What are some good poll questions for LinkedIn?

LinkedIn polls are a great way to engage your professional network and get feedback on topics related to your industry. When creating a poll, it’s important to ask questions that will spark discussion and elicit thoughtful responses from your connections.

Tips for Creating Engaging LinkedIn Poll Questions

Here are some tips for coming up with interesting poll questions for LinkedIn:

• Make the questions relevant to your audience – Ask about issues or trends that your connections care about.
• Pose timely questions – Tie the poll to current events or what’s happening in your industry right now.
• Ask open-ended questions – Avoid yes/no or one-word responses. Make people think and explain their answers.
• Alternate serious and fun questions – Mix weightier topics with lighter ones to vary the tone.
• Consider controversial topics – You’ll get more responses if the question taps into a debate people feel passionately about.
• Test assumptions – Ask questions to find out if conventional wisdom on a topic is accurate.
• Limit it to 1 or 2 questions – Keep your polls focused. Asking too much will lead to survey fatigue.

Poll Question Ideas for LinkedIn

Here are some specific poll question ideas to get you started:

Industry Trends and Issues

• What do you think will be the most disruptive technology in [your industry] over the next 5 years?
• Is [your industry] doing enough to address sustainability challenges?
• What’s the most significant barrier to innovation in [your industry]?
• What recent regulations or policies have had the biggest impact on [your industry]?
• What are the most important skills for success in [your industry] today?

Career and Workplace Topics

• How has remote work impacted productivity and work-life balance?
• What’s more valuable – specialized expertise or broad experience?
• Is graduate school worth the time and financial investment?
• What workplace perks are most important to you?
• What’s the best way to expand your professional network?

Business Strategy and Leadership

• What’s more important for business success – innovation or efficiency?
• What’s the most important quality for an effective leader?
• Should companies take a stance on political/social issues?
• What’s the best way to build company culture remotely?
• How much transparency should leaders provide on company strategy?

Personal Development and Growth

• What daily habit has been most beneficial for your career?
• What advice would you give your younger self just starting out professionally?
• How do you like to learn new skills – online courses, mentors, books, other?
• What topic do you wish you knew more about?
• Who has been the biggest influence or inspiration in your career?

Fun and Lighthearted Polls

• Which fictional boss would you most/least want to work for?
• What was the worst (or most hilarious) job interview mistake you’ve made?
• What hobby or side-project helps you recharge outside of work?
• Introvert or extrovert – which tends to make a better leader?
• What’s your favorite office pet peeve?

Best Practices for LinkedIn Polls

Once you’ve come up with an engaging poll question, keep these best practices in mind:

• Add context in the descriptive text – explain why you’re asking and what you hope to learn.
• Make the answers concise and mutually exclusive.
• You can include up to 3 poll choices – any more gets confusing.
• Monitor comments and engage with anyone who provides feedback.
• Consider broadening the conversation into a LinkedIn post after the poll ends.
• Analyze the results and share key takeaways with your network.

Sample Poll Formats

You can get creative with different poll formats to keep it interesting. Here are a few ideas:

Multiple Choice

The standard poll option – choose one from the choices provided:

Ranking

Have people rank options from most to least:

Rating

Collect ratings on a numeric scale:

Open-Ended

Gather freeform responses to an open-ended question:

Driving Engagement with Your Poll

The key to getting lots of responses is promoting your poll. Here are some ways to help it gain more visibility:

• Share the poll in relevant LinkedIn groups and with your network connections directly.
• Encourage group members or employees at your company to take and share the poll.
• Promote it through other channels like email, social media, internal communications, etc.
• Consider using paid LinkedIn advertisements to target a wider audience.
• Offer incentives for participating, like entering respondents into a prize drawing.

Analyzing and Reporting on Poll Results

The data you collect from polls provides valuable insights into your audience’s opinions and preferences. Make the most of it by:

• Letting the poll run for a sufficient time to collect an adequate sample size.
• Reviewing aggregate poll results and analyzing key themes or trends.
• Comparing subgroups – are responses different across industries, seniority levels, etc?
• Highlighting key takeaways and insights in a follow-up post.
• Sharing poll reports internally and incorporating learnings into strategy.

Poll Question Ideas for Specific Audiences

Tailor your poll topics to your target audience to increase relevance. Here are ideas for different groups:

Company Employees

• What’s the #1 challenge working remotely during COVID-19?
• What’s the most interesting project you’ve worked on at [Company Name]?
• On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you with [Company Name] culture?
• Which employee benefits matter most to you?
• What’s one way [Company Name] could improve as an employer next year?

Industry Influencers

• What emerging company/startup has the most disruptive new technology?
• Who do you view as the top thought leader in [Industry]?
• What recent [Industry] headline or news event matters most?
• What panel topic would draw you to a virtual industry conference?
• What does the future of work look like in our industry?

Alumni Group

• Who was your favorite professor/class at [University Name]?
• What networking opportunities would you like to see from [University Name] alumni group?
• How did [University Name] prepare you for career success?
• What career or networking advice do you have for recent [University Name] grads?
• If you could re-live your college experience, what would you do differently?

Professional Association Members

• What industry trends should [Association Name] focus more resources on?
• How can [Association Name] provide more value to members like you?
• What professional development topics interest you most right now?
• What incentives would make you recommend colleagues join [Association Name]?
• How can [Association Name] better support diversity and inclusion?

Tips for Successful LinkedIn Polls

Follow these best practices when creating LinkedIn polls to get better results:

• Pick a focused topic – Don’t ask overly broad questions. Keep it targeted to a specific issue.
• Pose an intriguing question – Use unique phrasing to pique interest vs. generic poll questions.
• Watch wording – Avoid complex or confusing language. Keep it simple.
• Make answers clear – Mutually exclusive choices with no overlap or ambiguity.
• Check length – Keep poll choices succinct. Long answers are less likely to be read.
• Test it out – Preview poll with colleagues first to catch issues.
• Promote the poll – Share through multiple channels to drive participation.
• Say thanks – Show appreciation to those who take time to respond.

Common LinkedIn Poll Mistakes to Avoid

You can create better LinkedIn polls by steering clear of these missteps:

• Asking too many questions – Keep it to 1 or 2 max.
• Using double-barreled questions with an “and” – Break it into 2 separate questions.
• Making one choice significantly longer than others – It discourages reading all options.
• Asking leading questions that steer people to one response over others.
• Using loose wording with room for interpretation – Be as precise as possible.
• Failing to explain context – Give background on why you’re asking.
• Not promoting the poll sufficiently to get large sample size.
• Forgetting to close the loop – Share key takeaways after it ends.

Creative Ways to Use LinkedIn Polls

Looking to spice up your LinkedIn poll strategy? Consider these creative approaches:

• Tie a poll to an upcoming event – Gather speaker/topic suggestions.
• Poll to source questions for an expert Q&A or panel.
• Run a bracket-style “March Madness” poll around industry leaders, brands, etc.
• Poll for book or podcast recommendations related to your field.
• Crowdsource ideas for webinars, association programs, or conference sessions.
• Gather input on designs – logos, website layouts, event swag, and more.
• Use image/video polls to showcase products and get feedback.
• Partner with a vendor or advertiser on a co-branded poll.

Conclusion

Well-crafted LinkedIn polls provide valuable insights while engaging your professional network. Drive better results by keeping your questions focused, promoting widely, analyzing the data, and reporting back key takeaways. Avoid common mistakes like ambiguous wording, too many questions, and leading phrasing. Get creative with different formats, audiences, and ways to use polls. With these tips and examples, you’re ready to start polling like a pro!