LinkedIn members can create up to 10 free polls at a time, each with one question and up to five possible answers. The responses of other LinkedIn members are displayed to the creator in the form of a graph.

To create a LinkedIn Poll:

1. Move your cursor over “More” at the top of your homepage and select Polls.
2. Click “Create a new poll” on the left.
3. Enter your poll question in the “Ask a question” field.
4. Specify up to five answer choices.
5. Choose where you want to share your poll.
6. Click “Create Poll.”

LinkedIn offers a set of best practices to help users create more effective polls and distribute them for maximum response:

• Keep questions and answers brief. According to LinkedIn, shorter, well-written questions have higher response rates.
• Ask specific questions and try not to lead people to a certain type of response.
• Avoid overlapping ranges or values to prevent confusion.
• Try adding “All of the above” or “None of the above” to account for cases where none of the supplied answers fit the respondent.
• Do not create self-promotional polls; LinkedIn will not publish them.

Proofread the poll before publishing; LinkedIn does not allow edits once the poll is created. This prevents the manipulation of data. As with any business communication, spelling and grammar are important.

Once your poll is created, it can be shared straight to Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. A simple piece of code allows marketers to embed their poll in blog posts on or their website.

To see the results of your poll, including votes, comments and respondent demographics, choose “Polls” from the ‘More” dropdown menu on the homepage. Click on the name of the poll you would like to analyze. LinkedIn protects the privacy of users by removing identifying from their analysis, though poll creators still have access to demographic data.

Each person who voted on the poll is able to view the results. For this reason, it is a good idea to keep polls general and avoid company-specific questions. LinkedIn Polls may not provide data as specific as that a marketer could gather using SurveyMonkey or another poll of their own, yet the expanded reach allows for greater datasets on general topics.

Use polls to take the temperature of professionals in your industry and gain valuable insight into trends among specific demographics.

Have you ever used LinkedIn Polls? How useful was it for your business?

Follow me on twitter @rpilney

Connect with me on LinkedIn