50 “Ask Me A Question” Instagram Ideas and Poll Questions to Catapult Engagement and Win Leads

On Instagram, engagement is everything. More engagement means more growth. 

More growth means a larger audience reach. 

That, in turn, creates better leads and more revenue. 

While counting likes and comments is fun, it’s equally important to look at what your followers say when they do engage. 

Otherwise, you risk critically misunderstanding your customer base, which can lead to embarrassing mistakes, stunted growth, or worst of all…lost revenue.

So, if your followers aren’t saying anything at all…you have a big problem. 

Instagram Story questions and poll stickers help fix this problem by letting you question your audience directly. It also creates a natural way to connect with your customers.

Of course, if you want people to start answering questions, you’ll have to come up with some interesting stuff. 

In this post, learn how to post Instagram Story questions and polls that start more conversations and create audience engagement opportunities that fuel your Instagram account growth.

We’ll cover:

Jump to sections with the links above or read on to become an “Ask Me a Question” on Instagram expert!

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What Are Instagram Questions and Polls?

Instagram introduced the questions sticker in 2018, and for the next few months it was all anyone could think about. So much so, in fact, that casual Instagram users begged their fellow Instagrammers to post anything except a Questions sticker.

The real issue here was that most users weren’t posting any questions of value. There’s only so many times your friends can ask you “how are you so awesome??” and get back a paragraph-long response on your Story (an Instagram post or video that disappears after 24 hours) before it gets old. 

It’s been three years since 2018 now (gosh, has it?), and the deluge of users telling their friends to “ask me anything! :)” has slowed to a trickle. Turns out, that’s a good thing.

Now, you can finally use the questions sticker as it was intended: to ask relevant questions. 

Why do this? There are two main benefits to using Instagram’s questions and polls features:

1. It’s a natural way to get to know your audience (that doubles as market research)
2. It boosts your Instagram engagement

But remember, no one is forcing your followers to answer these questions. It’s up to you to create interesting content that people want to engage with.

Don’t know where to start? Don’t worry. That’s what we’re here for.

How do I ask a question on Instagram?

First, create a new Story.

To do this, you can either tap on the “+” icon on the top right of your profile, or you can click on your profile photo itself. 

Next, upload a relevant photo or video.

After that, click on the stickers button and scroll down to select the questions sticker.

You can type in your question and position your sticker on your photo. If you change your mind, you can drag the sticker to the bottom of your screen to delete it. 

Pressing the “Send To” button allows you to pick who sees your question. By default, Instagram only shows your question to close friends. To make sure you get the most engagement possible, pick “Your Story.” 

Press “Share,” then “Done.” Congrats! Your question is live.

When followers answer your question, you’ll receive a notification. View all the responses by opening your story and swiping up. You’ll also have the option to share people’s responses as stickers on your Story. They’ll get a notification as well.

Sharing responses shows people that you’re listening to them. That shows followers that you might feature their answers someday…and everyone likes a little Internet fame. 

How do I create a poll on Instagram?

To use polls, emoji sliders, and quizzes, follow the steps listed above. When it comes time to select your sticker, scroll down and select whichever you want.

Polls are best for asking Yes/No questions, while emoji sliders are great for gauging exactly how much your followers like a certain image or idea. 

Quizzes, on the other hand, are a fun game that can double as an educational tool.

Here, the Spotify Jobs Instagram posted a quiz about the best way to follow up an interview. 

After picking an answer, you’ll learn if you’re right or wrong. (And if you’d like to dispute the answer, you can send a message through the field at the bottom.)

All of these options are gold mines for engagement.

So, that only leaves one question: How do you come up with questions that your followers will actually take time to answer?

5 Ideas for Leveraging Questions and Polls on Instagram

Need some ideas for types of questions to ask on Instagram? 

First off, let’s talk about something important.

1. How NOT to ask questions on Instagram

There’s a reason the introduction of the questions sticker back in 2018 had some users threatening to leave the app. 

Questions can get spammy very quickly, harming your reputation and turning potential customers away from your business. 

If you ask questions all the time, or if you post every single response as a separate story, your followers will get tired of you — fast. 

Instead, use questions and polls sparingly. 

Come up with truly valuable questions, and ask them when your followers are most active. 

Then, actually do something with your audience’s input!

2. Do market research by asking fun, relevant questions about your business

For example: Imagine you run a local coffee shop. You use Instagram to ask your followers what their favorite summer coffee is.

If tons of people answer “caramel frappe,” that’s a real opportunity. 

Stock up on the materials you need, then follow up with posts and Stories about your summer caramel frappes — the most highly requested drink of the season. 

Compare this to if you posted a question every day asking people what they like best about your shop. That’ll come off as self-interested and spammy. 

Plus, it doesn’t show your followers that you’re actually using their input to improve your business.

3. Establish your brand as an expert 

Back when the Instagram questions sticker first launched, takeovers were all the rage. 

That’s because they work. 

By handing your Instagram story over to a professional at your business or an influencer, you let your audience ask specific questions to an industry expert — and get answers back in minutes.

You can announce an Instagram takeover like an event to get people excited about asking questions. Once the takeover ends, include a CTA to tell participants what to do next.

In this example, Shopify announces an upcoming Instagram takeover, asks a specific question about their area of expertise, and follows up with a strong call to action: “Drop your Q’s.” 

The emoji makes it even clearer. 

