Want to pick your audience‘s brains while also driving more engagement? Facebook polls are an underutilized tool perfectly suited for entrepreneur market research and promotion.
When crafted thoughtfully, polls can yield actionable insights and spark organic community conversations. In fact, HubSpot reports Facebook poll posts generate 53% more engagement than the average post.
As a small business consultant who‘s helped dozens of startups maximize their social presence, I‘ve seen polls work magic firsthand. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll share insider tips to help YOU start reaping the benefits too!
Crafting Compelling Poll Questions
The question itself sets the foundation for success. You need clear, focused wording that piques interest and provokes a reaction.
Formats That Work
Here are some of my favorite Facebook poll question frameworks:
- Either/or – These present two distinct choices to pit against each other – like dogs vs. cats or Marvel vs. DC. The binary nature makes them extremely easy to answer.
- Agree/disagree – Ask for opinions by presenting a statement and having people weigh in on whether they concur or not. Just watch out for controversy!
- Multiple choice – When you have more than two options (but try to keep it under five), multiple choice allows people to pick their favorite. Ranking variations take more thought but provide richer data.
- Open-ended – If you‘re unsure of responses or want to crowdsource ideas, an open-ended poll invites write-in suggestions. Review and tally these by hand for qualitative insights.
Best Practices
No matter the format, apply these rules of thumb:
- Ask ONE clear question – Don‘t overload the poll or muddy the waters. Focus it down to a single topic people can quickly grasp.
- Keep it RELEVANT – The question should closely align with your brand, products, industry or community. Stick to what you know!
- Trigger EMOTIONS – Fundamental human motivators like laughter, frustration, pride and anger inspire more fervent reactions…for better or worse!
- Alternate FREQUENTLY – Don‘t overdo it, but posting a fresh poll every week or two keeps curiosity and responses high.
Promoting Your Poll
You crafted a masterpiece question. Now it‘s time to get it in front of voteres!
Run Facebook Ads
The best way to tap into hyper-targeted new audiences is with Facebook advertising.
- Create an Engagement campaign with poll post targeting interests aligned to your poll topic.
- Start with a $5-10/day budget – the low competition here goes a long way!
- Send traffic to your Facebook Page to drive awareness and Page Likes too.
Make it easy for fans to organically spread the word to their own networks.
- Incentivize it! Offer an entry into a prize drawing for every 3 shares.
- Have a call to action like "Tag 3 friends you want to get input from below!"
Cross-Promote
Tap into synergistic communities you already have a presence in.
- Share your poll post in relevant Facebook Groups if allowed.
- Post it on subsidiary brand pages that reach different fans.
- Email customers requesting they vote and pass it along.
Analyzing and Applying Learnings
Once your poll is complete, dive into the analytics to uncover those gem insights!
Facebook offers great built-in metrics around:
- Total votes
- Vote split percentages
- Demographic data like age, gender and location
- Comments and tagged friends
Compare this quantitative data to the qualitative sentiment in people‘s associated reactions and remarks.
Look for surprising outcomes, consensus around topics, or ideas you perhaps hadn‘t considered before.
Then get creative in applying learnings across areas like:
- New products or features
- Underserved customer segments
- Pain points to address
- Content format preferences
- Misconceptions to clear up
And most importantly…follow UP! Let participants know how their feedback is positively impacting your business. Seeing action builds loyalty.
Pro Tips to Boost Results
Here are some advanced tactics to become a true polls master:
Sweeten the Deal – Encourage more votes by attaching a compelling incentive like discount codes, giveaways or first-access perks.
Get Specific – Hyper-targeted polls aimed at certain customer archetypes, regions, etc. produce more precise insights.
Go Live – Broadcast a live video session for real-time reactions to ideas. The immediacy fuels participation!
Partner Up – Work with complementary brands to run joint polls, contests and share resources. Cross-promotion expands reach.
The options are endless when you leverage polls creatively. I hope these tips and best practices empower you to start reaping rewards! Let me know how it goes or if any other questions come up.
Now…time to pick your followers‘ brains! What are you waiting for? 😎
