LinkedIn is arguably the social network allowing professionals to establish their brand image. But if posts, shares, and updates yield great feedback, there’s a better way to drive engagement on the platform.
Creating a poll on LinkedIn is one of the most effective tools for reaching members of your community.
Before you say to yourself “it’s too much work“, let me tell you a secret: creating and managing a poll actually takes less time than preparing the message perfect to distribute to your community. The process takes less than 5 minutes (especially once you’re hooked) and once you hit “Publish” you don’t have to worry about it anymore.
Plus, polls aren’t just a simple way to get your questions answered, they show that you (or your business) are interested in public opinion and feedback.
Before you start
Here are some important things to keep in mind when creating and sharing your first LinkedIn survey.
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- Use hashtags: To help your survey get the attention of the right people, use hashtags. The more specific they are, the better. For example, if you’re asking a question about working from home, use #workfromhome.
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- Be concise: keep your survey title short. Polls are limited to 140 characters. Save your thoughts for a separate post.
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- Read again: This is perhaps the most important thing to know before creating your survey. Once you have published your survey, you can’t not make any changes. If you realize you’ve made a mistake after posting, you’ll need to completely delete the post and post it again.
Now let’s get serious.
How to Create and Publish a LinkedIn Poll
1. Start a post
At the top of your profile, select the option start a post. This process is the same on a personal account and a business account.
Image: Christina Darby/ZDNET
2. Click on “Create a survey”.
Below the space where you normally write a message, there is a list of other options. Select the last option in the list, Create a poll.
Image: Christina Darby/ZDNET
3. Customize survey details
From there, you have control over which questions you ask, how many answers you want to offer (up to four), and how long the survey lasts. Note that you only have 140 characters to ask your question and 30 characters for each answer. You can also choose a time between one day and two weeks before your survey closes.
Image:Christina Darby/ZDNET
FAQ’s
Can I run more than one LinkedIn poll at a time?
Yes, whether you’re posting from a personal or business page, you can run multiple polls at once. However, we recommend that you only launch a few at a time, so that your network does not become overwhelmed.
Who can see my vote?
The Poll Author and Page Admin can see how you voted. In other words, your vote is not anonymous to them. For LinkedIn groups, not all group admins will be able to see your vote. Although voting visibility is generally limited to administrators and authors, there is no guarantee that these people will not share your voting history with others – so vote with caution if you think your answer will cause a office drama.
Can I change my vote?
Yes, you can change your vote until the poll closes.
Source: “ZDNet.com”