How to Create a Facebook Poll

Want to survey your friends and family on a divisive topic? Are you a business with a Facebook page looking to get customer feedback from your followers? Or are you simply trying to gain a following and are looking for an easy way to get engagement from your followers? If any of the following scenarios apply to you, then you might be asking yourself how to create a Facebook poll.

how to create a Facebook poll

What is a Facebook Poll? 

A Facebook poll is a feature on Facebook that allows users to ask their followers questions and then see what percentage of their followers agrees with each response. When you add a poll you can create multiple choices by clicking “add options.” You can even start a Facebook poll on mobile apps.

Facebook polls can either be added to a Facebook user’s story or news feed and allow the user to see which of their friends voted for which response. Additionally, the Facebook poll only lasts for a certain amount of time, then everyone can view the results. The amount of time is predetermined by the Facebook user that created the poll. There are several ways that you can use Facebook polls to benefit your business.

How do I Create a Poll on Facebook for my Newsfeed?  

  • First log on to your Facebook account on your computer.
  • Select the write a post button.
  • Depending on if you have the updated version of Facebook or not you will either
  • If you have the older version of Facebook you will, in the “Add to your Post” bar at the bottom select the more button (this will look like three small dots).
  • If you have the updated version of Facebook you will have to first select the Publishing tool button on the left hand side of Facebook, then select the “ Create Post button”.
  • Then select the poll button.
  • Ask the question you wish to poll in the “Ask Something” box.
  • Enter your first poll option in option 1.
  • Enter your second poll option in option 2.
  • Repeat these steps until you have entered all the possible options.
  • Select the duration of the poll arrow and select the date you want your poll to end.
  • Finally you select the “Share Now” button to publish!

How do I Create a Poll for My Facebook Story on the iOS or Android Facebook App?

  • First, open the Facebook app and login to your account if you are not already logged in.
  • Select the Home Page button.
  • You should see an area that says “Add to Story”, select Add to Story.
  • Next you either select text, a photo, or video to put your Facebook poll on.
  • Once you have chosen the photo, video, or text, select the sticker button in the upper right corner.
  • Then select the poll button.
  • Type the question you wish to ask in the “Ask a Question” box.
  • There is already a “yes” or “no” response pre-filled in, however if you wish to change the response options either select the yes or no response to change it.
  • Then select the “Done” button in the upper right corner.
  • You can then resize the Facebook poll sticker and move it to your desired location.
  • Once you are content with the poll’s size and placement you can select the “Share to my Story” button from the bottom left corner.
  • Your Facebook friends can now vote on your poll and see the current results of the poll after they have voted.

How to Start a Poll on Facebook Groups: 

  • First log on to Facebook on your desktop or laptop.
  • Make sure you are on the Newsfeed section of your page.
  • Then select the groups (the groups button will be on the left hand side of Facebook).
  • Select the “What’s on your mind” button.
  • Then select the more button (it looks like three little dots) which is located in the bottom right.
  • Then select the poll button.
  • Enter your question in the “Ask a Question” box.
  • Then fill out your answer options to the polls.
  • Then click the post button to publish your poll.

How do I Create a Poll on Facebook That is Highly Engaging? 

Now that you have learned how to make a poll on Facebook, you might be wondering what makes a good Facebook poll. Make sure your poll is relevant to the content on your Facebook page. Regardless of if this is a personal Facebook page or business Facebook page, it is important that you know how to make a poll on Facebook that your followers will be interested in. Polls are an excellent way to improve social media engagement.

For example, if you are trying to promote your small bakery business you might want to poll your Facebook friends asking them if they prefer strawberry or vanilla cakes. This will get your followers to start thinking about cakes in association with the name of your bakery.

Ideally this could plant the idea in their mind that the next time they are hungry they should go to your bakery. If you use Facebook as a personal account and not a business page then the best way to achieve this is by asking a poll that is relevant to your life and interests. For example if you have a passion for fishing and often post on Facebook about it, then asking your followers the best fishing spot in town might be a good start.

Make Sure Your Questions are Easy to Understand

Another helpful tip to keep in mind after learning how to start a poll on Facebook is to keep the polls simple and easy to understand. Your Facebook followers will not be interested in participating in your Facebook poll if they are struggling to understand your question. This is why you might want to use the “add options” feature to create multiple choices sparingly, particularly when you consider that many users are on a mobile device.

Facebook poll questions should be no more than one sentence to limit confusion. Additionally the answers to the Facebook poll should also be short and easy to understand.

Make Sure Your Poll is Easy to See 

If you are creating a Facebook poll on your story, make sure that the picture or video you are using still allows your Facebook friends to clearly see the Facebook poll. Even if you can read the Facebook poll on top of the picture, make sure that the background is not too distracting.

You want your Facebook friends to focus all their attention on the poll itself, not the background image. A neutral or very simple background image would be the best option. Depending on the circumstance, you can also choose a background image or video that relates to the topic of the Facebook poll, as long as it is not too distracting.

Try Promoting Your Poll

If you have a Facebook poll that you wish to reach a larger audience than just your own followers, try promoting your poll. Especially if you are a business page on Facebook, this can be a great way to market your product or service.

Facebook polls are much more engaging than regular print advertisements and could help a business build brand awareness with consumers. This is just one way that you can use Facebook for marketing your business. If you have some extra money to spend on promotions using a Facebook poll could be a great way to drive traffic to your website.

Schedule Your Poll During High Traffic Times 

Facebook allows users to schedule their polls for certain times. Posting a poll during the middle of the night will most likely result in a low amount of engagement from your Facebook friends. An easy way to see when your Facebook followers are most active is to look at when your most popular posts were published.

If you notice a pattern of when your most popular Facebook posts were made, then that is probably when you should post your Facebook poll. So, what are the best times to post on Facebook? If you do not notice a pattern of when your most popular times are, then I would recommend between 1 and 3 p.m. This is the time when most users log onto Facebook, however depending on your followers this can vary, so it is important to check when your followers are most active.

how to start a poll on Facebook

How Do I Share the Results With my Friends? 

After spending the time to learn how to make a poll on Facebook you might be interested in sharing the results with your friends. First make sure to check the “The poll results are publicly accessible” button. If you are only interested in having some but not all of the poll results be public then you can always un-check “the question results are public” option for the questions you do not want your Facebook friends to see.

Now What?

After you learn how to start a poll on Facebook, the hard part is over. Monitor it and see how many of your friends engage with it. If the poll is successful, then maybe consider making a new Facebook poll in the future. If the poll is not successful then maybe reflect on the poll and see what could be improved for the future.

Although Facebook continues to change as a platform throughout the years, one thing Facebook will always have is a lot of users with a lot of opinions. If you need help with Facebook content creation, contact SEO Design Chicago today!

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