Introduction

Having people visit your website once is only half the battle. Your next challenge is to get them to return, i.e., turn them into repeat visitors. That’s where Riddle.com comes in. You can use our quiz maker to create an online poll sequence quickly. Publish it daily and encourage your audience to vote each round to help pick the winner.

Online polls can leverage the psychology of curiosity, reciprocity, and social proof. They can foster real-time interaction, amplify content, and inform data-driven decisions. Therefore, they have emerged as powerful tools for brands to engage their audience and gain valuable insights. All of this, in turn, results in repeat visitors to your website.

Understanding the value of repeat visitors

Why Repeat Visitors Matter
- It increases trust and loyalty.
- Higher conversion rates compared to first-time visitors.
- Potential for word-of-mouth marketing.
Challenges in Retaining Visitors
- Overcoming the short attention span of online users.
- The importance of fresh and engaging content.

As mentioned above, repeat visitors to your website are bound to result in added benefits. However, considering the challenges here, you should always aim to create fresh and engaging content regularly to provide something new and interesting to the users.

The power of online polls

What Makes Polls Effective?
- Interactive and engaging format.
- Provides instant feedback to users.
- It can be tailored to audience preferences.
- Increases your site’s page views (more ad views = more revenue)
- Hands-on, timely, engaging content to use on your social media.
- It gets you more social word of mouth since polls and surveys get people fired up
- Boosts your site’s SEO (Google likes popular sites)
- More visits = more opportunities to turn each voter into a paying customer.

Let us take the example of how BBC used Riddle.com to power one of their online poll sequences.

How BBC used Riddle.com to power their poll sequence

BBC Poll Sequence made with the Riddle Quiz Maker

The BBC did this for 2018’s World Cup – using Riddle’s surveys to power their very clever “World Cup of Kits” online poll sequence: [riddle-poll-sequence-from-BBC.gif]

Running every few hours, this all-day event had voters pick the winners between classic soccer uniform face-offs.

The first round showed 16 pairings, such as Brazil ’70 vs. USA ’94. The BBC then quickly made a duplicate survey showing the eight winners. The next rounds showed four and two face-offs until the BBC audience arrived at the overall winner.

Creating your online poll sequence

Now that you know why you should create an online poll sequence – here’s what you should do, step by step:

Pick a subject – Choose something that arouses strong emotions across your audience. For example, a marketing community might get people to “Vote for your favorite commercial of all time!” – while a book publisher could challenge their readers, “Which was the best Harry Potter book – EVER?”.
Decide on your online poll format – between surveys, ranked lists, or opinion polls.
- Multi polls (single/multiple questions, single vote – unlimited options):
  Your audience will pick their favorite choice for a single question with any number of choices. We recommend 4-6 options per poll for the most engagement.
- Upvote lists (single question, multiple votes – unlimited options):
  People can upvote their top X favorite choices to a question.
- Surveys (multiple questions, multiple votes – unlimited options):
  The most flexible choice is to ask any number of questions with each round. You can also give each question a single answer or multiple choice. It also includes a customizable ‘thank you’ page – which lets you remind each voter about the upcoming next round.
Hide vote counts – We recommend turning off the vote counter for each poll or ranked list for your audience in the More+ tab. Instead of immediately showing the outcome, build suspense – and make each user return when you announce that round results on social media, etc. Our surveys already don’t display the results after each vote – so you’re all set.
Add a lead form – Use this online poll sequence as an opportunity to grow your marketing list. Include an optional form using our lead generation form builder asking for each user’s email address, and then send out each round’s results – with a link to the next round.
Publish your online poll sequence – Now that you’ve created round 1, put your quiz on any page or post with the Riddle embed code. Be clear about when each round ends – and when the next round will be published.
Spread the word on social media – We recommend giving your audience advance notice about the contest and making a big fuss on your site and social media when you launch it. Don’t forget to constantly update your social media feeds with funny comments/shares about the contest.

Once you get the results from your first round’s poll or survey, you must make the next round. Riddle quiz-makers’ ‘duplicate’ option makes this easy.

Summary

Gaining repeat visitors to your website is crucial for building trust, increasing conversions, and driving word-of-mouth marketing. One effective strategy to achieve this is by creating an engaging online poll sequence using Riddle.com. Polls tap into the psychology of curiosity, reciprocity, and social proof, encouraging users to return regularly to vote and see the results.

The BBC’s successful “World Cup of Kits” poll sequence exemplifies this approach, using Riddle.com to keep audiences engaged throughout the 2018 World Cup. To create your poll sequence, choose a topic that resonates with your audience, decide on the poll format, and design it to build suspense and encourage repeat visits. Enhance the experience by integrating lead forms to grow your marketing list and actively promoting the sequence on social media. Doing so can turn a one-time visitor into a loyal, returning user, boosting your site’s engagement, SEO, and overall success.

Here are some creative topics for an online poll sequence that can engage your audience and encourage repeat participation:

Bonus: Creative topics for an online poll sequence

Entertainment and Pop Culture

Favorite Movie of All Time: Ask participants to vote for their all-time favorite film or a specific genre.
Best TV Show Finale: Poll your audience on which TV show had the best ending.
Iconic Music Albums: Have users choose their favorite album from a list of classics.

Food and Drink

Ultimate Pizza Topping: Let participants vote on the best pizza topping combination.
Best Dessert: Ask your audience to pick their favorite dessert from a selection.
Favorite Coffee Order: Poll users on their preferred coffee drink.

Lifestyle and Preferences

Dream Vacation Destination: Engage your audience by asking where they would love to travel.
Best Workout Routine: Poll participants on their favorite exercise or fitness class type.
Ideal Weekend Activity: Ask users how they prefer to spend their weekends.

Technology and Gadgets

Favorite Smartphone Brand: Poll your audience on their preferred smartphone manufacturer.
Best Gaming Console: Engage gamers by asking them to vote for their favorite gaming system.
Most Useful App: Ask users to select the most indispensable app.

Most Important Social Issue: Poll your audience on what they believe is the most pressing social issue today.
Sustainable Practices: Ask participants which eco-friendly habit they practice most.
Future of Work: Engage users by asking about their preferred work environment (remote, hybrid, or in-office).

Fun and Quirky

Choose Your Superpower: Let users vote on which superpower they prefer.
Favorite Childhood Game: Poll your audience on their favorite game from childhood.
Best Ice Cream Flavor: Engage participants by asking them to choose their favorite ice cream flavor.