Designing Engaging Surveys That People Actually Want To Take
Presented by Sarah Lawrence and Laura Moody at the 2023 Nonprofit Technology Conference by nten.org
Traditional polling and surveys feel like work!
In this presentation, Sarah and Laura explore ways to create surveys using play and backed by substantive survey methods, to create meaningful engagement opportunities. They discussed how to craft a survey that can be useful to your organization and fun for the participant, when to do a survey, how to craft questions that get to what you really want to know, and ways to incorporate creativity and play to make a survey your constituents will actually want to take.
Here are some key takeaways:
Understand the audience and learn about the target community so that surveys are effective and can resonate with participants.
Survey fatigue is a common issue due to constant inundation of survey and feedback requests in our day-to-day lives. Use surveys sparingly and consider alternative methods of data collection when possible, such as analytics or focus groups.
Be upfront about the reason for asking questions, how the data will be used, and how long the survey will take to complete. This can foster trust with survey participants.
Review and revise survey questions to ensure clarity, avoiding complex matrix questions that may discourage respondents. Also consider user accessibility including the use of screen-readers and mobile devices.
Review each question in a survey to ensure it serves a specific purpose and contributes to the overall objectives.
Express gratitude to participants and consider gamification strategies to make surveys more engaging.
Crafting engaging surveys requires thoughtful design, transparency, and creativity. By considering participant needs, targeting specific audiences, and providing clear communication, organizations can obtain valuable insights to drive growth and success. A well-designed survey is not just a set of questions but a pathway to meaningful connections with an audience. Implement these takeaways to create surveys that people actually want to take, and watch the quality and value of your survey responses soar.
Check out the new platform Tallymade.com created by Sarah Lawrence! Tallymade helps community-driven organizations create fun, interactive, visually creative surveys and engagements. Projects are designed to collect useful data from participants while still being a fun way to give feedback. They are tailormade, easy to use, and the data is kept private.
