LinkedIn polls help you to initiate conversations, engage with your connections, come up with future webinar or article topics, and keep you top of mind with your network.

A few weeks ago, I tried my very first LinkedIn poll and the engagement was through the roof. I had heard these types of posts did very well because people are inclined to engage with posts where you ask for their opinions.

With a LinkedIn poll, you ask a question and then give a few multiple choice possible responses from which people can choose.

People can write another answer in the comments so it also fosters discussion. I’ll publish the results of the poll I did soon but in the meantime, let’s delve into how to create a LinkedIn poll.

Here’s how to do it (PS – it’s super easy and you can do it from your profile page, a group or a LinkedIn company page if you are an administrator).

You can create a poll from LinkedIn’s homepage. If you’re an admin of a LinkedIn Page, or a LinkedIn Group you can create a poll directly from the page or group’s homepage.

To create a poll from your homepage:

1. Click Start a post.

2. Click Create a poll.

3. In the Create a poll window, type your question and fill in the options.

• There is a minimum of two options and a maximum of four options on a poll.
• Click +Add option to add another option.

4. Select the Poll duration from the dropdown.

• The default duration is one week but you can change this.

5. Click Next.

6. Click the Edit icon to edit the post.

• Select with whom you want to share the poll.
• You can add more to the post in the What do you want to talk about? field (optional).

7. Click Post.

You can add up to four poll response options. Currently, LinkedIn only allows participants to select a single response to a poll rather than multiple responses, so your question should encourage readers to select one option that best suits them.

Make sure you include one to three LinkedIn hashtags that are relevant to your poll topic to gather responses from outside of your immediate LinkedIn network.

How to Use LinkedIn Polls in Your Content Strategy

LinkedIn polls give you content ideas and help you learn more about your network’s needs and viewpoints.

When your poll ends, take a look at who responded to it. LinkedIn will show you their name, headline and response. From there you can write a story about the poll results.

If you’re not getting a lot of engagement on LinkedIn, a LinkedIn poll can help you start a conversation on a topic related to your industry.

You can use a LinkedIn poll to find out your audience’s top problems and then create content to address those needs.

Another idea is to create a LinkedIn poll with a question about an emerging industry trend. This is a great way to create topical, engaging content for your LinkedIn company page that can spark conversation in the comments.

I’ll leave you with one final helpful tip - leverage LinkedIn’s content algorithm by prompting engagement by providing a poll option encouraging people to add their answer in a comment if it’s not a poll answer. That means you get additional comment engagement (which can help your post go viral).

What do you think about LinkedIn polls? Will you incorporate them into your LinkedIn strategy?

Here’s a video with more on how to create LinkedIn polls.

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Stefanie Marrone advises law firms of all sizes, professional service firms, B2B companies, recruiters and individuals on the full range of marketing and business development consulting services designed to enhance revenue, retain current clients and achieve greater brand recognition. She also serves as outsourced chief marketing officer/marketing department for small and mid-size law firms. Over her nearly 20-year legal marketing career, she has worked at and with a broad range of big law, mid-size and small firms, which has given her a valuable perspective of the legal industry. Connect with her on LinkedIn, sign up for her email list and follow her latest writing on JD Supra.