Close button for feature banner

See Where Your Brand Stands Against Your Industry

Download Dash Hudson's Cross-Channel Industry Benchmarks

Instagram Poll Ideas to Make Your Stories More Engaging

Loreal Dancause
December 7, 2022
Last Updated On
instagram poll depicting glossy or matte options for favorite lip cream finishes

Due to their participatory nature, many of us have felt compelled to interact with brand and creator polls on Instagram. Whether it's to express our opinions or see the results, polls are a great way to engage audiences. For brands looking to increase engagement and better understand their followers, Instagram polls offer a great way to gain insights while boosting user interaction. When you allow your audience to participate in your social media community, they naturally become much more engaged and interested in your brand.

There may not always be an easy way to come up with Instagram Story poll ideas that are original and not repetitive, but we have compiled a list for you to refer to when faced with a creative block. 

How To Create an Instagram Poll

The good news is that a poll is one of the easiest ways to increase engagement on your Instagram page, and it only takes a minute. Here are a few easy steps to creating your first Instagram poll:

  1. Open the Instagram Stories page by selecting the '+' button at the bottom of your screen.
  2. Next, upload the picture or video you want as your Story's background. You may also select a color or gradient as your background.  
  3. Once you've added your background, click on the stickers icon on the top right of the screen. Inside the stickers menu, select the 'poll' option.
  4. Your poll sticker can then be placed anywhere on your Story. In your poll, you can enter a question and choose how your followers will answer it. Yes/no options can be kept or modified.
  5. Lastly, publish/post your poll.

As soon as you post your poll, you'll be able to see what your followers vote for by sliding up on your Story.

Instagram Poll Ideas for Brands

It is not difficult to create an Instagram poll that resonates with your followers and encourages them to engage. Creating more polls will give you a better understanding of what audiences are more likely to respond to and how to use those insights. Here are a few ideas to get you started. 

Ask About New Products

Ask your followers for their input on new products or services you may be planning to release soon. As well as increasing excitement about the new drop, this is an excellent way to find out what your target audience is interested in. 

Get Followers Excited for a New Drop or Collab

Another poll idea of Instagram is getting followers excited about a new drop or collab. Posting teasers on your Instagram Story using the polls feature is a great way to get your followers excited about collaborating with you or dropping a new product. Start creating a buzz by letting them guess what's coming. 

Promote New Articles or Videos

A great way to use Instagram polls is to promote your new articles or videos that you may have posted on other social channels or your website. Ask your followers about a topic related to the article or video you wish to promote while linking the external content to the Story you are promoting. 

Learn More About Your Followers

You can learn a lot about how your followers use Instagram by conducting polls. Ask them what type of content they like, how often they use Instagram, how long they think they spend on the app, etc., and you'll have invaluable insights to inform your Instagram content strategy.

Use Current Events in Pop Culture

The internet is dominated by Millennials and Gen Z users, especially regarding Instagram. Because most of them follow current events in pop culture, using relevant topics in your Instagram Stories will attract and intrigue users. Consider featuring one of Kim Kardashian's red carpet looks in your Story with a poll asking if your audience likes it. Using pop culture in your poll will attract followers, keep your brand relevant, and show how trends change.

Instagram Poll Formats 

Once you have decided what topic your Instagram poll will be about, you need to decide what format you want to use. There are many ways to design Instagram Stories using different formats and layouts. 

Yes or No

The Yes or No feature is the default poll option, and it never fails. This is a great, simple way to get an idea of how your audience feels about specific products or topics with the easy click of a button.

This or That

You can use this poll to compare two products or services and learn what your audience prefers. By doing this, you can gain insight into what your followers like and what you can do differently in the future.

Would You Rather

Another creative format for Instagram Story polls is playing 'would you rather' with your audience. Thus, your followers can choose between two options, which is a creative way to interact with them and increase engagement.  

Emoji Slider

The emoji slider poll lets followers slide an emoji across a bar, indicating how much they like or dislike something. It's an engaging and fun way to get your audience's perspective. 

Optimize Instagram Stories With Dash Hudson

Dash Hudson is an excellent tool for optimizing Instagram Stories. The platform gives you all the Instagram Story Insights necessary for analyzing how your content is performing, such as identifying which content drives clicks and segmenting your content by type, campaign, or aesthetic to see what works best. In addition, Dash Hudson has also created Instagram Story performance benchmarks per industry, allowing brands to gain insight by comparing their KPIs to overall competitors in the same industry.

FAQs

How do you make a good Instagram poll?

There are a few factors to consider when creating a good Instagram poll. Keep your question short and sweet since there is a limit of 80 characters, and avoid open-ended questions so your followers will participate. 

What are good questions to ask on Instagram polls?

You can use Instagram polls to learn more about your audience, but the best questions will inspire additional engagement or conversation. Here are some examples of questions you can use to engage your audience. 

  • What is your favorite way to consume content?
  • In the run of a day, how much time do you think you spend on Instagram?
  • What are your thoughts on the launch of ___?
  • What do you think we are working on next?

Can you see who voted on Instagram polls?

You can see who has voted once your Instagram Story poll has been posted. To see your poll results, swipe up to access the viewer list for that Story. You will then see how many votes each option received, who voted, and what option they chose. After 24 hours, you will no longer be able to see who voted or viewed your Story - even if you have saved the poll as a highlight.

How do I make a poll with more than 2 options?

Once you click on the stickers icon on the top right of the screen of your Story and select the 'poll' option, you will have two opportunities to write the answer options. It will say faintly under the second choice, 'add another option'. You can add up to four options from there. 

Related Articles

The Only Social Platform Marketers Need To Succeed and Scale