How to Do a Poll on a TikTok Story

Adding a poll to your TikTok Story is a simple, effective way to turn passive viewers into active participants in your content. This small interactive sticker can dramatically increase engagement, give you valuable feedback, and make your audience feel more connected to your brand. This guide will walk you through exactly how to create a poll on your TikTok Story, complete with actionable tips and creative ideas to get you started.

What Are TikTok Stories and Why Add a Poll?

TikTok Stories are short-lived video or photo posts that disappear from your profile after 24 hours. Just like on Instagram or Facebook, they offer a casual way to connect with your followers without cluttering your main feed. They're perfect for behind-the-scenes glimpses, unpolished moments, and quick updates.

But why add a poll? Because interactivity transforms your content from a monologue into a conversation. Here's what makes polls so powerful:

• Boosts Engagement: Polls give your followers a simple, low-effort way to interact with you. A single tap is far easier than typing a comment, which means more people are likely to participate. This signals to the TikTok algorithm that your content is valuable and engaging.
• Gathers Audience Insights: Want to know what your audience really thinks? Ask them! Polls are an incredible market research tool. You can ask for opinions on new products, get feedback on content ideas, or just learn more about their preferences.
• Strengthens Community: By involving your audience in decisions - even small ones like choosing your next video topic - you make them feel heard and valued. This builds a more loyal and connected community around your brand or profile.
• Drives Conversation: Polls can be great conversation starters. After the poll ends, you can share the results, discuss the outcomes, and even use the feedback to create follow-up content.

How to Create a Poll on a TikTok Story: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to make your first interactive story? The process is straightforward. Here's how you can add a poll to your TikTok Story in just a few simple steps.

Step 1: Open the TikTok App and Start Your Story

First things first, open the TikTok app on your phone. To begin creating content, tap the plus sign (+) at the bottom center of your screen. This takes you to the camera/creation screen, your starting point for all new content.

Step 2: Record a Video or Upload a Photo

Here you have two choices: create something new or use existing media. You can either:

• Record a video directly in the app by holding the red record button.
• Upload a photo or a pre-recorded video from your phone's camera roll by tapping the "Upload" button to the right of the record button.

Once you're happy with your visual, tap the red checkmark or "Next" to move to the editing screen. Don't worry about making it perfect yet, you'll have plenty of options to spice it up.

Step 3: Access the Stickers Menu

You're now on the editing screen where all the fun happens. On the right-hand side of the screen, you'll see a vertical menu with several icons for adding text, effects, and sounds. Look for the "Stickers" icon - it looks like a square with a smiley face on it. Tap it to open the stickers menu, which is packed with interactive and static add-ons for your content.

Step 4: Select the "Poll" Sticker

Inside the stickers menu, you'll find a variety of interactive options like mentions, hashtags, and quizzes. Find and tap on the sticker labeled "Poll." This will place a customizable poll template directly onto your photo or video.

Step 5: Write Your Question and Customize the Answers

Now it’s time to create your poll. The default template will include a space for a question and two answer options, usually preset as "Yes" and "No."

• Ask your question: Tap the placeholder text to type in the question you want to ask your followers.
• Customize the answers: Tap on the "Yes" and "No" fields to change them. While the default is great for simple questions, you can customize the answers to be anything you want. For example, instead of "Yes" or "No," you could use "Coffee" and "Tea" or "Dress 1" and "Dress 2." Just remember to keep them short and snappy.

Step 6: Position and Resize Your Poll

With your question and answers set, you can now move and resize the poll on your screen. Tap and hold the poll sticker to drag it anywhere you'd like on your Story. Use the standard two-finger pinch-and-zoom gesture to make it larger or smaller. Place it somewhere that it's easy to read but doesn't cover up any important parts of your video or image.

Step 7: Add Any Final Touches

Before you post, you can add any other elements from the editing toolbar. You might want to add some text to provide more context, find the perfect trending sound to set the mood, or apply a filter to enhance your visual. Layering these elements can make your Story more visually appealing and engaging.

Step 8: Post Your Story

Once you're satisfied with your masterpiece, tap the "Your Story" button at the bottom left of the screen. This will publish the clip to your Story feed, where it will be visible to your followers for the next 24 hours. And that's it - your interactive poll is now live!

Pro Tips for Creating Engaging TikTok Polls

Creating a poll is easy, but creating one that people actually want to vote on takes a little strategy. Here are some best practices to make your polls as effective as possible.

1. Keep Your Question Simple and Clear

People scroll through Stories fast. If they have to spend more than a couple of seconds trying to figure out what you're asking, they'll probably just skip it. Use simple language and ask direct questions. A "This vs. That" format is almost always a winner because it’s so easy to understand.

2. Make Your Poll Visually Appealing

Remember, the poll is an overlay on your content. Use a background image or video that is high-quality and grabs attention but isn't so busy that it makes the poll text hard to read. A bright, interesting background makes the entire Story more compelling.

3. Use the Poll for Genuine Feedback

Your audience wants to help shape your content! Use polls as a genuine feedback tool. Ask questions like:

• "What tutorial should I film next?" (Option A / Option B)
• "Are you more interested in my morning routine or evening routine?" (Morning / Evening)
• "Which thumbnail do you like better for my new YouTube video?" (Thumb 1 / Thumb 2)

This not only increases your engagement but also gives you valuable direction for future posts.

4. Tie Your Polls to Trends and Timely Events

Connect your poll to what's happening in real-time. Is there a viral sound making the rounds? A holiday coming up? A big pop culture event? Use these moments as inspiration for your poll questions to seem more relevant and capture current interest.

5. Don't Overthink It - Have Fun!

Not every poll needs to be serious market research. Sometimes the best polls are fun, lighthearted, and silly. Ask a quirky "Would you rather?" question, settle a funny debate, or just ask a simple question like, "Is today a good day?" (Yes! / Definitely!). Humor and personality go a long way.

How to View and Share Poll Results

The conversation doesn't end once you've posted your poll. One of the best ways to build community is to follow up on the results. Here's how you can check on your poll's progress and share what your audience decided.

Checking Your Results

1. Navigate to your TikTok profile.
2. Tap on your profile picture where the blue ring indicates you have an active story.
3. Once your Story is playing, you'll see an activity icon in the bottom left corner showing how many people have viewed it. Swipe up, or tap on this icon.

This will bring up a detailed view showing the viewer list as well as the results of your poll. You can see the percentage breakdown for each answer and a list of who voted for which option. This is a great opportunity to DM some of your voters a quick "thank you" message to further build that connection.

Sharing the Results (Closing the Loop)

After your poll has been up for a while (or has expired), create a new Story to share the results. You can take a screenshot of the results page and post that, or create a new graphic announcing the winner. More importantly, talk about the results! Thank everyone for voting and tell them how you'll use their feedback. If they voted on a new t-shirt design, announce which one will be made. If they picked your next content topic, let them know when they can expect to see it.

This small step shows your audience that their opinion matters and you're actually listening. It closes the feedback loop and makes them more likely to interact with your future polls.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to do a poll on a TikTok Story is a simple yet powerful way to connect with your audience and make your content more interactive. Use this tool to get feedback, start conversations, and transform your followers from passive viewers into an engaged community.

When you're creating compelling content like TikTok Stories with polls, it's also important to maintain a consistent content schedule across all your platforms. Creating these organic moments of engagement is essential, but planning and scheduling the rest of your feed can feel overwhelming. At Postbase, we've built a social media management platform that simplifies your life by allowing you to schedule all your content, including short-form video for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts, right from one visual calendar. You can focus on creating great, engaging content, and we'll make sure it goes live exactly when you plan it to.