LinkedIn is a social networking channel that exists in its own lane. LinkedIn offers an impressive audience of 800m members. Other platforms are missing something exclusive to LinkedIn. Namely, the fact that all of their audience is looking for professional connections. That specific interest is what sets apart LinkedIn from the rest of the crowd.
The current outlook for social media is often concerning. Many platforms have felt as though they are losing credibility for some time. LinkedIn, however, was recently voted the most trusted platform by Business Insider.
That trust means that connections made within the platform are more likely to lead to favorable outcomes. People are more open to making deals and forging partnerships on a platform they can trust like LinkedIn.
That importance means many are working tirelessly to increase their visibility on the platform. But getting more eyes on your content isn’t always so easy. One way that many are helping to boost their engagement is through polls.
Polls are questionnaires LinkedIn users can post on their feed. Normally, posts allow engagement mainly in the form of liking, commenting, or sharing. Polls allow the additional engagement of a box in front of whichever choice they make.
Not only are there more ways for people to interact, but there is also more incentive to do so. At least, when the posted poll has been well done. Still, for all their importance, many don’t know–or, at least, understand–what polls have to offer them.
With that said, we have taken some time to write on that topic. Keep reading for a better understanding of what LinkedIn polls are and how they can be effectively utilized.
What are LinkedIn Polls?
LinkedIn polls are posts that show up in the feed like any other. The difference is that they offer the chance for connections and followers to vote on a particular issue. Through this added incentive, polls encourage extra engagement. This isn’t all about farming clicks, though.
Polls allow you to gather critical insight into your audience in otherwise impossible ways. Through polling, it is possible to quickly collect data and, likely, much more of it. Offering the ability to do this without requiring the formulation of a comment or response allows this. Of course, polls still offer the ability to comment so they are welcome to leave a longer thought if desired.
Polls are, therefore, a great way to increase engagement and to obtain some critical market research.
How to Use Polls Effectively
A well-wielded LinkedIn poll can be a fantastic tool of engagement. Conversely, one that is ill-formed can cause harm. Nobody wants to follow an account that is always annoying them with irrelevant polls. Luckily, there are some key pieces of information to help boost the success of dealing with LinkedIn Polls.
Here are four tips to keep in mind when crafting a poll:
#1 Don’t Overdo Them
There’s a name for someone that is always posting polls: annoying. Polls can be a great way to encourage engagement from your connections. Too many of them, however, can encourage your connections to unfollow or remove their connection with you. The best polls are well crafted and timely.
Forcing too many polls is like forcing too many jokes. It makes people feel uncomfortable and kills the utility of the conversational benefit of polls.
#2 Make them easy to understand:
The real aim of a poll is to collect clear data on a particular topic. Before posting a poll, it is usually a good practice to spend some time imagining if there’s a way to misread or misunderstand your question or answers. Shortening or tweaking the answers can often result in better engagement and more reliable results.
#3 Focus on Passion
Your audience has to feel as though you’re actively looking for inspiration or direction on particular elements of your industry. Nobody understands your audience better than you. Make your content relevant to your audience to encourage them to act.
On other social media platforms where almost anything can get posted. The difference with LinkedIn is in the collection of professionals. With that in mind, it’s usually a good idea to consider the interests of the professionals in your sphere of influence. It’s not likely going to be what the best cheese is or what dog you should get, for example.
#4 Follow Up:
After the poll is over, LinkedIn users can harness the data gathered. One of the best ways to do this is through following up with the people who participated. There are a few best practices in this regard.
First off, thank every single person that participates in your poll. If you do not thank them, the conversation ends with a single click on your post. Take that vote and turn it into a conversation. Reaching out to thank them for participating in the poll or continuing the conversation opens the window for further talks.
Think of this like sending a thank you note after getting a gift on your birthday. It’s a nice practice because it’s also a way to take the act of getting a gift and turn it into a conversation. This is a great way to grow your circle but it also is just a nice practice in general.
Bonus tip: Turn Polls Into Leads
In addition to the standard use of polling, it is also possible to use polls as a way to encourage leads. Users can create a poll with a “yes” or “no” response option. The question can be as simple as “would you like a free copy of my new eBook” or some other resource. Inform that you’ll send anyone the resource that responds yes.
The beautiful thing about this is that it removes much of the thinking involved with the process. Instead of forcing people to e-mail or DM you for a copy, you can say “click this one box” and take care of it all on your end. This is a way to take your increased engagement and turn it into an increased amount of leads!
Now You Know
All this is fast-moving and frequently changes. Business owners and professionals that harness the power of LinkedIn are likely to see a great reward. But doing so is a time-consuming affair. This is why many companies elect to hire outside companies to assist them with their LinkedIn management.
Luckily, Beep2B is here to help. Beep2B offers services to help set up a lead generation process wired for success. We can assist in growing your network, building your relationships, and acquiring new leads. This is something that normally takes professionals up to 2 hours per day to manage on their own.
Through our proven methods, Beep2B will help to build your audience, engage them, educate them, and promote your services. All of this helps to free up that time and allow you to focus on tending to the leads that will be coming in thanks to your new LinkedIn strategy.
Contact us today to book a consultation and see how we can help you to take your LinkedIn game to the next level!
