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How to Create Poll in WhatsApp for a Win-Win Decision-Making

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WhatsApp polls

Make informed decisions and boost engagement with WhatsApp polls.

Hey there! Are you looking for a simple way to know your friends‘ opinions about a topic or gather insights before launching services? Or maybe you want to know what a majority of your users would choose from different options available to them.

It is possible without spending any money on WhatsApp Polls. It‘s a popular feature that lets you ask questions and get real-time answers from members.

Let‘s dive in and understand it all!

What is WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is hands down one of the most popular messenger apps for smartphones, actively used by over 2 billion people around the globe according to the company. You need to download the app, connect to the internet to send and receive messages, audio, images, and videos.

WhatsApp on multiple devices

Unlike SMS texting, WhatsApp is fast, easy, and more convenient in terms of user experience. Plus, there are no charges for using WhatsApp because it utilizes the internet. So if you‘re looking for a platform to privately send messages to friends, group chat and share live locations, WhatsApp is a stellar 💯 choice!

It is freely available for download on the Google Play Store, and you can also use it on a Mac or Windows computer. Therefore, you aren‘t restricted to only using a phone and neither are your customers, making this an extremely versatile and accessible communication tool!

What are WhatsApp Polls?

WhatsApp Polls allow you to run a voting poll in your group chats. You can ask questions with up to 12 options for people to choose from. Users can select one or more options in real-time and also get notified whenever somebody else votes.

Person using WhatsApp poll on phone

Creating WhatsApp polls is a straightforward process and you can use them to ask anything. Businesses can leverage polls to gather insights about certain products or services by collecting the voice of the customer. From the poll results, businesses can understand what can be improved or optimized.

But before jumping into the process of making WhatsApp polls, let‘s overview some key advantages of using them.

Benefits of WhatsApp Polls

So, should you use polls or not? Well, before deciding, here‘s a quick rundown of the main benefits:

  • Group decision-making: Polls provide a democratic approach to decision-making by ensuring everyone‘s opinion is considered before finalizing choices.

  • Quick and easy: Creating polls on WhatsApp is much more straightforward compared to other platforms. You may encounter issues integrating third-party polls into your preferred apps.

  • Boosts engagement: If you‘re a member of an inactive group, you‘ll likely notice substantially more participation after running a poll – they liven up group conversations!

  • Marketing research: Businesses and marketers can leverage polls to conduct market research and better understand their target audience.

  • Event planning: Use polls to gauge interest, preferences, and availability when organizing events. It streamlines the planning process.

  • Feedback collection: Polls provide a quick way to gather feedback from existing customers versus long surveys.

  • Product research: When launching something new, polls help collect experiences to refine offerings.

  • Privacy: WhatsApp Polls stay private to group members, ensuring data collected is controlled.

With over 2 billion active users, WhatsApp has evolved beyond just messaging friends. It‘s now a valuable business communication tool enabling easy customer reach. WhatsApp CRMs are even emerging to improve customer relationships!

How to Create a Poll in WhatsApp

The process of making a WhatsApp poll is straightforward:

  1. Open any group chat.

Open WhatsApp chat

  1. Tap the paper clip 🖇️ icon on the text box and select Poll > Create Poll.

Create WhatsApp poll

  1. Enter your question in the Question field.

  2. List all the poll options under Options. You can reorder options by long pressing the menu icon.

Add poll options

  1. By default, users can make multiple selections. To allow only one, toggle off Multiple Answers.

Finalize WhatsApp poll

  1. Finally, tap the send icon to create and share the poll.

That‘s all it takes – easy right?

Viewing Poll Results

Once you‘ve created and sent a poll, you can track responses and check the vote tally.

View WhatsApp poll votes

To see results, tap View Votes at the bottom of your poll. This displays a summary of who voted and their selections.

WhatsApp poll result

WhatsApp also lets you review previous poll results and responses. You can easily delete a poll if you‘d rather not keep it active.

Analyzing WhatsApp Poll Data

Simply viewing votes provides instant answers to your question. However, when running multiple sequential polls, analyzing the data is key to drawing meaningful insights for smart decisions.

Here‘s my guide to analyzing WhatsApp poll data as an experienced data analyst:

  • Collect data: Compile poll responses. Open WhatsApp and use the search feature to find specific polls under the Polls tab.

  • Organize data: Sort all answers from each option into a spreadsheet or table for analysis.

