Ever wish you could read minds? Oh the wonders we could do with all that knowledge. We’d be millionaires for one, and we’d definitely be able to limit any dating nightmares. Life would be good.
Unfortunately, this only lives in comic books and supernatural fiction like ‘Twlight.’ Back to reality, we simply have to ask what people think and hope they tell us the truth. Leap o’ faith when we take opinions at face value, but at least it’s closer than the hope and pray model of making decisions. That is, “I’m hoping and praying that I’m doing what my clients want!”
Polls and surveys do much more than give us insight into the minds of our clients, it also creates goodwill amongst our client base. When we open the gates of communication by asking what they want, among many benefits we are:
- Signaling that we care about them and their opinions.
- Indicating that we will take action based on their feedback.
- Demonstrating that we are in it for the long haul.
All of this together makes for a positive impression on your brand and an increase in customer loyalty. Mmmmm hmmmmm.
So, in spirit of this we’ve decided to review some popular polling applications that are used on Facebook. This is not an exhaustive list and it will probably be outdated in the next month or two, but it is a good foundation for choosing one write for use on your fan page.
NOTE: We only reviewed apps that could be used on fan pages. Some of these will not work on groups and we’ve omitted any that are only usable on profiles.
‘Poll’ by Kremsa
2.5 out of 5 on Facebook Reviews
4 out of 5 from linkup
Pro:
Easy to use and straightforward and it doesn’t ask for access to the respondents profile (one of the few that doesn’t, actually). You can create a series of polls and store them all under your Poll tab where all the voting can take place. You are still routed to another page with all of the polls from your page once the vote is placed, but at least you can vote within your own fan page.
Con:
It’s not the prettiest app you’ve ever seen and it has some advertisements on the results page that we are less than thrilled about. You can also ‘pay’ for votes, but it seems a bit shady since it is not clear where it comes from or how they get them. Is it still free will voting from elsewhere on the net? Or is it a room of monkeys hitting random options? Dunno but it doesn’t seem right.
Polldaddy
3.3 out of 5 on Facebook
3.5 out of 5 from linkup
Pro:
This poll actually creates a separate page with the poll, and it is laid out on the page really well rather than a really Microsoft looking poll. It also lets voters discuss and elaborate on the votes as well as sharing options on other mediums like Twitter.
Cons:
It asks the voter to allow the app access to their profile after they’ve selected ‘submit.’ They’ve at least got the option for the user to not share the poll or their comments on their wall, but they still have to give up privacy to participate.
iPoll
3 out of 5 on Facebook
2.5 out of 5 from linkup
Pro:
This poll looks nice on the results page with bright colors and it also has a comments portion.
Con:
It tells the voter they can vote anonymously, but then it requires them to allow the app to connect to their profile. Ummmm, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of being anonymous?!?!
‘Fun Poll’ by Cr8zy Zone
No rating on Facebook
1.5 out of 5 from linkup
Pro:
A list of already created polls to give you inspiration; this application is easy to use and has fewer advertisements. YAY!
Con:
Confusing to answer – the two we tried at linkup didn’t have a submit button on it so the only option was to ‘Share’ or ‘Send to Friend’ which weren’t what we wanted at the time. Hmmmm, it’s not been widely used yet, so you might want to wait.
MyPoll by pollarea.com
2.4 out of 5 on Facebook
1 out of 5 from linkup
Pro:
Errrrr, nothing stands out.
Con:
The advertisements are horrid, and worst of all, it forces respondents to allow the app access to their profile to vote! That’s right, before they can even vote. WHAT?!?! Talk about a buzz kill.
We’ve given a couple of those listed above a try and our experience is that if you require the respondent to allow the app access to their profile, you have a reduce participation rate. A drastically reduced participation rate in fact. Especially in this day and age, you can’t play with people’s privacy.
Anyway, enough from us! Give one of these apps a whirl and let us know how it goes! Also, make sure to share with others which apps have worked for you and why on the linkup Facebook page.
Author Bio: Valorie Reavis
Social Marketer, foodie, closet geekA marketing professional who has focused primarily on the hair and beauty business for of the past decade, Valorie now runs linkup marketing, a digital marketing agency for the hair and beauty professional. Valorie works to engage clients in the marketing process and help them successfully engage with their clients and community. Energetic and passionate about the industry, Valorie focuses on blending traditional and digital media in order to bring salons closer to their clients.
