the service with a number, or select the best feature of your product from a list.
Polls can be quicker to answer than surveys, since participants just need to choose the appropriate option. Surveys may require several minutes to answer, requiring more effort from the participants. Since polls are structured, it is easier to tabulate answers and the analysis is pretty simple. Surveys require detailed analysis, often with the help of advanced statistical tools. A poll can provide you with a quick bite of data, while a survey will provide more substance for analysis. Both are effective and have their unique uses.
Want to create a compelling poll that truly resonates with your audience? The key is in formulating the right question! Gain powerful insights and engage participants effectively with the perfect poll question format. Here’s a breakdown of common options:
Multiple choice poll questions
This is the most popular format, offering participants a set of ready-made answers to choose from. It’s ideal for situations where you have a clear idea of the potential responses and want to gauge their relative popularity. For example, you might be planning a webinar and want to understand your audience’s preferred format. Here’s a poll question to get those insights:
What’s your preferred format for our upcoming webinar?
Yes/no poll questions
Need a quick and straightforward answer? The Yes/no format is your go-to. It works best for questions with clear binary options. Imagine you’re leading a rebranding initiative for a company. Here’s a Yes/no question to gather initial feedback:
Does the new brand logo feel modern and innovative to you?
Likert scale poll questions
This format allows participants to express the intensity of their agreement or disagreement with a statement. It provides more nuance than a simple Yes/no option. Suppose you’re a B2B service provider looking to understand client satisfaction with your service quality. Here’s a Likert scale question to gather that feedback:
How satisfied are you with the quality and reliability of our services?
Ranking poll questions
Want to know what matters most to your audience? Ranking questions ask participants to order a set of options according to their preference. This can be helpful when making product development decisions or planning events. Imagine you’re a consulting firm developing new service packages for your clients. Here’s a ranking question to identify your clients’ priorities:
Please rank the following aspects of a consulting service from most important (1) to least important (5):
Poll questions are versatile tools that can be used in various business scenarios to gather valuable insights, engage audiences, and even getting MQL’s and SQL’s. Here are different ways you can use poll questions effectively:
Poll questions for team building
These handy tools aren’t just for gauging opinions on movie nights; they can be powerful allies in fostering a collaborative and dynamic workplace. Use poll questions to understand your team’s preferences, identify areas for improvement, and create a more collaborative environment.
Social media poll questions
Have you ever scrolled through social media, feeling a bit…well, passive? We’ve all been there. To energize your social media presence, try using poll questions to spark interaction and gather valuable insights into your audience’s preferences and opinions. This can help increase your brand’s visibility and even foster a sense of community.
Poll questions for work events
Planning a work event can be exciting, but how do you ensure it resonates with everyone? Poll questions can help you understand what your employees or attendees are looking forward to, ensuring that your event is well-received and meets their expectations.
Poll questions during live events (Webinars/Discussions)
Webinars and discussions can be powerful tools, but sometimes keeping your audience engaged throughout can be a challenge. Here’s where live polls come in! These interactive questions are like a shot of energy for your event, boosting engagement and providing real-time insights – all in one go. To ensure your audience experiences smooth, uninterrupted interaction, it’s important to consider YouTube bitrate and resolution settings, as all of these can impact the quality of your live stream and overall engagement.
Poll questions to get customer feedback
Happy customers are the lifeblood of any business. Poll questions can unlock a treasure trove of customer feedback, empowering you to make data-driven decisions that keep your products and services top-notch.
How to turn questions and answers into feedback reports
Here’s a quick introduction on how Pointerpro gets you to deliver advice and feedback on autopilot, brought to you by one of our product Experts, Chris. It all starts with building your questionnaire…
“We use Pointerpro for all types of surveys and assessments across our global business, and employees love its ease of use and flexible reporting.”
Director at Alere
“I give the new report builder 5 stars for its easy of use. Anyone without coding experience can start creating automated personalized reports quickly.”
