Conducting online surveys

One of the most popular methods of interacting with the audience during the broadcast is online polls. They allow you to quickly collect information of interest to the presenter and visualize it in the form of a convenient table. This format is also suitable for viewers because to express your opinion, it is enough to choose only one option (or several, depending on the survey format). But conducting such an interaction only seems simple. In fact, the use of specialized services, knowledge of the algorithms of their work, and experience in events of similar nature are required, not to mention the availability of paid functionality for the platforms for conducting surveys, in which it is difficult for a beginner to understand which options need to be paid for a particular event, and what will turn out useless and will lead to unnecessary costs.

What is an online survey?

It is well-known, an online survey is a collection of social information, just like offline surveys:

  • at the discretion of the interviewer, a free-form questionnaire is drawn up;
  • the respondent is asked to answer several questions, from one to several dozen;
  • any subject can be asked, and in some cases the questions are selected from different categories.

In the case of online polls, the situation is different. So:

  • there is no need to select the target audience because she is already on the stream;
  • there is no need for marketing promotion of the questionnaire for the same reason;
  • no power and personnel are needed to process incoming responses and compile statistics – this is done automatically.

An online survey is simpler than a classic survey on the Internet and is much easier and faster than an offline survey.

Why do you need polls on broadcasts?

Usually, questionnaires for the audience of a stream or a seminar are as simple as possible. Optimally – one question and several answers. Such a questionnaire allows the presenter to:

  • find out the opinion of the audience, for example, whether it is necessary to analyze a question in more depth;
  • get feedback from viewers about the quality of the broadcast or the topic, at least in the format like it or not;
  • plan the topic of the next broadcast, asking the audience’s opinion, and suggesting a choice of several topics familiar to the speaker;
  • form or change the topic, according to the results of the audience survey;
  • quickly get an answer to a question, for example, whether the idea expressed by the speaker is clear.

In cases with corporate events or business events (such as meetings, negotiations or filing reports), the online questionnaire can be used for other purposes. For example, in entertainment for parties, choose a virtual game or musical accompaniment. To do this, you can use services with a game interface: kahoot! or feedbackr. They are well suited for mass entertainment events.

How online polls are conducted on broadcasts

The main difference between a survey on a stream and any other type of survey is the real-time mode. There is already an audience ready to answer the question, and you just need to figure out what to ask. It takes 5 minutes to get the results. Perhaps this is the most interactive way of interacting with the audience during the broadcast.

It is only important to make sure that the survey interface is accessible and simple for viewers. The easier it is to take part in the survey, the more active the viewers are. An ideal questionnaire is a simple form that appears on the user’s screen and requires only a click on the desired answer option. There are broadcast platforms with built-in polling services, but their functionality is limited. It is best to use third-party resources. There is a large selection of them online to find a suitable platform.

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Online polls increase the audience engagement rate

What services are used to conduct online surveys

There are many services on the network that can be used to organize interactive communication with the audience. Each has its own specifics, features, and algorithms for interaction with broadcast platforms. Among the most popular are:

  • mentimeter.com;
  • AhaSlides;
  • sli.do;
  • Zoho ShowTime;
  • Glisser;
  • kahoot!;
  • feedbackr.

Some of these services are free, others have paid functionality. In any case, compiling a survey with their help requires specific knowledge and skills. It is quite difficult for a beginner to understand the nuances of the functioning of various platforms, despite the friendly interface of most services. This usually leads to broadcast problems, ranging from technical downtime to script downtime. Therefore, it is recommended to use the services of professionals to ensure high-quality contact and audience engagement.

Mentimeter

Perhaps the most famous shareware online broadcast questionnaire. Provides two very important options:

  • conducting the surveys themselves (no more than 2 broadcasts on a free account);
  • branding of the interface, i.e. the broadcast audience will see the branding of the screen (option is for pay).

Mentimeter works with all modern broadcasting platforms and provides a wide range of options for creating polls of any complexity, such as text quizzes with public leaderboards. But the free version is very limited in terms of functionality.

AhaSlides

An alternative to the previous platform, the main advantage of which is the openness of options. Most of the functionality is available for free and immediately after registration. The service capabilities are almost identical to Mentimeter, and paid services are cheaper. The developers themselves call AhaSlides the free version of Mentimeter, and they invite everyone to make sure of this. The functionality is quite wide, but it is unlikely that it will be possible to immediately understand the nuances of use. Despite the affordable prices and a set of free options, this service is still inferior in popularity to the previous one.

sli.do

Very convenient, albeit English-speaking, service for surveys. Provides an opportunity not only for the speaker to ask questions but also for the audience itself to vote for the best from the audience, evaluate the broadcast and display detailed analytics. Supports interaction with an audience of up to 5000 people. A multifunctional tool with various tariff plans and a really wide range of options. There is only one problem – it is quite difficult to understand what is worth paying for and which functions will not be useful.

Zoho ShowTime

The service works with PowerPoint and PDF presentations while allowing:

  • create polls;
  • receive slide ratings from the audience;
  • highlight presentation elements with a virtual marker.

The functionality is extensive and available for different tariff plans. The free version is only available for 15 days. A particularly valuable feature is platform statistics. It shows how much time viewers spent on slides and creates a ranking of the most popular. A useful tool for presentations.

Glisser

The service is needed rather collect information about the audience, for example, email addresses. Although it is also capable of collecting answers to the speaker’s questions. Designed to work with large audiences and large amounts of information. A simple interface and integration with most platforms for online streaming is a definite plus. A significant drawback is accessible only by a paid subscription. Free access is given only for 14 days to get acquainted with the functionality. On the other hand, after purchasing the full version, all options are available and there is no need to choose from different tariff plans.

Kahoot!

A platform that allows you to get feedback from the audience in the form of a game or a quiz. The function of the program is available in an entertaining format and is well suited for surveys at corporate events or parties. Although it was originally developed for teaching and was used to interact with the teacher in the online classroom. The service contains a wide range of games on various topics, quizzes with multiple answers to a question and supports the ability to create a questionnaire by the administrator. It has serious functionality for receiving feedback, despite the entertaining format.

Feedbackr

A simple browser-based survey service. The main advantage is versatility because it interacts with any broadcasting application and is available from both mobile devices and personal computers. It allows you to get feedback from viewers or stream participants as quickly and easily as possible, during corporate events or online parties as well.

An online survey from ARENA CS: our advantages

Our company specializes in organizing various events via Internet, for which polls are an important feature. In 2020, we held over 500 events online. We offer not only a professional team of managers, organizers, and technicians, but also:

  • setting up and conducting online broadcasts on a turnkey basis;
  • connection of surveys and statistics analytics;
  • access to paid functions of popular survey services;
  • development of relevant questions for the audience;
  • organization of interactive events of any type on broadcasts;
  • interface branding and audience moderation;
  • entertainment polls at online corporate parties.

We guarantee the quality of the survey and the accuracy of the results. We have paid subscriptions and managers who know exactly the functionality of the services, which means you can save time because there is no need to understand the nuances of the platforms, as well as spend money for subscriptions. We already know what you need to do in order to perfectly conduct both the broadcast and the survey online!