20 poll ideas, examples and questions to engage you audience

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The beauty of a poll lies in its simplicity. Unlike making a survey, which is lengthy, a poll asks for just a moment of your audience's time, offering instant gratification and engagement in return. But creating a poll that people actually want to click requires a mix of curiosity, marketing strategy and timing. Great polls do more than collect data, they spark conversations, increase time-on-page and make your audience feel heard.

To help you get started, we've curated this list of the most effective poll ideas to spark inspiration. Whether you're a social media manager looking to boost engagement, a webinar host needing to wake up a quiet room or a product owner validating a new feature, these ideas can help you ask the right questions.

20 poll ideas to get started with

1. This or that binary choices

2. Product roadmap voting

3. Live word clouds

4. Trivia challenges

5. Hot take debates

6. Emoji mood scales

7. Image A vs. Image B testing

8. Prediction polls

9. Content preference checks

10. Real-time session feedback

11. Fun icebreakers

12. Ranking priorities

13. Gamified unlock polls

14. Have you ever? experience checks

15. Pain point identification

16. Knowledge gap quizzes

17. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

18. Price sensitivity checks

19. Exit intent polls

20. The none of the above wildcard

01. This or that binary choices

The classic A/B choice is the king of engagement because it eliminates decision fatigue. By offering only two distinct options, you make it incredibly easy for users to participate without thinking. This format works exceptionally well on social media stories where users are tapping quickly.

Examples: 

• Coffee vs. Tea?

• Remote work vs. Office?

• Morning person vs. Night owl?

02. Product roadmap voting

Let your customers feel like stakeholders in your business. Instead of guessing what features to build next, list three potential ideas you're considering and ask your audience to vote for the one they want most. This not only validates your roadmap but also builds hype for the upcoming release since customers feel they helped choose it.

Example: 

• What feature should we build next? Dark Mode / Android App / User Profiles.

03. Live word clouds

These are perfect for live events, webinars or classrooms. Instead of multiple-choice options, ask users to submit a single word that answers a prompt. As answers come in, a dynamic cloud forms where the most popular words appear larger. It creates an immediate visual representation of the group's collective thought process.

Example: 

• In one word, how are you feeling about the new quarterly goals?

04. Trivia challenges

Test your audience’s knowledge with a quiz-style poll, you can learn more about how to create a quiz with Wixel. Ask a question related to your industry with one correct answer and reveal the truth immediately after they vote. This creates a learning moment and can position your brand as an educator in your space.

Example: 

• What year was the first email sent? 1971 / 1983 / 1995.

Learn more: How to build a trivia game

05. Hot take debates

Ask a controversial (but low stakes) question to get the comments section moving. These polls often generate the highest engagement because people are passionate about their specific preferences and want to defend them. Keep the topics lighthearted to avoid actual conflict, that's not something you want to encourage.

Examples: 

• Does pineapple belong on pizza?

• Is a hotdog a sandwich?

06. Emoji mood scales

Sometimes words are too heavy or take too long to read. Use a scale of 1 to 5 emojis to ask how people are feeling. It’s a softer, more emotional way to gauge sentiment, making it ideal for HR pulse checks or checking the vibe of a community during a stressful time.

Example: 

• How is your energy level this Monday? 😴 / 😐 / 🙂 / 😃 / 🚀"

07. Image A vs. image B testing

Don't describe it, show it. Why? Visual polls often get higher click-through rates because the brain processes images faster than text. If you're deciding between two logos, two book covers or two outfit choices, put them side-by-side. This acts as free market research for designers and creators.

Example: 

• Which logo color do you prefer? [Image Blue] vs. [Image Red]

08. Prediction polls

Tap into anticipation for upcoming events. Before a big game, an award show, an election, or a product launch, ask your audience to predict the outcome. It creates a sense of investment in the event and users will often return later to see if they were right.

Example: 

• Who will win Best Picture at the Oscars tonight?

• Who will win the Super bowl?

09. Content preference checks

Stop guessing what your blog readers or YouTube subscribers want to consume,instead ask them directly to dictate your content calendar. This guarantees viewership for the winning topic because the audience explicitly asked for it.

Example: 

• What should our next video be about: SEO Basics / Advanced AI Tips / Social Media Trends?

10. Real-time session feedback

During a webinar or conference presentation, keep the audience awake by asking for feedback on the fly. It allows speakers to adjust their pace or focus based on the room's needs, turning a monologue into a dialogue.

Example: 

• Is this explanation too technical, too simple,or just right?

11. Fun icebreakers

Start a meeting, a newsletter or a community thread with something light. Icebreakers humanize the interaction and lower the barrier to participation, making people more likely to engage with serious content later.

Example: 

• If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Flight / Invisibility / Teleportation.

12. Ranking priorities

Allow users to reorder a list of options or vote on what is most important to them. Unlike a simple pick one poll, ranking helps you understand the hierarchy of your audience's needs and trade-offs.

Example: 

• Rank these workplace perks from most to least important: Salary / Flexibility / Healthcare / PTO.

13. Gamified unlock polls

Gamify your marketing strategy by setting a collective goal. Tell your audience that if a specific poll gets a certain number of votes, you'll release a reward. This encourages users to share the poll with friends to reach the goal together.

Example: 

• If we get 500 votes on this poll, we drop a 50% discount code for everyone!

14. Have you ever? experience checks

These simple Yes/No questions help users realize they aren't alone in their habits or mistakes. It creates a sense of relatability and is especially effective for engagement on platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter.

Example: 

• "Have you ever realized you were on mute after talking for 2 minutes? Yes / No."

15. Pain point identification

You can ask a negative question to find sales leads. By asking users what frustrates them most, you can identify exactly which problem your product needs to solve for them. Their answer or answers tells you exactly how to pitch your solution in the next step.

Example: 

• What is the hardest part of meal prepping? Finding recipes / Grocery shopping / chopping vegetables.

Learn more: How to create a questionnaire

16. Knowledge gap quizzes

Ask a question that highlights a gap in the user's knowledge to drive traffic to your educational content. If they get the answer wrong, they're more likely to click a link to learn the correct answer.

Example:

• What % of marketers fail to track ROI? (Link to article with the answer in the results)

.

Learn more: Questionnaire ideas and examples

17. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

This is widely recognized as the standard metric for customer loyalty. It asks the Ultimate Question on a scale of 0-10. While simple, tracking this over time gives you a benchmark for your brand's health and predicts growth.

Example: 

• How likely are you to recommend our service to a friend or colleague?

18. Price sensitivity checks

You can use polls to understand market value before you launch a product. Ask users what they would be willing to pay or if a specific feature justifies a higher price point. This can save you from pricing your product too high (no sales) or too low (leaving money on the table).

Example: 

• Would you pay $50/month for this feature? Yes / No / Only if it includes unlimited access.

19. Exit intent polls

When a user moves their mouse to leave your site (exit intent), trigger a popup poll asking why. This qualitative data is gold for Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), as it tells you the specific friction points stopping a sale.

Example: 

• What stopped you from buying today? Price / Shipping costs / Just browsing.

20. The none of the above wildcard

Always include an other or none option when asking multiple-choice questions about preferences. This makes sure your data isn't skewed by forcing users to pick an option they don't actually like and it often invites users to leave valuable detailed comments.

Example: 

• Which social platform do you use most? Instagram / TikTok / LinkedIn / Other (Tell us!).

Learn more:

• Quiz ideas

• Trivia ideas

Poll ideas and examples FAQ