Hey there! Welcome to our weekly mini series where we, the Connect Moderators, share tips and tricks on how to enjoy the redesigned Connect to the fullest. Every Thursday, we will focus on one new feature or functionality to help you feel more at home.
My name is Omer Ali, and I am a Local Guide Level 9, working my way up to Level 10 (wish me luck). I have been helping this wonderful community as a Connect Moderator since 2019. I am originally from Pakistan and have lived in many beautiful places around the world (UK, South Korea, Malaysia, and now Ireland, which I am absolutely loving). I enjoy visiting new places, learning about their cuisine and culture, and, like many of you, I am a huge fan of photography. Above all, I find it comforting and nurturing to assist others, which is why Google Maps, Local Guides, and I are inseparable. Fun fact about me? I’m camera shy and make silly faces when pointed at (apologies to all for ruining all those group photos :-D).
Now, let’s get started! This week, I will talk about the new polls feature on Connect.
- Yes
- No
- Now I do
I like this feature as it is the best way to quickly gather community feedback. It allows Local Guides to express their opinions with a single click, making participation simple and accessible. We can also use polls to gauge interest in future meet-ups, get ideas for activities and content, and more.
You can easily find the Build Poll option by clicking on the three dots in the text editor when creating a new topic on Connect.
There are five ways to design polls (so you can get creative!):
- Manual (with markdown code)
- Single Choice
- Multiple Choice
- Number Rating
- Ranked Choice
Let’s go over each one briefly.
Single Choice polls are the best when you want people to select only one option. You can add as many options as you like, but I would recommend keeping the options meaningful to capture the essence. Also, don’t forget to click the gear/settings icon to Add a Title to let the audience know what the poll is all about.
Multiple Choice polls add more flexibility and let the audience choose more than a single option. The process is fairly similar, just switch to the Multiple Choice tab and fill out the details. Use the gear icon again for additional settings.
Number Rating polls provide voters with a scale to rate. These polls only carry a Title and no Options, so I would recommend using them if you need a quick rank on an idea or a feature.
Remember: You must define the min, max, and step values within the settings. In the above example, I have set Min Choices = 1, Max Choices = 5, Step = 1 in order to get a linear scale between 1-5.
Finally, the Ranked Choice poll gives complete flexibility to the audience to rate every option. Towards the end of a poll the overall ranking would be based on the votes against each option.
You can also check out @MortenCopenhagen 's excellent tutorial on polls for more recommendations.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this quick introduction! You can find more information about how to use Connect in the Community guidelines section where this mini series also lives. If there’s a specific feature you want to learn more about, let us know below, or check out the rest of the topics in the series:
- Make your Connect profile shine
- Translate what others share into your language
- Get answers from the community with polls (this post)
- Stay updated on the content you care about
- Reach Local Guides on and off Connect
- Style your posts to make them stand out
- Host successful virtual meet-ups
- Host successful in-person meet-ups
- Write engaging meet-up recaps
