“When people come to Twitter, they want to express something to the world. It’s them writing a simple message and them knowing that people are going to see it”.”

— Jack Dorsey - Co-Founder of Twitter

As of the 21st October 2015 Twitter introduced "Twitter Polls". Polls are a truly unique way of interacting with your audience on Twitter.

Sure everyone knows what a poll is (hopefully) but it's important to understand how and why to use the poll functionality on Twitter.

For schools, it’s a new way to engage with Twitter’s massive audience and understand exactly what people think. For those participating, it’s a very easy way to make your voice heard.

What are Twitter Polls?

Polls on Twitter aren’t a totally new concept. In fact people have been running polls on Twitter for a long time through either a “retweet/favourite to vote” mechanism.

It was the popularity of the above style of tweets which rather forced Twitter's hand into making the native Twitter poll functionality.

The Nuts and bolts

Twitter Polls are limited to four answer options
Polls have a lifespan of up to a week. Tweeters are informed of how long is left to vote, and how many people have voted as well as the results in percentage.
How you voted is not shared publicly (so no one else will be able to see which option you voted for)
Once a poll is completed the results can be viewed publicly.

How do I add a Twitter Poll?

Adding a Twitter poll is very, very simple. But we will show how to add a poll - because we are nice like that :)

Desktop

1. Click to compose a tweet. Type in your question as you would normally to type a tweet. Click on the 'Add Poll' symbol shown below.

2. From here Twitter will give you spaces to enter your answers for the poll. Simply click "Add a choice" to add more options (4 maximum) - Remember you can use emojis in your answers if you wish to do so :)

3. Once you have inserted all of your answers you can choose the poll length. The poll can be up to one week long. - This may be handy for a pinned tweet.

What should I be asking?

For personal accounts you can ask your audience anything from where you should go on holiday to what you should eat for breakfast tomorrow. There is something exciting in a way to allow your audience to make a choice for you.

Obviously schools may be slightly more limited, but there is still a wealth of options for what schools can post about.

Ask about the most convenient dates for open days
Ask questions about lessons, get parents involved
Ask which Christmas carol the students should perform
Ask parents what social channels they use most (research!)

Quiz/test your pupils!

Departmental Twitter accounts should be quizzing their pupils, with Twitter Polls. Just learned about photosynthesis? Create a poll on Twitter, and test your pupils.

The idea for Twitter Polls is to give your Twitter community a voice and to build a relationship with your followers.

Are you going to use Twitter Polls?

How To Use Twitter Polls At Your School