4 Ways To Harness The Fun and Power of Instagram Polls
Instagram is on a roll.
Instagram has the hottest growth trajectory of the social media platforms, and while Facebook may still be the king of them all, Zuckerberg's 2012 purchase of the photo-based social media application illustrates the power and popularity it possesses.
Driving the growth of Instagram is innovation. By habitually launching new, eagerly received features, Instagram seems to have an uncanny ability to predict what their audience is going to love: threaded comments, stickers, hashtags, galleries, Stories, the Superzoom tool, and Instagram Live.
Instagram Story Poll Stickers
One of the most recent ideas Instagram has rolled out is a new interactive sticker called Instagram Polls.
Launched in October, Polls allows you to "drag and drop" a simple sticker onto your story image, and you're then presented with options for customizing a simple question. You can use either a "yes or no" or "which of these two" format. Users can then tap on their choice and cast a vote. As soon as they do, they are shown the running results. As publisher of the poll, you can open up the list of viewers and see these voting results, and also who voted which way.
Cool feature, huh? And Instagrammers seem to be taking to it with relish. But understanding and efficiently instituting new features can be difficult for businesses who've recently adapted to this technology trend. Here are four concepts to ease your journey:
1. Build Brand Awareness
Use Polls to market your brand in an interesting and engaging way, and then to stay top of mind.
If you Google "Mail Chimp Freddie," you will find hundreds of images of this well-known mascot. MailChimp has worked diligently to make him instantly recognizable and linked with their company.
So, it's no surprise that MailChimp was one of the first to jump on the new Instagram polls feature, putting Freddie front and center. They used two images of the chimp – "Yeti Freddie" and "Rock and Rock Roll Freddie" – with the simple question, "Who is your fav?"
In this instance, the poll results are probably not the point. For MailChimp, it's an exercise in "Freddie" awareness. For the rest of us, this translates to pure brand awareness. It's fun, it makes the consumer feel like an insider, and it's one more cementing of the mascot in the collective consciousness.
Well done, MailChimp!
2. Get Feedback From Consumers
You don't always have the luxury of in-depth surveys or focus groups, but an Instagram poll is a fast and inexpensive way to get some feedback from consumers. Sure, there are more thorough and scientific ways to collect data, but an Instagram poll allows you to survey the preferences of your audience quickly.
Burger King jumped on this with a simple question, "What's for dinner tonight?", Giving two of their sandwich products as options – the BK Veggie or the Keema Crunch. In doing so, they simultaneously suggested that Burger King might be a good choice for dinner while gathering some data on which of these sandwiches was most appealing to the demographic on Instagram.
There are unlimited opportunities and methods when utilizing Instagram Polls. If a business is rolling out new seasonal product lines, these simple polls could be used to help determine inventory stocking levels.
3. Offer A Softer Sell
A direct call to action can be beneficial; however, their continual presentation to consumers can limit CTA power. Sometimes an approach that is a softer sell may be less abrasive, and it can arouse a greater sense of curiosity.
Nykaa posted a poll asking Instagram users to choose between two of their products, a strategy that raised product awareness unobtrusively. Nykaa asked users to consider the products but presented it as a poll.
4. Channel the Power of FOMO
The "FOMO" acronym stands for "Fear of Missing Out." The fear that, if you are not present at an event or social function, your peers will have a raging good time, and you'll have missed out.
An Instagram poll could easily be used by event coordinators to stir FOMO in their audience. They could ask followers if they are planning to attend, and ask for a simple "yes" or "no" response.
Psychologically, tapping "yes" can produce the feeling of being "in" the community, while giving a sense of accomplishment.
Tapping "no," on the other hand, is an active decision not to attend. But missing an event is usually more passive than active – the individual wasn't interested enough, or they forgot. The poll, psychologically, makes saying "no" more active, which stimulates the FOMO.
Caution: Know what it is you're trying to achieve
We're just scratching the surface of the possibilities offered by Instagram polls. Keep watching, and you're bound to see companies experimenting with this feature to enhance their businesses.
A possible danger to avoid is using these polls only in ad hoc ways that do not offer much more than novelty value and do not line up with your business objectives.
So, you need to think through what you are trying to achieve. Is your priority raising your overall brand awareness? Or is it product awareness? Or are you looking to get feedback from your audience?