What Is a Poll?

In a nutshell

A poll is a survey-style post that people answer just by tapping an option. Results are shown as a percentage for each option.

How networks differ

These numbers are the values SNS TOWN uses on its composer screen (as of October 2026). X's Help explains that the default duration is 1 day and that the person who posted can't see who voted for what (About polls). LinkedIn has a separate field for the poll question, apart from the post text.

How to use them

Polls go wrong less often when you use them as a tool to start participation rather than to collect answers. Questions that are easy to answer and whose results you can act on work best, such as "Which should our next limited-edition item be?" or "For next month's seminar, is a weekday evening or Saturday noon easier for you?"

It is also important not to leave the results hanging. If you report afterwards, "The poll is in, and we've picked Saturday noon," people who voted feel their voice was heard. Sometimes narrowing to 2 options is easier to answer than listing 4. The thinking behind gathering reactions is explained in How to raise engagement.

An anonymous poll is no substitute for an accurate survey or statistics. Only people who saw the post take part, so read the results knowing they are skewed. The number of people who voted can also serve as a form of engagement, which measures how much reaction you get. If you run the same question at different times, you can also see how preferences shift.

In SNS TOWN

When you add a poll on the composer screen, the fields switch to match the number of options and duration of the network you picked in the header. On networks where SNS TOWN can't attach a poll, such as Instagram and Facebook, the fields don't appear. The steps are in Add a poll.