Social Media Questions: Types To Deploy and Avoid

Digital engagement is the lifeblood of any ecommerce brand’s marketing strategy. Finding consistent engagement supports marketing goals across the board, from brand recognition to product page visits. A strong social media marketing strategy recognizes this and should provide avenues for loyal customers to interact with the brand.

One of the simplest ways to drive engagement: Asking good social media questions.

Learn more about using questions to start a conversation and get inspired by 32 engaging social media question examples.

Social media questions as an engagement strategy

Social media sites want to keep users on their platforms by showing them personalized and popular content. Post engagements (e.g., likes, comments, or clicks) are signals to their algorithms that users are interested. When posts earn user attention, platforms serve the content to a wider audience in search and discover feeds. This increases visibility and supports follower growth, which, in time, can increase sales.

Asking a question is one of the most straightforward ways to get your audience involved and boost social media engagement. Questions naturally invite answers and can help attract organic comments. While traditional marketing posts—like product promotions—prioritize your brand’s point of view, questions shift the focus to the user.

Compared to original videos or long-format blog posts, social media questions require minimal production. Posting questions can drive engagement without significantly increasing the workload for your social media team. This flexible approach works on a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. 

In addition to engagement, social media questions can help build community. Asking questions encourages followers to participate in a two-way conversation. They make people feel seen, heard, and valued. For the best results, focus on sharing questions connected to your brand, product, or values. This sparks relationship-building conversations and encourages users to think deeply about your brand.

Types of questions to ask your audience on social media

• This-or-that questions
• Voting/poll questions
• Fill-in-the-blank questions
• Tips-and-tricks questions
• Harmlessly divisive questions
• Open-ended questions

The most effective social media questions elicit an emotional response that makes users want to comment. To get this reaction, they often touch on preferences and personal opinions. Depending on the question, including an image or a graphic can help illustrate your point and encourage engagement. Use these fun question examples to inspire your own strategy:

This-or-that questions

This-or-that questions ask readers to choose between two options. This style creates a quick, easy opportunity for engagement because users don’t have to think of a creative answer. They just pick a favorite. 

Response options tend to be related logically. The question “Coffee or tea?” makes intuitive sense; it asks readers to choose between two popular caffeinated beverages. Asking “Coffee or chocolate peanut butter chiffon pie?” is less effective because the connection between the two choices is unclear. 

Examples: 

• Chocolate or vanilla?

• Cats or dogs? 

• What’s more romantic: cooking at home or dinner at a fancy restaurant? 

• What’s the best movie theater snack: popcorn or candy? 

• What’s more fun, binge-watching or appointment TV?

Voting/poll questions 

Responding to voting and poll questions is an easy way for readers to share their opinions because providing a list of options makes participation simple. Social media tools, like Instagram Stories and X posts, have built-in poll options that allow users to answer by clicking or tapping a button. Some brands use voting questions to conduct informal market research by asking product questions or letting users make simple development decisions. 

Examples:

What color should our new water bottles be? 

1. Sherbet 

2. Periwinkle

3. Chartreuse 

Help us pick our next fragrance:

1. Mystifying mint 

2. Scintillating cinnamon

3. Captivating cardamom 

What’s the best road trip entertainment? 

1. Music

2. Audiobooks

3. Word games

If you could only choose one, which would you pick?

1. Waffle fries

2. Shoestring fries

3. Curly fries

Fill-in-the-blank questions 

A fill-in-the-blank structure provides a clear prompt and invites participation. These questions leave room for creativity without requiring long written responses. This is an ideal approach if you’re looking for users to leave comments or send you direct messages, since they require a written response.

Examples: 

• My go-to karaoke song is ____________

• The absolute best TV show of all time is _________

• If I won the lottery, the first thing I’d buy would be _________

• The first thing I do in the morning is _________

• The most essential item in my wardrobe is _________

• The best way to surprise a friend is _________

Tips-and-tricks questions 

Tips-and-tricks questions ask readers to share knowledge or advice. Responding to these posts can make users feel helpful, knowledgeable, and important. As you reshare what they provide, your engagement can feel like a snowball rolling down a hill. Users will likely have opinions on the other users’ answers.

Examples:

• What’s the best way to fold socks? 

• What’s the best way to start a productive workday? 

• What’s the best way to save time in the morning? 

• What’s your go-to family dinner for busy weeknights? 

• What’s your favorite meeting ice-breaker or conversation starter? 

Harmlessly divisive questions 

When done well, relatively silly, divisive questions can stir up a healthy debate. Getting readers to engage in back-and-forth conversations in the comments can generate significant engagement. To preserve brand reputation, stick to light-hearted topics and avoid controversial subjects like politics and religion. 

Examples:

• Is a hot dog a sandwich? 

• What’s the latest acceptable date to wish someone a Happy New Year?

• Is it OK to use emojis in professional emails? 

• Does your dog sleep in the bed? 

• Is wearing socks with sandals a fashion faux pas or fashion statement? 

• How many times do you hit the snooze button? Be honest …

Open-ended questions

Open-ended questions can generate meaningful engagement. This style asks for in-depth participation—posts may require thoughtful, written responses. Replying to open-ended questions gives readers a chance to voice their opinions and feel heard. If you can tie these questions into what your brand offers, you’re well on your way to creating buzz in a fun, organic way.

Examples: 

• Who is the best tennis player of all time? 

• You can go anywhere in the world. What's your dream vacation?

• If you could instantly learn one new life skill, what would it be? 

• What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?

• What piece of advice would you give to your teenage self? 

• What do you think of our latest product feature?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Asking difficult questions
• Not participating in the conversation
• Ignoring post timing
• Posting repetitive questions

Social media questions don’t generate engagement just because you post them. This approach requires smart questions, active participation, and a strong social strategy. Avoid these common mistakes for the best results:

Asking difficult questions

Vague or complicated questions discourage participation. When questions lack a clear focus, users might not know how to answer. Prompts that require complicated, nuanced responses may feel too time-consuming for a scrolling audience. 

Not participating in the conversation 

Responding to comments is a way to recognize participation and make users feel appreciated. If someone takes the time to interact with your post and doesn’t receive any acknowledgement, they may be less likely to engage in the future. Replying to user comments helps build deeper customer relationships.

Ignoring post timing 

Users can only respond to social media questions when they are awake and online. Inopportune post timing can reduce engagement. For best results, consider using a social media management tool to identify peak engagement hours for each platform. 

Posting repetitive questions 

If you ask the same question or repeatedly use a question style, readers may lose interest. Consider using a variety of question formats to keep social media content feeling fresh and dynamic.