How to use YouTube polls to create more engagement on your channel

Looking to boost your YouTube channel views, exposure, and increase your audience’s engagement? From comments, shares, likes, and dislikes, there are many ways for creators to interact with subscribers. But have you tried YouTube polls? They can turn your regular YouTube videos into helpful subscriber feedback tools.

Read on to explore everything you need to know here like how to make a poll on YouTube and how to create insight-driven videos with the Clipchamp online video editor.

What are YouTube polls?

YouTube polls are an online poll created by YouTubers to share viewers’ opinions and responses. Results can be shown in real-time to the creator and the audience. Created through the YouTube Community, polls are a unique way to gauge your audience’s interests. A YouTube poll can help creators bridge the gap between brands and customers without using an external page or survey.

Let’s say you have an at-home cooking YouTube channel. Your target audience will be fellow home chefs looking for easy recipes. You can make a poll to understand what ingredients your viewers have in their pantry right now, then create a YouTube video including those key ingredients.

If you’re running an educational YouTube channel, your target audience is most likely students seeking additional information and help. Create a YouTube poll to understand what areas your viewers need the most help with and convert the highest upvoted answer into your next tutorial YouTube video.

Check your YouTube poll eligibility

There are a few requirements both creators and subscribers must fulfill before using YouTube polls. 

YouTube poll requirements for content creators

• YouTube channels must have over 500 subscribers to access Community posts. 

• If you have recently reached 500 subscribers, it can take up to 1 week to see the Community tab appear. 

• Make sure your YouTube channel isn’t set for kids.

YouTube poll requirements for subscribers

• Viewers must be logged into their YouTube accounts to be able to vote. 

• Mobile users must be using the YouTube app for iOS and Android.

How to make a poll on YouTube

Step 1. Create a new post in YouTube Studio

Head over to YouTube Studio and log in to your YouTube account. Click on the Create button in the top right corner, then click the Create post button. 

Make sure the Community tab is selected.

Step 2. Create your YouTube poll

Select Image poll or Text poll. 

For a text poll, just type the question you would like to ask your YouTube community in the textbox. Once you have asked your question, add the voting options.

For an image poll, type your question into the text box, same as for the text poll. Then upload an image for each answer option.

Step 3. Post your YouTube poll

After you have typed all your text or uploaded all your images, click on the blue Post button, or click on the arrow to schedule a post. Your published polls will appear under the Published tab, and schedule posts will appear under the Schedule tab. 

Why you should be using YouTube polls

Creating YouTube polls is an easy and effective way for any YouTube channel to boost engagement. Take a look at ten reasons why creators should use poll cards to engage with subscribers. 

1. Guide your video content with direct audience feedback

YouTube Polls help you generate content ideas by asking your subscribers directly. Viewers provide instant feedback, so you don’t need to endlessly scroll through comments to pick their brains. YouTube Polls also involve your viewers, making them feel needed and valued. Receiving feedback from your viewers provides insights into what content your audience wants and doesn’t want.

2. Generate conversation

Interact with those who have answered your poll to increase engagement and build community. Creators can ask their viewers specific questions to spark conversation in the comments section. Generating more fan engagement via viewer comments is one of the best ways to feature on the YouTube recommended page.

3. Gain insight into upload schedule

Find out what time or days viewers prefer to watch videos, and how many times they watch your videos per week, so you can batch create content in advance. Choosing upload days that work best for viewers can boost your numbers while also improving their viewing experience.

4. Provide better support for virtual learning

Educational channels for virtual learning can use polls to gather insights into what viewers struggle to understand or need some extra help with. A poll is entirely anonymous, so viewers can keep their opinions private.

5. Have fun with your subscribers and viewers

Polls don’t always have to be serious questions. You can create a YouTube poll for the sole purpose of engaging in small talk to have fun interactions and bond with your audience. Post polls and comments with the only intention of having a humorous and entertaining back and forth. You can gain more subscribers and loyal viewers by connecting with them on a personal and friendship level.

6. Re-engage subscribers on past content

Gain more views by redirecting viewers to older video content through YouTube polls. New subscribers might not be familiar with your past content, so YouTube polls can lead them to watch more on your channel. You can even repurpose suggested videos in the YouTube poll into YouTube Shorts. Polls are an essential tool to help creators gather information, interact with subscribers and guide the future of your channel.

7. Boost Search & Discover results

YouTube Polls boost your videos and channel in YouTube’s Search & Discovery algorithm. A poll vote or comment is an interaction. The more interactions your content has, the higher you will appear in search results.

8. Increase watch time

Viewers who answered your poll are more likely to watch entire videos based on the resulting content. You can incorporate the poll and all options into the video content to capture the attention and increase watch time of all viewers who voted. After a viewer votes on your poll, they become a stakeholder in the outcome of their vote. This curiosity builds more invested viewers who are less likely to skip your videos or close them early.

9. Retain more viewers and subscribers

Someone who answers your poll is highly likely to return to your channel and future videos. Repeat poll voters become repeat viewers meaning your content is adding value to their watching habits. This means your subscribers who regularly vote will regularly watch and remain loyal to your channel, therefore being less likely to unsubscribe or drop off from watching your videos.

10. Promote sponsors and partner brands

Make your YouTube sponsors and advertisers extra happy by promoting their business and services in your polls. You can ask viewers what their favorite product is from one of your sponsors. You can also gauge what potential sponsors and brands to work with based on poll results.

3 YouTube poll examples to inspire you

1. Dynamic polling - WatchMojo

Pop-culture listicle channel WatchMojo tick a lot of content strategy boxes with their polls. They often use image polls, which are more evocative than text for Film and TV content. In this example, they’ve also crafted a thought-provoking and unique question to encourage users to think and discuss. WatchMojo has also encouraged conversation which has paid off as overall engagement is very high with over 200K views and 1K comments. Finally, they’ve also linked to a related video, which further increases their chances of driving views and engagement.

2. Community outreach - iHasCupquake

Gaming YouTuber iHasCupquake regularly interacts with her fanbase with YouTube polls, but they’re just one element of her regular engagement on YouTube posts. She frequently asks fans to vote on what sort of content to create and even hosts competitions using her polls as the vehicle for entering. This sense of community invites her viewers into the content creation process and reflects that they have valuable input into the channel and its videos.

3. Trivia time – Marvel Entertainment

Global pop-culture giant Marvel Entertainment have a very active post feed on their YouTube channel. This is important to factor in your use of polls. It should be one element of an overall picture of engagement on your feed. The Marvel feed posts everything from TV and Movie poster announcements to behind the scenes. They exclusively use their polls for trivia questions. There’s no competition or catch. It purely exists to engage fans and encourage discussion in the comments.

YouTube Polls are a rewarding forum for engaging your audience and building your brand. Next you might want to master YouTube descriptions to build visibility with video SEO or add a YouTube podcast to your content plan.

Want to make high-performing YouTube videos fast? Get started with Clipchamp or download the Microsoft Clipchamp Windows app.