How To Write Instagram Poll Questions That Maximize Engagement in 2024

With over 200 million business accounts on Instagram, it’s vital you find a way to:

• Stand out
• Increase engagement
• Connect with your customers

Instagram polls are a tool that can help you do just that. Instagram poll questions are an easy way to increase customer interactions, leading to better brand recall and awareness.

In this post, we’ll cover how to post a poll on Instagram and how Instagram polls help grow your brand and how to create killer polls that increase engagement.

How effective Instagram poll questions help your brand grow

Think of Instagram poll questions as a direct line to the inner thoughts of your customers.

They’re quick, easy to respond to, and your followers can speak their minds without worry. What does this mean for you?

• You can easily ask customers about new potential products.
• You get quick product feedback from the people who support your business.
• You can use customer ideas as future content or inspiration to create new products.

Polls can even drive customer actions. Next Games ran a polling sticker on their ad resulting in 40% more app downloads than the equivalent poll-less ad.

So instead of developing new products or content behind closed doors, why not involve your followers? Not only will they feel more appreciation for your brand, but you’ll also find ways to serve your customers better.

How to make an poll questions for Instagram

Rather than relying on customer service after a problem occurs, you should learn about how to do Instagram poll. You can use Instagram polls as a form of customer success marketing. Success marketing is all about supporting your customers throughout their buying journey by:

• Proactive complaint handling through feedback polls.
• Educating customers on products so they can find the best fit.
• Holding Q&A sessions to drive engagement.

Now, before we continue, here’s how you can set up an Instagram poll step-by-step.

1. Head to Instagram stories by clicking ‘Your Story’ or swiping right.
2. Upload a background photo from your gallery in the bottom left corner.
3. Tap the sticker icon. It’s the little square with a smiley face at the top of the screen.
4. Choose ‘Poll’ or an equivalent, such as ‘Questions’ or ‘Quiz.’
5. Fill in the sticker with your question and the answers you want followers to see by tapping each section.
6. Position your chosen sticker where it best fits your background.
7. Share your post and wait for your followers to engage.

Note: You can also skip the process by clicking ‘Create,’ which gives you some basic templates, such as ‘Questions.’

Elements of a good Instagram poll

Excellent polls increase your Instagram engagement rate.

But what’s the difference between an effective poll and one that falls flat?

1. Keep it short and sweet: Your followers should only need a few seconds to think of an answer. If you want to create a lengthy quiz, you can split the question (or answers) across many stories.

2. Have a goal for the poll: Having a goal before creating the poll will help you structure it well. For example, you can create a short quiz to educate followers who get the answers wrong. In saying that, not every poll needs to have an end goal, but it does help.

3. Make it relevant: Relevant polls are better at engaging your followers, so ensure it’s something they’re interested in — for example, product and industry news. Sports events, holidays, and social movements can also be relevant depending on your audience. Similarly, your question must inspire people to take action with urgency. Otherwise, it won’t stick with them long-term.

4. Use an eye-catching design: Great designs draw eyeballs and stop thumbs. So while Instagram provides some basic templates, it’s a good idea to use professional design templates to stand out.

8 types of Instagram poll questions to try

Create poll on Instagram that is super versatile. You can use them to create hype for a new product, increase brand awareness, and more.

So here are eight ways to make the most of Instagram polls.

#1. This or that questions

These or that social media poll questions are simple ‘A’ or ‘B’ polls that you can use to discover which options your followers prefer.

For example:

• Fashion influencers could create a poll for the next outfit they will wear.
• Vloggers could poll followers on the type of video they want to see next.
• A designer could share two versions of a product they’re creating to see which to focus on.

Here’s an example from Gymshark, where they share a ‘this or that’ question about Halo Top. While it’s not for their own brand, there’s every chance that it was a paid promotion since Gymshark and Halo Top share a similar audience.

Source: Gymshark

#2. Trivia poll questions

Trivia polls are a great way to capture your audience’s attention for longer.

But remember, it’s good to keep each story short and link them together in a sequence. You can also mix up the types of questions you use. For example, you can start with a ‘this or that’ question followed by a quiz-style question.

Another benefit of a trivia poll is that it may signal to Instagram that your followers are interested in your content. In turn, this may boost the visibility of future posts.

This HubSpot example is a perfect execution of the trivia poll. They opened the trivia with a general question and then moved into specifics. The best part of the poll was making their followers choose between two options but ending with the fact that every option was important.

This ending makes followers think about their choices. As a result, they’re more likely to click the link to see if they’re a customer service expert.

Source: HubSpot

#3. “Do you…” questions

“Do you” or “Are you” questions are a way to drive engagement through your direct messages. It’s also a great way to increase awareness about an upcoming event, such as a product launch, webinar, etc.

