Let’s talk Polls, and I’m not talking about the election, we covered that in our last article (shameless link here), I’m talking Instagram Polls and how they can help with your advertising campaigns! If you’re not already utilizing them to connect and engage with your audience then please consider joining the party. This built-in Instagram engagement driver has attributed to millions of engagements just by letting people vote. So sit back and watch your interaction metrics shoot up when you introduce a Poll to your Instagram ads.
So how do they work? What's the value and What are some best practices?
The polls are not new to Instagram, they have been around in organic since 2017, what is new is that we can now add them to our paid arsenal. The Instagram polls are a story only format (although you can find them in newsfeed in Facebook) they can handle video or pictures, and the premise is to present a question to your audience where they have two choices.
The format is quite simple to set up, it is meant to be an engagement tool and adds interactivity between the ads, the brand and the audience. They started as a gimmick, a way to stand out from the crowd of stories, however, we now use them strategically to learn about the audience.
Two Examples of Unexpected Ways to use Instagram Polls
1. Product Feedback
Results:
12,500 responses &
84% loved the belt.
Brand wanted the opportunity to present her very visual product in a way that was more attractive. The poll: With or Without the belt… despite the free flowing style being the most prevalent pictures on the web, we identified that the audience overwhelmingly preferred the style of dress with a belt showing the curves of the model, as a result the relevant changes were made to the website.
2. Market Research
Results:
500 responses &
67% would like the product
Brand was considering a new product, so we introduced a video mockup of how the product could look in the future. We then asked the question ‘Would you be interested in this solution if it existed?’ The answers were also surprising – despite 67% of the people saying they would ‘like’ the product, the product was not seen as a necessity per se. From this we determined that further education and refinement of the concept would be needed. Instead of paying a survey company hundreds of dollars we only paid $25 and got over 500 responses.
In digital, you need to give before you can receive. We have built entire communities of followers for our brands based on paid media alone. Communities that will interact with each other, that will share their thoughts and that will engage with our brands. This translates to better purchase intent when you are walking down the aisle of the grocery store or deciding what fast food chain is going to serve you lunch. When there is a relationship that is formed between the audience and the brand then everybody wins. This used to be done by organic social but the reach of organic has declined very fast.
Facebook polls have not granted the same results as Instagram, their audiences are not embracing such formats just yet. They may need more time or Facebook may need to reformat and readjust the polls to make it more attractive.
What is working is fun, engaging content and Polls check the box! They deliver impressions that are inexpensive allowing you to retarget these audiences with a nurturing plan and a relationship-building mindset.
Don’t create what you want, create what they want, your audience is far more likely to buy if they help create it. If you are ready to start advertising on Instagram let us know, we can help you.
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