LinkedIn is one of the most popular social media platforms for professionals. With over 722 million users worldwide, it provides a great opportunity for businesses and individuals to build their brand, network, recruit talent, and drive engagement. One feature that has become increasingly popular on LinkedIn is polls, which allow users to easily survey their connections and followers to gain insights. But do polls really help increase engagement on LinkedIn? Here we will explore the pros and cons of using polls and look at whether they are an effective tactic for driving reactions, comments, and shares.
What are LinkedIn polls?
LinkedIn polls are a simple multiple choice survey tool that allows users to ask a question and gather feedback from their connections. Polls can include up to four answer options and are displayed prominently in the LinkedIn feed, which makes them highly visible to a user’s network.
Users can quickly vote in a poll with one click, making them a very low-friction way of soliciting opinions and information. After users vote, they can change their choice or view a live update of the results.
Polls are available to all LinkedIn members through the desktop site or mobile app by composing a new post and selecting the poll option.
The potential benefits of LinkedIn polls for engagement
There are several reasons why polls may help increase engagement on LinkedIn:
Polls spark discussion
Polls provide an easy conversation starter and get people engaged. Asking your connections a simple multiple choice question gives them an excuse to chime in and share their thoughts. Even if they don’t comment, voting in a poll already counts as engagement.
Polls tap into people’s opinions
Humans love sharing their opinions. A poll allows you to tap into this innate desire to be heard. Questions about controversial issues, pop culture, or current events tend to spark lively discussion in the comments.
Visibility in the feed
When scrolling through LinkedIn, polls attract attention because they stand out visually in the feed. This increased visibility results in higher levels of votes and views compared to regular text updates. The poll preview also displays the real-time results, which draws viewers in.
Quick and easy to participate
Voting in a poll takes minimal effort, which lowers the barrier to engagement. Users can interact with a poll almost impulsively without needing to think too hard. This increases the chances that even passive connections will engage with your poll rather than just scroll past it.
Creates a sense of community
Seeing the real-time results displays a snapshot of community opinion. When connections can view how others are voting, it creates a sense of inclusion, social proof, and camaraderie. This makes users more likely to get involved rather than just lurk on the sidelines.
Gamification aspects
Polls tap into our inherent enjoyment of games and voting. The real-time results introduce a competitive gamification element as users root for their choice to come out on top. This engages the community and incentivizes participation.
Potential drawbacks of polls for engagement
While polls can provide the benefits above, there are also a few potential drawbacks to consider:
Engagement might be shallow
While polls drive up comments and reactions, the engagement might be relatively shallow. Some people vote and react without giving much thought or having a meaningful discussion.
Poorly-worded polls fall flat
Crafting an intriguing poll question that resonates with your audience is an art. Badly thought out questions that lack relevance to your audience are unlikely to elicit much response.
Overuse dilutes effectiveness
Too many polls could tire out your audience and cause poll fatigue. This causes each subsequent poll to receive diminishing returns in terms of engagement.
Can come across as spammy
Some users perceive polls as tricks to artificially inflate engagement metrics and could react negatively. Relying too heavily on polls rather than thoughtful content may damage your brand image.
Not ideal for complex issues
Polls work best for questions with unambiguous, defined choices. They are not well-suited to complex issues that require nuanced discussions or open-ended responses.
Tips for using LinkedIn polls effectively
If you do choose to experiment with polls, here are some best practices:
Keep it relevant to your audience
Poll about topics meaningful to your connections based on interests, demographics, industry etc. This makes it more worthwhile for people to get involved.
Rotate poll and non-poll posts
Balance polls with other types of content so you don’t come across as one-dimensional. Sprinkle polls occasionally between industry articles, thought leadership posts etc.
Watch your frequency
Avoid poll overload that could annoy your audience. Limit polls to 2-3 times per week at most. Observe engagement levels to see if declines over time.
Have a purpose behind each poll
Don’t poll just for the sake of it. Each poll should align with a goal like gaining customer feedback, promoting an event, driving signups etc.
Actually use the feedback
Closing the loop by following up on poll results provides incentive for participation and shows users their voices were heard.
Ask open-ended follow up questions
If a poll topic sparks lively debate, lean into it by posting a separate open-ended question to go deeper into the nuances.
Case studies on LinkedIn polls
Here are some real world examples of how brands have successfully used polls on LinkedIn:
Moz
Moz posted a poll asking: “What’s your biggest SEO-related challenge right now?”
This relevant question for their target audience of digital marketers received over 1800 votes. Moz was then able to use the poll results to tailor their content and product offerings to the specific challenges users faced.
Hootsuite
Social media management platform Hootsuite asked their followers: “What’s the first thing you do to boost creativity when planning social campaigns?”
This fun poll ties into their product offering and generated 1100+ votes and lots of creative responses like brainstorming, researching competitors, and drinking coffee.
Forbes
A Forbes poll asked: “How much time are you willing to commute to work each day?”
This timely question about remote work during COVID received 1400+ votes. The poll allowed Forbes to take the pulse of current attitudes around remote and hybrid work schedules.
HubSpot
HubSpot created a poll to gain customer insights around their product packaging. They asked:
“You just got a HubSpot t-shirt in the mail. What do you do with it?”
The poll received 2800 votes and sparked a discussion about influencer marketing and unboxing videos.
Conclusion
The answer to whether LinkedIn polls boost engagement depends on the context. Used judiciously and thoughtfully, polls can be an effective tactic for increasing reactions, comments, shares, and clicks. But relying on them too heavily without substance risks damaging your brand reputation.
The ideal solution is to incorporate the occasional well-crafted and relevant poll to complement your steady stream of high value content. Testing different poll topics and frequencies allows you to find the right balance to meaningfully engage your audience. Just be sure to avoid “pollution” by providing over-saturation.
With LinkedIn’s immense reach, polls are a low-friction way to pick the brains of your professional network and drive organic engagement. But they should ultimately support your overarching content goals rather than be the end in themselves. Keep these best practices in mind and polls may just give your LinkedIn content strategy a healthy boost.
Key Takeaways
– Polls can increase LinkedIn engagement by sparking discussion, tapping into opinions, increasing visibility, gamifying content, and creating community.
– Overusing polls or asking irrelevant questions has drawbacks like shallow engagement and poll fatigue.
– Follow best practices like crafting thoughtful questions, balancing polls with other content, tracking engagement over time, and closing the feedback loop.
– Polls work best when strategically sprinkled in to complement high-quality content rather than becoming the end goal.