  • Calculate responses: Count the total responses and percentage per option to identify popular choices.

  • Identify patterns: Are there engagement differences between polls with fewer/more options? Do certain questions prompt more responses? Uncover trends.

  • Compare to objectives: Do results align with expected or preferred outcomes? Note any surprising findings.

  • Derive insights: With a clear understanding of results, derive insights to inform data-driven business decisions.

  • Follow-up polling: Based on findings, consider additional polls to further narrow down preferences.

Analyzing WhatsApp polls provides valuable insights for both personal and business decision-making. As a professional data analyst, I highly recommend taking time to carefully evaluate poll results using the above framework.

Analyze WhatsApp poll data

Let‘s look at some examples of how businesses can leverage WhatsApp polls and data analysis:

  • A restaurant wants customer feedback on new menu items. They create a WhatsApp poll and 92 people respond. The data shows 65% preferred item A and 35% preferred item B. This quantifiable data helps the restaurant decide which new menu item to add.

  • An event planner is organizing a corporate event. She creates multiple WhatsApp polls to determine optimal timing, location, food/drink options based on attendance. Analyzing the collective poll data provides clear event planning direction.

  • A startup founder is finalizing his website design. He creates a poll with different options and analyzes the data to create the most popular site design.

As you can see, carefully creating and analyzing WhatsApp polls provides tangible benefits for planning, decision-making, and optimizing outcomes based on target audience preferences.

Best Practices for Effective WhatsApp Polls

Polls are a great information gathering tool, but following best practices optimizes their effectiveness:

Ask Direct Questions

Avoid complex or vague questions requiring explanation. Simple and direct questions lead to better quality responses.

Use Clear & Concise Answer Options

Keep options brief. Concise, unambiguous options prevent confusion and ensure clarity.

Limit the Number of Options

Although WhatsApp allows up to 12 options, resist the urge to use them all. Too many choices become overwhelming. Stick to 4-5 options.

Moderate Poll Frequency

Avoid blasting your contacts with endless polls. Use them selectively to maintain engagement without irritating recipients.

Adhering to these best practices will maximize the quality of your WhatsApp polls, allowing you to gather more meaningful insights to inform decisions.

WhatsApp FAQs

Key WhatsApp Poll Questions

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about WhatsApp polls:

How many poll options can you have?

You can include up to 12 options in a WhatsApp poll.

Are polls anonymous?

No, WhatsApp does not currently support anonymous polling.

Can users select multiple answers?

Yes, allowing multiple selections is the default setting. Hosts can restrict it to one answer per person.

What are some uses for WhatsApp polls?

Polls provide a quick way to gather decision-making input, plan events based on feedback, conduct product/service research, and more. Their flexibility makes them valuable for personal and business contexts.

WhatsApp Poll Statistics

Let‘s look at some interesting stats about WhatsApp polls:

  • More than 1 billion WhatsApp messages are sent daily according to expert estimates.

  • WhatsApp has over 2 billion monthly active users worldwide as of 2022.

  • Over 65 billion messages are sent via WhatsApp each day.

  • WhatsApp polls drive 19% more engagement than regular messages according to Social Insider.

  • Polls boost click-through rates by 2-3x compared to ordinary messages per Uberall.

Given WhatsApp‘s immense global popularity, polls are an impactful way for businesses to engage audiences and gather data. The above stats illustrate the significant reach and benefit polls provide.

Summary

We‘ve covered a lot of ground on WhatsApp polling! Here are the key takeaways:

  • WhatsApp polls provide an easy way to ask questions and get quick answers.

  • They offer many benefits like group decision-making, enhanced engagement, event planning, and market research.

  • Creating polls is simple – just open a chat, make the poll, and send it off.

  • Analyzing poll data allows you to uncover meaningful insights to inform decisions.

  • Follow best practices like clear options and moderated frequency for optimal effectiveness.

  • Polls are a versatile tool applicable to both personal and business contexts.

I hope this guide gives you a comprehensive understanding of how to master WhatsApp polls! Let me know if you have any other questions. I‘m always happy to help fellow data analysts and technologists leverage polls effectively.

AlexisKestler

Written by Alexis Kestler

A female web designer and programmer - Now is a 36-year IT professional with over 15 years of experience living in NorCal. I enjoy keeping my feet wet in the world of technology through reading, working, and researching topics that pique my interest.