The main goal of these questions is to get your followers to answer in a way that gives you an excuse to continue the conversation with them.

For example:

After a follower responds, you can use a tailored response to engage with them. For example, if somebody clicks ‘Already did,’ you can share recovery tips or ask them how their workout was. But if they selected ‘Definitely,’ you could share some encouragement or ask them what they’re training.

It’s also a chance to share information about your product or service as long as it relates to the question and answer.

Here are some more examples below.

Source: Rasa

Source: Beautyymyth

#4. Questions that build hype for your products

Whether a product’s coming up to its release day or you need to build hype for an existing product, this option is for you.

There are a few ways to do it:

• You can go the simple route by using, ‘Who’s excited about x product?’
• You can go the informational route by asking your followers if they know about the release.
• You can go the benefits route by asking customers if they’re ready for x solution. E.g., “Are you ready to lose 10 pounds in the next 30 days?”

These questions can build intrigue and, in some cases, position your product as the solution to customer problems. You can do this by creating a narrative about your brand. For example, if you sell fitness clothing or manage a gym, you can discuss healthy lifestyles and exercise routines. Then next time they’re looking for a new gym outfit, you’ll be the first one they think of.

This example from Samsung uses the benefit/problem-solving route. They position their product as the solution for anyone who wants to capture great photos at night with just their mobile phone.

After the question, they followed up with video footage from their product as proof that it works.

Source: Samsung Mobile

#5. Quiz questions

Like trivia, quizzes are always fun — especially if no one finds out if you get a question wrong!

Quizzes are great brand builders for two reasons:

1. It helps customers reinforce their knowledge about your brand and industry trends.
2. It’s an opportunity to educate or correct your followers and put them on the right track.

Personal Finance Club, a community for people learning about finance, is an excellent example of using quizzes to educate followers.

If their followers get the question right, they feel good about their knowledge and will likely engage with further quizzes. And if some followers get the question wrong, the following story explains the answer. In turn, these followers learned a valuable fact about personal finance.

Source: Personal Finance Club

#6. Questions people can answer with an emoji slider

You got a sneak peek at this question style during the Samsung example, but you can do more with it.

The main way is to use it as an alternative to the quiz and poll stickers to spice up your stories. But you can also use it for ‘this or that’ questions. It’s also a great choice for questions with a numerical answer, e.g., “How many times do you workout per week?” Or, “How excited are you for x product drop?”

In the examples below, Gymshark uses the emoji slider for two different Q&A styles.

Source: Gymshark

#7. Questions asking for feedback

Besides general engagement and awareness, Instagram polls can give you instant feedback from your audience. You can ask them about the type of content they want to see or the problems you can help solve.

In particular, running product surveys are an excellent way to generate feedback.

Some product survey questions include:

• What do you need our product to do for you?
• What recommendations do you have for future generations of this product?
• What can be improved?
• What is the product adoption curve?

It’s also possible to gauge general interest in a new product, like how Nike does in the examples below.

They start by generating interest by asking an open question about returned shoes. Nike follows up this question with several slides about the refurbishment process while including quizzes in between.

Finally, they end with a question to gauge customer interest in buying refurbished shoes. And then they direct customers to where they can purchase the shoes.

Source: Nike

#8. Questions inspired by trends

The final way to drive engagement with Instagram polls is by piggybacking on trending topics.

It’s best to jump on trends relevant to your brand — for example, a fashion influencer creating a poll on New York Fashion Week. But if it’s a global trend or event that your audience is interested in, it’s possible to include them.

These questions are a great way to mix up the content you post, and they show your personality. And if you’re posting from a business account, it helps humanize the brand, making it easier to connect with.

Note: It’s good to avoid sensitive topics that can cause your followers to get upset.

Here’s an example from Vanity Fair where they used the trending topic of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding.

Source: Vanity Fair

Now it’s your turn to create some Instagram poll questions

It’s a good idea to keep your first Instagram polls on Instagram ideas simple. You can go with a ‘this or that’ question or a simple quiz relating to the problems you solve for your customers.

But before you hit the post button, make sure that it follows the four elements of a good Instagram poll you learned above.

To recap, Instagram polls should be:

1. Short and sweet to keep your audience engaged.
2. Related to a goal (such as promoting a product or helping followers solve a problem).
3. Relevant to your audience (e.g., related to your product, industry, or a global trend).
4. Created with an eye-catching design that stops your followers from tapping the screen.

If you want to learn more about Instagram as an effective marketing tool, check out 5 Reasons and Ways to Use Instagram Stories for Effective Marketing.