Engage attendees during your in-person or virtual event with live polls. Third-party applications or built-in software features support prerecorded and live event polling. You ask a question, and people answer by voting for one of the choices. In most cases, event participants can vote from any internet-connected device, including cell phones.
However, functionality, user experience, and costs differ. Polling apps offer a certain number of polls per event and may have participation limits. Some work with PowerPoint, whereas others integrate with YouTube. Check out the free versions of various tools to find the best fit. Here are 15 free and paid solutions for polling your audience.
Use features on your webinar or video conferencing software
Video conferencing and webinar platforms with livestreaming capabilities may have built-in tools for live event polling, surveying, and question and answer (Q&A) sessions. Polling features often come with paid livestreaming software and let you export poll results or keep votes anonymous.
Create a poll from your video meeting tools, such as:
- Microsoft Teams: Create polls before your remote meeting and launch it before, during, or after the session. You can also export your poll results.
- Zoom: Add basic or advanced polls and view results during or after your meeting. Zoom polls can be anonymous and require a paid plan.
- Google Meet: Google Workspace users can conduct polls during a video meeting, and you’ll automatically receive an email with the results.
- Zoho Meeting: The free version of Zoho lets you create polls before your session, and you can publish poll results or keep them private.
[Read more: 7 Smart Tips for Livestreaming Your Event]
Add a third-party tool for live event polling
Polling apps work with presentation and meeting platforms, allowing you to request votes during a PowerPoint presentation, Microsoft Teams meeting, or Zoom conference. Stand-alone and integrated features also support in-person or hybrid events, where attendees can use a quick response (QR) code to access the poll and vote.
Most platforms provide instructions for using polls in a broadcast and don’t charge a fee.
Check out these free and paid polling tools for your live events:
- Vevox: Add live polls to Microsoft Teams meetings or live PowerPoint presentations. Vevox is free for up to 100 participants and offers paid versions with more poll types.
- Pigeonhole Live: Create polls for hybrid or virtual events and integrate Pigeonhole Live with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and more. This tool is free for up to 500 attendees, but paid plans have more integrations and tools.
- DialogLoop: Get unlimited polls for your livestream or PowerPoint presentation. Use the free Version of DialogLoop for up to 10 participants or paid packages for unlimited polls, quizzes, and word clouds.
- Poll Everywhere: Embed polls in your PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides presentation or use them during a Webex meeting. Poll Everywhere is free for up to 25 participants and includes free data exports.
- Crowdpurr: Use Crowdpurr to add polls when livestreaming from Zoom, YouTube Live, and Twitch. It’s free for up to 25 participants, and paid plans let you export results to Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.
- Slido: Create multiple-choice, word cloud, open text, and rating polls for your live events. Slido works with Google Slides, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Teams. It’s free for up to 100 participants and three polls per event.
Activate live polls on social media platforms
Social media polls are a fun way to interact with livestream viewers and boost engagement rates. Most platforms provide instructions for using polls in a broadcast and don’t charge a fee. Social media channels generally offer fewer customization options for live event polling but provide a seamless user experience.
Here’s how the poll function works on various platforms:
- Facebook: Insert an unlimited number of polls to your Facebook live broadcast from the Live Producer dashboard. Each poll can have two or four answers, and you can make them before or during your livestream.
- Twitter: While you can’t add polls to a Twitter live broadcast, you can put them in any tweet. Consider asking livestream viewers to vote in your poll on your feed.
- Instagram: You can add polls to your Instagram Stories. The interactive poll sticker can have two or four response options.
- YouTube: Use the desktop version of YouTube to create a live poll from the chat window. YouTube live polls can have up to four choices.
- TikTok: Like Instagram, TikTok provides poll stickers for use in your videos. You can add one question with two responses per TikTok poll.
[Read more: 4 Smart Ways to Boost Engagement With Social Media Followers]
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
Follow us on Instagram for more expert tips & business owners’ stories.
CO—is committed to helping you start, run and grow your small business. Learn more about the benefits of small business membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, here.
Become a small business member and save!
Become an integral voice in the world’s largest business organization when you join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a small business member. Members also receive exclusive discounts from B2B partners, including a special offer from FedEx that can help your business save hundreds a year on shipping. Become a member today and start saving!
