A mind-blowing 500 million Stories are posted on Instagram every day.
Whether you’re part of the 50 percent of brands that are already creating Stories, or the other 50 percent that should definitely be thinking about it, you’re probably wondering: How do you keep your content fresh and exciting?
One way is to keep your Stories interesting and interactive by adding features like Polls that allow viewers to interact with your content.
If you’re looking for inspiration, we’ve put together 7 great ways brands are using Surveys in their stories.
How to use Polls in Instagram Stories
Polls allow you to ask your followers a question with two answer options. Here’s how to add this feature to your Stories:
1. Find the stickers icon on the screen. upper right corner of your screenand tap the Polls icon to add it to your Story.
2. Add your question and answers. The default responses are “Yes” and “No”, but you can customize the text and even add emojis.
There is no character limit for questions, but each answer is limited to 22 characters (we tested it ourselves).
3. Check your results! You can swipe up from your Story to check how people voted in the Poll and see the total number of views.
4. Your survey will run for 24 hours with your Story. Don’t forget to share the results with your followers after they’re finished! This is a way to show them that you listen and value their participation.
5. If you want to keep your poll live for more than 24 hours, add it to a Featured Stories.
7 creative ways brands use Instagram Stories Polls
As SNL producer Lorne Michaels puts it, “There is no limit to creativity.” Similarly, the simple Surveys feature offers unlimited opportunities to create fun and dynamic content.
Here are just 7 examples to spark your own creativity.
1. Take a test
Media giant Buzzfeed is probably best known for its quizzes, as anyone who’s discovered what kind of sandwich can confirm it. Naturally, Buzzfeed News has considered using Polls to create audience tests on Instagram Stories as well!
The tests aren’t just for Buzzfeed, of course.
Vanity Fair also proved how fun the quiz format can be when they created a Royal Wedding quiz to prepare audiences for Meghan and Harry’s wedding.
The quiz was fun on its own (did you know daffodils are an emblem of Wales?) and also wraps up extensive Royal Wedding coverage.
That’s the secret to a good quiz: Make sure it contributes to your overall content strategy. Content should align with your other posts and brand identity.
“Which Hogwarts House Do You Belong To?” It may work for Buzzfeed, but it may not work for you.
2. Display your product catalog
“Show, don’t tell” is an important rule of thumb in storytelling, and for good reason. Why tell the audience about all the great products you offer when you can make a bigger impact?
IKEA USA used Polls to show their followers the range of kitchen options and asked them to vote for their favourites. This approach can work for any type of product (as long as you have at least two products to compare) whether it’s dog-print sweaters or sweaters for dogs.
It’s especially useful if you want to increase the visibility of a product line or a special promotion.
In IKEA’s case, they were promoting an upcoming sale on their kitchen line. Surveys attracted viewers, followed by a discount code and more information about the sale.
This type of product survey also provides valuable insight into your customers’ preferences.
This brings us to another clever use of polls…
3. Do customer research
Have you ever wished you had a crystal ball so you could see what your customers are up to? really to want?
The next best thing is an Instagram Poll. It is a simple form of customer research that allows you to ask your audience important questions and continue to provide them with quality content!
For example, swimwear brand Mimi Hammer used Polls to ask customers which swimsuit designs they prefer.
Although they are essentially creating a customer survey, Mimi Hammer still used high-quality images to frame the questions. No matter what your survey is about, you should always maintain the visual consistency of your brand and include striking visuals that will grab the attention of your target audience.
4. Drive traffic to your website
Is getting viewers to click on your website one of your social media goals? Polls can help you drive viewers to your website.
Elle Magazine made this a big impact with their Poll on Netflix rom com To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. In a cute Poll series, they mocked the content of their film-related articles and provided incentives to scroll up and read the whole thing.
Even those who had not watched the movie were able to cover the entire audience by participating in the Survey.
5. Promote social responsibility
Viewers (especially millennials) expect brands to share their values such as sustainability, giving back to the community and honesty. Polls are a way to share your company’s values and encourage your followers to take action on important issues that you both care about.
Refinery29 did this well by encouraging its followers to vote in the November 2018 midterm elections. They’ve posted a few Stories reminding viewers of important dates and deadlines, and added Polls asking if they’ve signed up yet.
Here, Poll encouraged viewers to vote by providing a reality check on how many of their peers were already registered. (Gentle peer pressure is an effective tool!)
He also made it clear that Refinery29 values civic participation and the democratic process and believes its followers share this value.
Your company may want to avoid getting into social and political issues altogether, but if you decide to join, here are a few tips from a successful case study.
6. Train your followers
Chances are, informing your audience about your services, products or mission is part of your company mission.
Education is an important part of your content strategy, and Surveys can be a valuable educational tool.
Meditation app Headspace knows a lot about this: A large part of its work is educating users in mindfulness and reflection. To this end, they used Questionnaires in a series of Stories that teach viewers about mindful eating.
The Survey also served as an introduction to blog content, and viewers swiped up to learn more after participating in the Survey.
7. Just for fun
Of course, it’s important to set goals and keep track of your metrics. But remember that your audience is on Instagram because they enjoy it.
Sometimes you can keep it simple and try to have fun with your Stories too!
Split a long string of Story posts with a fun Poll to keep audiences from differing, as MOMA did with their #ArtSpeaks series.
Or ask a silly question to complete a hilarious caption, like REI did in this dad joke. (These are also great examples of how to use the “Slider label” similar to Polls.)
You can also review important topics, as Grub Street did with the donut-flavored Survey.
No matter how you decide to use them, Polls are an easy way to connect with your Instagram followers and spice up your Stories.
Want even more inspiration for your Instagram content strategy? Find out how brands are using the Questions tag and see who pulled it out of the park with their Stories.
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