Although Google Plus was discontinued in 2019, its poll and survey features were valuable for engaging audiences. Today, businesses can use similar features on other platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram to create polls and surveys to foster engagement. The following guide explains how to use current platforms for creating polls and surveys, with inspiration from the way Google Plus once worked.

1. Identify Your Objective

Before creating a poll or survey, it’s essential to have a clear objective. This will help guide your questions and ensure that the poll adds value for both you and your audience. Common objectives might include:

• Gathering Feedback: Learn what your audience thinks about a product, service, or idea.
• Driving Engagement: Encourage interaction and participation to increase visibility and engagement with your brand.
• Understanding Preferences: Gauge your audience’s interests, preferences, or pain points to tailor your future content or offerings.
• Market Research: Conduct informal market research by asking questions relevant to your industry or field.

For example, if you’re in the fitness industry, you might create a poll to understand what type of workouts your followers prefer (e.g., strength training, cardio, yoga).

2. Choose the Right Platform

Although Google Plus no longer exists, various platforms offer built-in polling features. Selecting the right platform depends on where your target audience spends their time.

• LinkedIn: Ideal for B2B audiences, LinkedIn polls are effective for gathering professional opinions or industry insights.
• Twitter (now X): Twitter polls are great for quick, informal feedback and work well for industries with a highly active Twitter presence.
• Instagram Stories: Instagram offers polls and question stickers, making it a fun and visually engaging way to interact with your audience. Instagram is ideal for B2C brands targeting a younger demographic.
• Facebook: Facebook polls can be used in groups, events, or pages and are ideal for fostering community engagement.
• YouTube Community Tab: If you have a YouTube channel with an engaged audience, the Community Tab allows you to post polls and gather feedback directly from your subscribers.

3. Craft Clear and Engaging Questions

The key to a successful poll or survey is creating clear, concise, and engaging questions that your audience can easily understand and respond to.

• Be Specific: Avoid vague questions. Make sure the options you provide are clear and distinct. For example, instead of asking, “What do you think about our new product?” ask, “Which feature of our new product excites you the most?”
• Limit the Options: Too many options can overwhelm respondents. Offer between 2 to 5 clear options to make it easier for users to choose.
• Use Simple Language: Make your questions easy to understand. Avoid technical jargon or overly complex language unless your audience is familiar with it.

For instance, a retail business could create a poll like, “Which new product line would you like to see next?” with options such as “Home Décor,” “Tech Gadgets,” “Clothing,” or “Sports Gear.”

4. Incorporate Visuals (Where Possible)

Using visuals like images or GIFs can make your poll or survey more engaging, especially on platforms like Instagram or Facebook, which are heavily visual. A visually appealing poll is more likely to grab the audience’s attention and encourage participation.

• Instagram Polls: Use eye-catching photos or graphics in your Instagram Stories polls. You can also use design tools like Canva to create branded graphics for your polls.
• Facebook Polls: Add relevant images to your Facebook polls, especially when seeking feedback on product designs, colors, or styles.
• Twitter (X) Polls: While Twitter polls are text-based, you can still include images or GIFs in the tweet to grab attention and add context.

5. Promote Your Poll or Survey

To maximize engagement, ensure that your poll or survey reaches a wide audience. Share it across multiple channels and encourage your followers to participate.

• Cross-Promotion: Share the poll or survey link across your social media platforms, website, and even email newsletters to drive traffic and participation.
• Use Hashtags: For platforms like Twitter and Instagram, include relevant hashtags to increase the visibility of your poll. This can help it reach a broader audience beyond your immediate followers.
• Pin Your Poll: If the platform allows, pin your poll to the top of your feed (on platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter). This ensures that your audience sees it first when they visit your profile.

For example, if you create a poll on LinkedIn asking, “What’s the biggest challenge your business is facing in 2024?” you could share the link to this poll on your Twitter and Facebook profiles, ensuring that people from other platforms engage with it.

6. Engage with Participants

Engagement doesn’t stop once the poll or survey is live. Actively interact with your audience to keep the conversation going and make them feel valued.

• Acknowledge Participation: Respond to comments or replies. Thank participants for voting or sharing their opinions, either in the comments or through direct messages.
• Ask Follow-Up Questions: If your poll generates interest, take the opportunity to ask follow-up questions. For example, if you’re asking about product preferences, you can ask a more detailed question after the initial poll to dive deeper into the responses.
• Respond to Insights: If people provide detailed feedback in response to your survey, respond to them directly. This can turn into meaningful conversations and deeper insights.

For instance, if you post a poll asking which service improvement your audience would prefer, you could follow up with, “Thank you all for voting! We noticed a strong preference for better customer service. What specific improvements would make your experience better?”

7. Analyze Results and Take Action

Once your poll or survey has concluded, analyze the results carefully to gain actionable insights.

• Identify Trends: Look for patterns in the responses. If a majority of respondents favor one option, this could indicate a clear direction for your next product, service, or campaign.
• Use Data for Decision-Making: Use the data from your poll to inform your decisions. For instance, if your poll reveals that most of your audience prefers written content over video, you might prioritize blog posts over video production in your content strategy.
• Share Results with Your Audience: Let your audience know the results of the poll, especially if their feedback will directly influence a change or decision. Transparency helps build trust and shows that you value their opinions.

For example, if you run a B2B poll on LinkedIn asking, “Which upcoming trend do you think will have the biggest impact on your industry?” you can create a follow-up post summarizing the results and offering your insights on the most popular response.

8. Create a Feedback Loop

One of the most effective ways to increase audience engagement over time is to create a feedback loop by involving your audience in future polls or surveys.

• Survey Follow-Ups: After implementing changes based on a poll or survey, ask your audience how they feel about the improvements or decisions. This keeps them engaged and shows that their input is valuable.
• Iterate Based on Feedback: Use the insights you gain from polls and surveys to continuously refine your products, services, or content. For example, if a poll indicates that your audience prefers a specific type of content, keep iterating and asking for feedback on new versions or improvements.

Conclusion

Although Google Plus is no longer available, the lessons it provided on creating polls and surveys for audience engagement remain useful. By choosing the right platform, crafting engaging questions, promoting your poll, and analyzing the results, you can successfully engage your audience and gain valuable insights on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Keeping the conversation going through active participation and feedback loops will strengthen your relationship with your audience and demonstrate that you value their opinions.