CFO & COO at Egg Science
“You guys have done a great job making this as easy to use as possible and still robust in functionality.”
Account Director at Reed Talent Solutions
“It’s a great advantage to have formulas and the possibility for a really thorough analysis. There are hundreds of formulas, but the customer only sees the easy-to-read report. If you’re looking for something like that, it’s really nice to work with Pointerpro.”
Country Manager Netherlands at Better Minds at Work
Important factors to consider when developing your poll
Online polls are fantastic tools for gathering insights, but just like any market research method, their effectiveness hinges on one key factor: understanding your target audience. Here’s how to tailor your polls for optimal results:
Audience
You should take into account who is going to answer your poll. Personalize the poll answers for the targeted participants. The answers should also reflect other types of users so you can sift your target market according to the answers they choose.
For example, if you are making a poll for a company providing cloud storage solutions for businesses, you may ask:
What is the most important feature you look for in a cloud storage solution?
Then you can offer answers such as:
Keep answers relevant and simple. If you want to know if they prefer a cloud storage solution with specific compliance certifications or customizable storage plans, you should create an additional question.
Medium
Where your poll lives matters! Online polls on your own website can have a more relaxed style, blending seamlessly with your brand. In contrast, polls posted on other platforms need to stand out. Make them instantly recognizable with your brand colors and logo, ensuring you grab attention and differentiate yourself from competitors. Of course, always link them back to the relevant part of your website for a smooth user experience. Make sure that your poll is user-friendly, responsive, and accessible to all users and through all devices.
Read Pointerpro’s article on How To Increase Customer Satisfaction With Instagram Polls.
You need to make poll questions short and to-the-point. The objective of an online poll is to gather the most detailed information in the shortest time possible. Below, you’ll find a number of tips to create poll questions that gather the information you need in no time.
Simple and engaging language
The poll question should be simple and easy to understand. It should also be engaging, to attract the respondent’s interest. For example, if you’re a software company looking to develop new features, avoid the generic “What features are important to you?” and try something like “Imagine your dream workflow: Which feature would supercharge your productivity the most?” Follow that up with a few potential features you’re considering. This approach not only gathers valuable data but also positions your audience as key collaborators in shaping the future of your product.
Any questions?
As a copywriter, I don’t need any convincing about the value of good writing. However, before working at Pointerpro, and speaking with many users of our assessment platform, I wasn’t so much aware of the importance of asking the right questions. In case you have any questions for me, about how to write effective poll or assessment questions – or anything else – just shout.
Limit the answer options
The number of choices should be limited to no more than four, including options such as “Other” or “Prefer not to answer”. The options should also be clearly differentiated, to help the respondent make a quick decision. For example, choosing between “great” and “amazing” can confuse the respondent.
Avoid misleading poll questions
Objectivity is key to unlocking valuable insights from your B2B polls. Steer clear of questions that push respondents towards a specific answer. For example, ditch the biased “Our software is the most user-friendly on the market. How does it compare to competitors X or Y?” This sets the stage for a pre-determined answer and limits their perspective. In this example, we can fix this issue by rephrasing the question and asking respondents to rate the software brands in order of preference.
As you know by now, engaging your audience effectively often hinges on asking the right questions. Here are 50 poll question examples designed to spark interaction and gather valuable insights:
Tip 1: Define and hold on to your key messages
10 poll question examples for social media
10 poll question examples for work events
10 poll question examples for live events
10 poll question examples for customer feedback
Ready to take your audience engagement to the next level? With the insights shared in this blog, you’re well on your way to crafting an engaging poll that truly resonate with your audience. But remember, a poll is only as good as its question. Following best practices and asking questions that get to the point will help you make the most out of the poll’s results.
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About the author:
Jeroen De Rore
As Creative Copywriter at Pointerpro, Jeroen thinks and writes about the challenges professional service providers find on their paths. He is a tech optimist with a taste for nostalgia and storytelling.
