“When people come to Twitter, they want to express something to the world. It’s them writing a simple message and them knowing that people are going to see it”.”
As of the 21st October 2015 Twitter introduced "Twitter Polls". Polls are a truly unique way of interacting with your audience on Twitter.
Sure everyone knows what a poll is (hopefully) but it's important to understand how and why to use the poll functionality on Twitter.
For schools, it’s a new way to engage with Twitter’s massive audience and understand exactly what people think. For those participating, it’s a very easy way to make your voice heard.
What are Twitter Polls?
Polls on Twitter aren’t a totally new concept. In fact people have been running polls on Twitter for a long time through either a “retweet/favourite to vote” mechanism.
It was the popularity of the above style of tweets which rather forced Twitter's hand into making the native Twitter poll functionality.
The Nuts and bolts
- Twitter Polls are limited to four answer options
- Polls have a lifespan of up to a week. Tweeters are informed of how long is left to vote, and how many people have voted as well as the results in percentage.
- How you voted is not shared publicly (so no one else will be able to see which option you voted for)
- Once a poll is completed the results can be viewed publicly.
How do I add a Twitter Poll?
Adding a Twitter poll is very, very simple. But we will show how to add a poll - because we are nice like that :)
Desktop
1. Click to compose a tweet. Type in your question as you would normally to type a tweet. Click on the 'Add Poll' symbol shown below.
2. From here Twitter will give you spaces to enter your answers for the poll. Simply click "Add a choice" to add more options (4 maximum) - Remember you can use emojis in your answers if you wish to do so :)
3. Once you have inserted all of your answers you can choose the poll length. The poll can be up to one week long. - This may be handy for a pinned tweet.
What should I be asking?
For personal accounts you can ask your audience anything from where you should go on holiday to what you should eat for breakfast tomorrow. There is something exciting in a way to allow your audience to make a choice for you.
Obviously schools may be slightly more limited, but there is still a wealth of options for what schools can post about.
- Ask about the most convenient dates for open days
- Ask questions about lessons, get parents involved
- Ask which Christmas carol the students should perform
- Ask parents what social channels they use most (research!)
Quiz/test your pupils!
Departmental Twitter accounts should be quizzing their pupils, with Twitter Polls. Just learned about photosynthesis? Create a poll on Twitter, and test your pupils.
The idea for Twitter Polls is to give your Twitter community a voice and to build a relationship with your followers.
Are you going to use Twitter Polls?
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