It was big news when Twitter recently announced the rollout of Twitter Polls as basic functionality across all Twitter accounts. Previously, Twitter Polls had existed merely in a “bootleg” form; you may have seen countless tweets asking a question and asking followers to retweet if they want to vote for option 1, and Favorite (recently renamed Like) for option 2.
We’ve decided to put together a handy FAQ answering everything under the sun you may be wondering about the new Twitter Polls functionality, and how to best use it to bolster your brand or organization. Read away:
What are Twitter Polls?
They’re…polls on Twitter. Seriously, ask me a harder one.
In all seriousness, Twitter Polls are a new feature that allows users to chime in on all sorts of topics in a structured manner.
How many choices can you add in your Twitter Poll?
At present, you must input at least two choices, with a maximum of four allowed.
How do you vote in a Twitter Poll?
That’s easy. Whenever you see a poll within a tweet, just click/tap the option you’d like to select. Once you vote, the results are instantly displayed, with a checkmark next to the choice you selected.
How many times can vote on each Twitter Poll?
Just once, unless you’re being sneaky and signing in on multiple accounts for some odd, sketchy reason.
How can I view a poll’s final results?
Once a poll ends, if you’ve voted in it, you will receive a notification letting you know of the final results.
How long do Twitter Polls last?
Each one ends anywhere between 5 minutes and 7 days after it’s been posted, depending on the duration set by the user who posted the poll. The default duration for any poll is 24 hours.
What if I don’t want my votes to be public?
No problem. By default, you’re voting in private. Poll participants can’t see how particular people have voted. In fact, the creator of the poll can’t either.
How do I actually create a Twitter Poll?
Create a Twitter Poll at any time using either the web interface or the iOS or Android versions of the Twitter app. On twitter.com, just start composing a tweet as usual, but hit the “add poll” icon and start typing your poll question in the main compose box. Insert your first choice in the Choice 1 box, second choice in the Choice 2 box, and…we think you’re smart enough to figure out the third and fourth (optional) options.
What if I want a lot of responses to my Twitter Poll?
By all means, encourage your users to retweet your poll! Of course, they’ll be more likely to do so if you ask an interesting question. People can also vote in polls directly from a retweet.
You can also pin a poll to the top of your timeline, making it most likely to get more votes. Of course, a poll can only be voted on for 24 hours, even if you pin it to the top of your timeline.
How do I add a picture to my Twitter Poll?
You can’t. At least not yet. If Twitter Polls take off, one logical step would be for Twitter to monetize them by allowing advertisers to pay for additional options, such as adding media to their polls.
How else might Twitter monetize Twitter Polls?
The most obvious route would be to encourage companies to pay for more responses to their polls. Since Twitter already owns so much data about each and every user, a company could tweet the poll “What kind of shoes are your favorite?” and then Twitter could parse the answers for its advertiser. So, the advertiser would learn, for instance, that action film enthusiasts love basketball sneakers, but foreign film lovers prefer boat shoes.
I’m looking for some examples of brands using Twitter Polls. Who’s a good example to follow?
Sports brands such as Major League Baseball and the Dallas Cowboys were some of the first to experiment with polling. Nissan asked its followers what they would do if they had a new GTR model car for a day. The World Health Organization has polled its audience about antibiotics; moreover, they cleverly used their Twitter Poll to a longer quiz on their website. In this manner, they used the initial Twitter Poll as part of an engagement funnel to draw its audience further into its mission.
What are some ways to use Twitter Polls?
If you’re using Twitter on behalf of a brand, there are a number of useful ways to employ Twitter Polls. Here are some we’ve noticed work particularly well:
- Encourage users to vote on content. For example, a makeup brand can ask its users what type of makeup tutorial it would prefer to be posted next.
- Get reactions from your followers about real-time events. For instance, you could poll your users about their expectations for NBC’s live telecast of The Wiz ahead of time, then ask them for their opinion of the broadcast midway through and at its conclusion.
- Another good example is to ask for feedback on your product or service. You can use this for something you’ve offered historically, or something you’ve recently added to your repertoire.
- If you’re a publisher, getting a sense of sentiment about a particular topic can be used as an admittedly unscientific source for a news story.
My company uses a third-party like Hootsuite. How do I use Twitter Polls?
Well… you can’t. Not without switching over to Twitter.com or the official Twitter app. If you’re using Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or any other third-party Twitter apps, your followers will see the question you’ve posed, but they won’t have the option to select one of the 2-4 choices you’ve laid out for them.
Can I embed these in blog post?
Yes! Of course, keep in mind that the 24-hour window is still your time frame if you’d like people to vote.
What are some other limitations of Twitter Polls?
Any other questions about Twitter advertising? Let us know. We plan on keeping this (along with our other guides) updated as time passes.