LinkedIn has been spotted working on a feature that will allow users to easily add a poll to any post.
The feature was uncovered by Jane Manchun Wong, an expert at finding unreleased features by reverse engineering apps.
LinkedIn is working on polls pic.twitter.com/Dwh8IrSsOw
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 18, 2020
According to the screenshot shared by Wong, LinkedIn polls will function much the same way as Twitter polls.
Users can create a simple poll with one question and up to four responses.
One important difference to note is that LinkedIn polls can last up to two weeks, while the maximum length of time for Twitter polls is seven days.
Other leading social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, only allow polls to be created or shared in stories that last for 24 hours.
LinkedIn has not officially announced anything regarding this feature or when it will be released.
However, the company has quietly published several help documents about how to use polls when the feature is eventually launched.
Those help documents serve as an official acknowledgement that LinkedIn polls in posts is a feature that exists and will eventually be rolling out to users.
Here’s more about what is stated in the help documents.
An Overview of LinkedIn Polls
The LinkedIn Polls feature is being gradually rolled out to users, and will be widely available “soon.”
It’s a native feature, which means polls can be added to posts without the need for a third party application.
Previously, creating a poll on LinkedIn required the use of an app such as Google Forms or Survey Monkey.
When the native LinkedIn Polls feature rolls out, users can create a poll from the post composer screen.
As the company states in one of several help documents about polls – they can be used to gather marketing insights about trends and opinions, or simply to start a conversation.
“The LinkedIn Polls feature helps you engage with other members by asking them for their perspectives about various topics.
Polls help you understand trends and opinions and can be a great conversation starter.”
There are some limitations to polls, as LinkedIn notes they cannot be used to ask for political opinions, health status, or other sensitive data.
LinkedIn Polls – Technical Details
Poll Visibility
When creating a poll you can adjust the visibility however you wish.
The default visibility setting is “anyone,” but other options include:
- Anyone + Twitter – visible to anyone on both LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Connections only – visible to 1st-degree connections of the poll author only.
- Group members – only visible to members of a group where the poll was shared.
- Event attendees – visible to any attendee of a specific event.
Once the visibility for a poll is set, it can’t be changed.
Poll Duration
Duration of poll can be set to any of the following options:
- One day
- Three days
- One week
- Two weeks
Poll Insights
The author of a poll will be able to view who voted and how each person voted.
Poll authors can also view aggregate results displayed in a percentage format and the number of votes per option.
When a poll is created by a LinkedIn Page, all admins of that LinkedIn Page will be able to see who voted and how each person voted.
Polls in Groups
Polls can once again be created in LinkedIn Groups.
That’s a feature that was offered a number of years ago, but was taken away in 2014.
Mobile + Desktop Support
Polls can be created from the desktop homepage, as well as the LinkedIn app for iOS and Android.
Responses Are (Mostly) Anonymous
When a user votes on a poll, their response will not be visible to anyone except the poll author.
Other people, including first-degree connections, will otherwise be unaware that a user voted on a poll or what their response was.
