Instagram polls are a super fun way to engage with your audience in Instagram Stories. In this article, we’ll show you a quick and easy hack for creating visually stunning polls that’ll stand out from the crowd.
Before we get into the step by step, we thought we’d show you the hack in action. We’ll be using our free Animoto video-maker in conjunction with the Instagram Story poll sticker, which you can read more about in our guide to setting up an Instagram poll, to make something that looks like this:
Stay tuned at the end of this article for a few more examples of polls created with our Instagram Story poll hack.
Now let’s dive into the step-by-step instructions! The first thing you’ll need to do is sign up for a free Animoto account. Then, register or log in and follow along with the instructions below!
When you get started, you’ll be prompted to choose a template. Templates are pre-made videos that you can customize with your own photos, video clips, text, and colors. You can learn more about Instagram Story templates on our blog. But for our Instagram Story poll hack, we’ll be selecting "Start from Scratch."
First, make sure you're creating a vertical video by adjusting the aspect ratio. Then, add a Media Block to your video. Blocks let you add multiple photos to an Instagram Story. You can showcase one or two videos or up to nine photos at the same time.
For this example, we’ll be choosing a layout with space for two photos to help illustrate our two-answer poll: Pumpkin Pie vs. Apple Pie.
Now you can add your imagery. You can choose photos from your own camera roll or search our library of Getty Images photos and video clips. Just drag and drop them into your Media Block. The Instagram Poll sticker will cover part of your images, so keep that in mind when arranging your photos within the layout.
You can also adjust the length of your video by clicking the plus and minus at the bottom of your block. Each Instagram Story can display for up to 15 seconds. We recommend increasing it to give people enough time to read your question and answer your poll.
Once you’ve added your photos, it’s time to decorate your video. Click the "Design" tab to choose a video theme. Or, choose your own font, colors, and animations to match your personal or professional brand.
Once you’re happy with how your video looks, you’re ready to send it to Instagram and add your poll. Click "Publish and share" from the top right corner of your workspace. Then, download your video and upload it to your Instagram Story!
Once you are in Instagram, tap the sticker icon to add Instagram’s Poll sticker, update it with the right text, and share! Wait for the responses to start rolling in.
Now you're ready to create your own beautifully-designed Instagram Stories poll today!
Looking for inspiration? We thought we’d share a few examples of this Instagram poll hack in action, made with the Animoto.
This first example shows how you can use a poll to ask for feedback or help making a decision. This is the same type of video in our Pumpkin vs. Apple pie example. Show viewers 2 things and ask them to choose between them.
Yes or no questions also work well for Instagram Polls. You can ask people if they’d be interested in a piece of content, like in this example, a new product, whether or not you should do something—anything goes!
Sometimes a poll can be a fun way to spark engagement, even when you don’t really have a question to ask.
To learn more about using Stories for your business, check out our Instagram Story getting started guide.
© 2024 Animoto Inc. All Rights Reserved.