Skip to content

90-Second Demo

Results Guarantee

Client Login

Search:
SimplyDIRECT
Survey Based Demand Generation
SimplyDIRECT
  • About
    • Our Team
      • Leadership
      • Customer Success
      • Operations
      • Sales
    • Our Clients
    • Giving Back
  • Services
    • Surveys
    • Custom Data Build
      • Free Trial
    • Market Research
    • Content Creation
      • White Papers
      • Infographics
      • Pulse Reports
    • Direct Mail
  • Case Studies
    • Testimonials
  • Research
  • Blog
  • News
  • Contact
Linkedin page opens in new windowTwitter page opens in new windowYouTube page opens in new windowMail page opens in new window
  • About
    • Our Team
      • Leadership
      • Customer Success
      • Operations
      • Sales
    • Our Clients
    • Giving Back
  • Services
    • Surveys
    • Custom Data Build
      • Free Trial
    • Market Research
    • Content Creation
      • White Papers
      • Infographics
      • Pulse Reports
    • Direct Mail
  • Case Studies
    • Testimonials
  • Research
  • Blog
  • News
  • Contact

Blog

arrows

When to Use a Social Media Poll vs. a Survey

Lisa Vitale Social Media Polls and SurveysA quick trip around the web illustrates how B2b businesses are leveraging the polling/survey capabilities of various social media platforms, in addition to the more traditional services.  But before you go to LinkedIn or Survey Monkey to launch your new poll, you should first assess your needs to determine what form of survey you may require – and if you’d be better served by using a third-party survey expert.

 

For example, if you simply want to put a question forth to gain insight into a trend for a blog post your writing, then a quick poll question may be just the thing.   If you are looking to survey a specific set of key accounts, for example, then your challenge may be making sure you have an accurate contact list so your survey will reach your target audience with the right questions.  Finally, if you are conducting a market-wide analysis to guide strategic decision-making, then you should evaluate market research firms who can deliver results that are truly significant and unbiased.

 

Social media platforms have simplified polling capabilities and many B2B businesses are leveraging the online do-it-yourself option to develop surveys and polls.  By definition, a poll is a single-question, multiple-choice response – i.e. quick, simple, and inexpensive (mostly free) to deploy.  They are great for testing assumptions, gauging reactions and gaining information for content creation.  Many marketers use polls to try to find topics that resonate with their audience as a way to generate ideas for strong blog posts etc. The convenience and simplicity of instant polls can turn a simple question into a website traffic generator, if knowing what peers think on the topic is important to the target audience.

 

The prime example, LinkedIn Polls, allow for comments (visible to all), which provide a nicely nuanced combination of single question, but insightful responses.  LinkedIn Polls is a free app where you can create up to 10 polls at a time, each allowing for one question and up to five multiple choice answers (plus the comments).  Also LinkedIn provides a means of “sharing” your poll results via Twitter and Facebook. In addition, some analytics; gender, age, and job seniority, are tracked and charted for you.

 

But the strength of LinkedIn’s polling feature can also be its weakness.  Without active promotion, your poll is largely constrained to the LinkedIn Groups you choose to post it to. It does allow for a more targeted pool of respondents than average website polling widgets and may be useful, depending on your purpose and goals.

 

Surveys, on the other hand, can be more challenging to pull-off without the help of an expert. And while they can certainly be promoted via social media, they are normally deployed using a dedicated tool.  The biggest challenge is typically getting enough of your audience to complete the survey. Most participants aren’t willing to spend the time it takes to think about and complete a survey without some form of incentive. Offering to share results is a popular approach but can limit the focus of the survey. Ask too much or go too broad and respondents will lose interest in completing the survey, or worse, make up the answers, even if they are interested in getting the survey results for their own use.

 

If the survey asks about topics that are considered sensitive in any way, it is usually better to have an independent third-party ask the questions to add credibility to the process. Survey questions need to be carefully crafted. Participants won’t answer questions that are hard to understand or seem biased. Poorly designed questions can lead to misleading results.

 

Assuming that statistical significance is not a primary requirement, your social networks can be nicely leveraged to help you gain information and insight when conducting informal research.  But if you require more rigorous results from which, for example, you can generate qualified leads, then you’ll want to engage an expert third-party survey service.

 

In summary, polls excel at reaching a larger audience, in a time-/cost-effective manner. They can also lend themselves to greater inaccuracy given the limited nature of the question choices and the effect of having random and unknown audience characteristics   If subtleties, depth, and customer engagement are what you’re after, then the better choice is taking the time to develop and deploy a good survey.

Account-Based Marketing Trends Pulse Report

 

We used our own survey approach to survey 150 marketers from major enterprises about some of their marketing challenges. Read the conclusions in our Account-Based Marketing Trends Pulse Report. Click the image to the right to get the results.

 

What’s your view? How have you used polls and surveys to aid your marketing efforts?

  • Lisa Vitale
  • February 2, 2013
  • Categories: Blog
  • Tags: buyer engagement, Key account, prospect surveys, target account, twitter surveys, web surveys
Recent Posts
How to Increase Your Chances of Targeting the Right Accounts First
Gatepoint Research article presents: Hold The Line: Reducing Employee Dependence On Phones
Align Once, Measure Twice: Success Metrics for Marketing and Sales Teams
More Posts
Categories
Tags
abm account-based marketing account-based surveys account penetration alignment B2B buyers B2B Content marketing B2B Marketing B2B marketing strategy B2B sales B2B sales process Big Data busiess persona buyer's journey buyer behavior buyer engagement buying process campaign success Commercial Insight Compelling content content marketing content relevancy customer engagement data databases decision maker demand generation email lists good leads Insight Selling IT decision makers key accounts lead generation list building prospect surveys remarkable content Sales and marketing Alignment sales enablement sales process sales prospecting social media target account target accounts thought leadership web surveys

Contact Us

Locate us.

490A Boston Post Road
Suite 14
Sudbury, MA 01776

Give us a call.

978-823-1670

Send us an email.

sales@simplydirect.com

Get In Touch

    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    © 2023 SimplyDIRECT Corp.
    Privacy Policy
    Go to Top
    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Do not sell my personal information.
    Cookie SettingsACCEPT
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
    viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
    Functional
    Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
    Performance
    Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    SAVE & ACCEPT