Suppose you have come across sentences like a certain percentage of individuals prefer to drink their coffee hot instead of iced. In that case, chances are they are the result of a public opinion polling or public opinion survey. Several brands may use this kind of market research to make research-driven content. Let us understand public opinion surveys and why they are advantageous. Here are also the best practices for conducting public opinion polls.
Overview of public opinion surveys
A public opinion survey refers to a type of market research. It is usually created to measure feedback from a general population regarding a topic or series of topics. Trained interviewers may ask questions of people. These individuals are generally chosen at random from the population being measured. Responses are given, and interpretations are made depending on the results.
Sometimes, brands may depend on public opinion survey companies to administer polls and repurpose the findings for marketing and public relations deliverables.
Advantages of public opinion polling
Since people may be complicated, public opinion research is often utilised to collect data that may be difficult to put into numbers. This research may also form the basis of reputation management programmes for some reputation management experts. Public opinion polling can be beneficial for the following reasons:
- Boosts brand awareness
Public opinion surveys usually offer high-quality data to include in press releases. Such information can pique the interest of top media outlets.
- Offers real-time results
Public opinion polling could offer results in as little as 24 hours.
- Cost-effective
There is typically no other market research study that is as cost-effective as PR polling surveys. This is especially true when it is conducted online.
- Repurpose the findings
There are multiple ways you can repurpose the conclusions of a public opinion survey. You can use it to create data-driven press releases, social media shareables, whitepapers, blog posts, webinar topics, infographics, and other lead-generating content.
Best practices for public opinion polls
A few of the best practices to be mindful of when you start your market research project include:
- Keep the survey short. In fact, the shorter you can keep it, the better it is. Keep the question short, too.
- Write each question with a goal in mind. Ensure the data you collect from each question can be repurposed.
- It is best to stick to open-ended or multiple-choice questions.
- You can consider partnering with a third party.
Conclusion
Now that you understand public opinion surveys and their benefits, you can easily approach a suitable reputation management advisory company that has expertise in designing them, offers quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and more.
