How To Use Instagram Polls To Increase Engagement
The most important thing you can do as a business with a social media account is increase your engagement. Engagement indicates the amount your followers interact with you. This could be through likes, comments, sharing your post, or any other interaction. This engagement indicates interest. And interest leads to buying from your business. On Instagram, the best way to do this is by adding polls to your Instagram stories.
The Importance of Engagement
It’s more important to have 50 engaged followers than 100 unengaged followers. Here’s why.
People who engage with your posts will see more of your posts. If someone follows you and never engages with your page, it’s unlikely your posts will ever reach them. Just like other platforms, Instagram shows the accounts they think users will be the most interested in.
People who engage with your posts are more likely to buy from you. Remember: engagement indicates interest. And interested followers are already on the hook, just waiting for you to reel them in and close the sale.
People who engage with your posts can bring valuable insights to your marketing strategy. Never underestimate the power of feedback. Read what people comment on your posts or the messages they send you. Pay attention to the posts that get the most engagement. Use these insights in your future marketing strategies.
Types of Instagram Polls and How to Use Them
Here are four types of Instagram polls and how you should use them.
The Two-Option Poll
This poll was originally used to pose a yes/no question to your followers. But it can do so much more. You can roll out two new products and ask your followers which they like best. Similarly, you can ask for help making a decision between two options. This gives you insights into what your followers want, and makes them feel like they are part of the process. Here are a few questions you can pose with this poll.
Which color are you most excited for?
Make it a yes/yes option and ask an obvious question such as…
Are you excited for summer?
Are you ready for our newest addition?
Or build a relationship by asking them questions about themselves such as…
Which ice cream flavor is your favorite?
Football or baseball?
2. The Emoji slider
Use the emoji slider to evoke emotion. Choose an emoji to place on a slider and pose a question to your followers. You can generate excitement by asking a question with a happy emoji. Or target a problem your business solves and add a frustrated emoji. The question you pose should be obvious, enticing users to slide all the way to the right. Below are a few questions you can use for this poll.
How excited are you for our new release?
How frustrating is it when this happens?
How cute is this?
Are you ready for summer?
3. The Straightforward Poll
This option allows you to ask a question and list up to four answers users can choose from. You can use this option in the same way you use the two-option poll. Engage with followers about an upcoming product release or ask for suggestions for new content or other small business decisions.
The main difference, apart from more options to choose from, is you can choose a “correct” answer. This gives you the opportunity to tease an upcoming release or build a relationship with your followers with behind-the-scenes insights or your company story. Below are a few questions you could ask for this poll.
Guess the color scheme for our spring line!
Which service do you want to learn more about?
Help us decide! What product should we bring back for our comeback sale?
Host a quiz to build relationships and ask questions such as…
What year did we open our business?
What was our first service or product to offer?
Where are we located?
4. The Ask me a Question
This poll is very open. There are no options to choose from. Instead, users use a text box to either ask you a question or enter an answer to a question you ask them. This is a great way to get suggestions from your followers or hear what they want to know from you. Here are a few ways you can set up this poll.
Ask us anything!
What do you want to see more of?
What questions do you have about working with us?
Engage Your Followers, Don’t Just Accumulate Them
Social media platforms are a two-way street. They exist to grow relationships. You can use polls to ask questions about your business, yourself, or your followers. Polls empower your followers to communicate with you, which is how relationships grow. Build relationships with your followers. Both more followers and more sales will come.