4. Gauge public opinion by asking about your products or services

Like our coffee shop example from earlier, you can ask your followers their opinions about a specific product or service you offer. 

Use this sparingly, as it can come off as self-centered. 

That said, there’s a difference between saying “Tell me what you like about our brand!” and asking a more specific question like “What _____ would you like to see from us this season?”

You can also use the emoji slider here to ask followers how much they enjoy or look forward to a certain product, service or release.

5. Build your email list by asking to email your followers a freebie

This is a great idea for an Instagram poll. Ask your followers if they’d like you to email them a freebie — for example, a discount code or a downloadable resource — and let them answer “Yes” or “No.”

To everyone who answers “Yes,” DM them a link to enter their email and receive the promised freebie. 

This is a fantastic way to start engaging with your audience and grow your email list at the same time.

Plus, Instagram rewards accounts with a large amount of non-spammy DMs. 

To Instagram, that shows that you’re creating content with so much value that people actually want to talk to you one-on-one about it!

50 “Ask Me A Question” Ideas for Instagram

Any of these prompts work well as a stand-alone question, or you can convert them into multi-choice polls. Feel free to experiment with using emoji sliders and quiz questions as well!

Make Business Announcements & Source Content Ideas

1. Tell us what you like about ______
2. What do you want to see from us this [season]? – You can use this to source content ideas as well as product ideas
3. What’s one product you wish existed, but you can’t find anywhere? – Tailor this to fit your brand
4. Guess what’s coming to [your brand] this [season]! 
5. Can you guess where we are? – Post a photo of the view from your office or location. You can also make this into a quiz if you want to give your followers more options. 

Establish industry expertise (fill in the blank with your industry!)

6. 30 minute live Q&A! Ask us anything about ______
7. What questions do you have about _______? 
8. What do you want to learn about ______?
9. What’s your strongest ______ skill? 
10. What _______ skill do you wish you were better at?
11. What topics do you want us to cover on our blog/YouTube channel?
12. If you could ask only one thing about _____, what would it be?
13. Tell us your top 5 tips about ______!
14. What’s the worst misconception people have about your job?
15. Fill in the blank: “I’m learning more about [your industry] because _______”

Play with funny questions

16. Working from home or from the office — which is better, and why?
17. Coffee or tea? (Great for a poll!)
18. Pineapple on pizza? Yes/No (Great for a poll…but only if you want to start a war)
19. What’s your favorite beverage?
20. What’s your favorite conversation starter?
21. If you could get famous for anything, what would you want it to be?

Spice things up with a “would you rather?”

22. Would you rather be fabulously wealthy or a staple of your community?
23. For one week, would you rather use no social media for a week, or talk to no one in real life?
24. Would you rather meet someone from the past or someone from the future?
25. Would you rather be poor doing what you love or rich doing what you hate?
26. Would you rather explore the ocean or explore space?

Swap health and motivation tips

27. What’s your morning routine?
28. How do you stay healthy working from home?
29. How do you unplug after work?
30. What are you most thankful for today?
31. What are you doing right now to become the person you want to be?
32. Fill in the bank: I do what I do because _______.
33. If you could only give the future generation one piece of advice, what would it be?
34. How often do you exercise? (Great for emoji sliders or a poll!)
35. Share your favorite exercises and stretches to do at work!

Learn your audience’s social media habits and opinions

36. How much time do you spend on social media every day?
37. If you could add one brand new feature to Instagram, what would it be?
38. What’s your favorite social media platform? Why?
39. What’s your favorite way to start a conversation with someone online?
40. On a scale of 1-10, how much do you enjoy social media? (Great for an emoji slider or a poll!)
41. How do you measure Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/etc. engagement? 
42. What’s the most engagement you ever got online?
43. How often do you post on Instagram?
44. What’s your favorite way to plan social media strategy? 
45. If you could create a new social media platform, what would you call it and what would it do?

Ask for permission to email or call your followers

Great for a Yes/No poll…then follow up with a direct message!

46. May we email you a free ______?
47. Would you like us to email you about _______?
48. Would you like 25 minutes of free advice from our team? (Good for gathering phone numbers or booking free consultations)
49. Want to receive our daily newsletter about X? 
50. Want to join our online community? DM us for more info! (Good for starting direct message conversations)

The #1 Rule for Asking Questions on Instagram

Remember: the best questions have a purpose beyond engagement. 

Yes, engagement is crucial, but a best-in-class question also provides your business with valuable customer data and audience intelligence!

Always know what you want your questions to do, whether that’s to source content ideas, show your followers that you hear them, learn more about your audience, or even just to have fun.

Not only will this improve the quality of the questions you use, but it will also prevent you from straying into spammy territory…a terrifying land hated by users and algorithms alike.

If you use questions to bring your followers to your DMs, you’ll need a system in place to follow up with your leads right away. 

MobileMonkey Instagram messaging tools can increase your engagement and prevent any valuable leads from slipping through the cracks. 

Apply here to get on the list for early access to the official Instagram messaging automation and growth tools from MobileMonkey. 

Now go! Interrogate your audience! (Nicely, of course.)

GET EARLY ACCESS TO NEW INSTAGRAM TOOLS FROM MOBILEMONKEY

Get more Instagram followers with new tools for influencers, artists, brands and D2C businesses. Sign up to be the first to use tools that generate elite engagement via Instagram DMs.

Get Early Access

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