In an era when Facebook algorithms are prioritizing engagement over the number of followers, creators need to use all strategies available to increase engagement. One of the most effective tools for driving engagement on Facebook is polls. Additionally, polls allow users to share their opinions, which sparks comments on your Facebook post. 

When the Facebook algorithm notices that many people are commenting on your post to respond to the poll queries, it interprets that as a sign that you are creating high-quality content and recommends your posts to more people. However, unlike what many creators think, a Facebook poll involves more than just asking a question. It requires careful thought, a good understanding of your audience, and the key elements of a good poll. Join us in this article, as we guide you on how to make a Facebook poll that will stir the interest of your audience and encourage them to vote.

Where You Can Make a Poll on Facebook

When creating a Facebook poll, one of the most important factors you will need to consider is where to add the poll. Here are a number of areas where you can add a poll:

Facebook Stories

By adding a poll to the Facebook Stories, you boost your engagement, quickly get feedback, and ensure a deeper connection with your audience. Since Facebook Stories expire after 24 hours, they can create a sense of urgency among your followers, making them respond fast. Additionally, compared to the feed posts that are permanent, the short lifespan of Facebook stories can make them  feel more spontaneous.

Facebook Group

In recent years, when the number of Facebook users has ballooned, users now prefer to connect more with people they share a common interest with. That's why the group remains a powerful area for adding your polls. Since the group members already share a targeted interest, they are more likely to participate in polls than the random people who follow your page. Additionally, Facebook pages struggle to generate engagement, and Facebook groups are pushed by the algorithm, making their post appear prominently on the new feed. This provides creators wth a higher organic reach. What is even better is that Facebook allows you to post multiple answer choices with the option for members to add a custom option. You can see the results as they update in real time, providing you with quick data for your market research.

Facebook Events

Facebook events allow you to fix details such as the times, dates, itineraries, and locations without many comment threads. They can provide you with clear feedback on important event details, such as time and activity, from people genuinely interested in the event. Again, Facebook enables you to see the results instantly without having to count the individual comments.

Messenger/Group Chats

You can use polls to plan and coordinate with others on Messenger group chats. For instance, a group member can create a poll where other group members can vote for an activity, choose a location, or time.

Facebook video and live

Facebook allows you to add a poll prior to or during a live video so that your followers can respond to your questions in real time. In most cases, polls can consist of 2 to 4 answer choices, and you can create as many polls as you want. However, note that you can only launch the poll after you have gone live. Therefore, go ahead and set up the poll before the live video and launch it during the live video.

 Facebook pages &timeline

Your Facebook timeline is one of the areas where you may need to boost your engagement to grow your page. However, it's not possible to create a poll on a personal Facebook account. You can only add it to your Facebook Page, Story, or Groups. Therefore, go ahead and use polls to get fast and low-effort voting responses from your audience. This can also be a great way of getting instant feed and market research insight without having to read those long comments. It will provide you with insights into the preferences of your audience, therefore guiding your future content planning.

How to Create a Facebook Poll 

The way you create a poll will depend on where you want the poll to go. Here are the steps to follow when creating a poll on Facebook timeline.

1. Go to your profile picture located on the right side of Facebook.
2. Tap on Pages to select the page where you want to publish the poll.
3. Tap the + sign located on top and then tap Create post.
4.  Scroll down before tapping Poll.
5. Tap the question. After that, put in your box with Option 1 or Option 2 as your poll choices. Remember that respondents to the poll can only add a maximum of 25 characters.
6.  On the section labeled Poll Ends, choose a date when you want the poll to end, whether in a day, week, or a custom range.
7. Tap on Share the poll.

You can also create a poll on  a group using the following these steps:

1. Visit your group 
2. Click on write something.
3. At the three dots on your bottom right, choose polls.
4. Add the prompt and the options.
5. Tap on Settings and choose if you need people to select multiple answers. You can also allow others to add their options.
6. Choose Post.

How to Edit or Delete a Poll

 If you have already created the poll but realize that nobody has voted, you may probably want to edit it. You can do that by:

• Click on the three dotted lines to the right of the poll post.
• If you are the one who created the post, choose the dustbin icon to delete. Confirm that you want to delete it. If the poll is in a group where you are the admin, you can also delete it by clicking on the X sign to remove the post. You can decide to provide feedback before clicking confirm.

Why you may be unable to create a poll

If you have tried creating a Facebook poll without  success, this can be attributed to a  number of reasons, such as:

• Account/Page type restrictions. As noted earlier, Facebook doesn't allow users to create polls on their personal profiles. 
• Desktop app. Even though polls are allowed, such as on Stories, Events, Messenger, and Groups, you can only add a poll on the mobile app, but not on the web browser.
• Group admin setting. You can only create a poll where the Group Admins have set the group settings to allow poll post formats.
•  Outdated app version. If your app is outdated, you might again struggle to create a poll.
• Technical glitches or not available in your region. At times, you may be unable to create a poll because of a technical glitch, or the poll feature may simply be unavailable in your region.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the FAQs people ask us about creating a Facebook poll.

Are Facebook polls free?

Yes. You don't need to pay anything to create a Facebook poll, and it's absolutely free of charge.

Can you still make a poll on your Facebook timeline?

No, Facebook polls aren't available on the timeline.

How many options can a Facebook poll have?

The number of options you can have on your Facebook Polls will depend on where you post them, as follows:

• Facebook group. Allow up to 25 options.
• Messenger. Allow 3 options.
• Standard Stories and Posts: Only allows 2 options
• Facebook Live Videos. Allow two to four options.

Can I edit a poll after people start voting?

Facebook doesn't allow you to edit a poll after people have started voting. This is understandable  to prevent creators of the poll from interfering with the results.,

Conclusion

Facebook polls offer creators a wide range of insight from the type of content they should create next to the sentiment behind their brands, and more. Besides, polls are a great feature for driving engagement on your Facebook page. Therefore, use our guidelines in this article to create Facebook polls. If you need to drive engagement and make your content recommended by the  Facebook algorithm, use our Facebook Services here.