10 Tips For Designing a Great Facebook Quiz

Let’s say you’re the California Avocado Commission. You want to create awareness around avocados. Why? Perhaps your avocados aren’t getting the consumer love they once did, or you recently had a recall and want to get the facts straight with weary buyers. What do you do? Create a Facebook quiz! I know, I know it’s a bit of a crazy example – – c’mon, work with me here! [Actually, it’s an awesome example, and the most popular quiz on Facebook].

We did the same thing in GovLoopville (for experimentation, not because we had a recall, lol). Since we love polling people, asking questions, and generally creating enthusiasm around the fact that Government is Awesome, we decided on the theme – What Federal Agency Should You Work For? In the process, we learned a whole bunch about the act of quiz creation, and thought we’d share tips with you. The ten tips are organized as in beginning, middle, and end, or rather Research, Create, and Launch. So, without futher adieu…

Research

1. What’s your goal? Before you dive right in, stop and think: what am I trying to accomplish with my quiz? Brand awareness? Market research? Education? Product launch? Community building? Identify what success will look like in the end, and design your plan accordingly.

2. Create a catchy theme. The only way to get people to take the quiz in the first place is if the title is interesting. Think of something that really might trigger one’s curiosity.

3. Research other quizzes on your theme. If your topic is already being done and is successful, try for something else. Or if it’s already been done, but you think you can do better, analyze where it falls short and make yours even better.

4. Pick a solid technology platform. We used an app called WildFire (good, not amazing, but none really are to be honest). Another is called LOLapps…all pretty much do the same thing. Side note: if you want to make millions and retire to a ranch in CO by 40, create a really sweet quiz app…or make a projector that works…(insight from our president).

Create

5. When structuring questions, always keep end results in mind. So now you’re on to the challenge of creating the questions. Remember, the quiz has to spit out a result for each taker, so always keep this in mind. Don’t just think of questions unidirectional. If you have great questions, but they don’t stack up to your end-results, useless. Alternatively, if your questions are kick %$#, consider changing end results to fit accordingly.

6. Put yourself in the shoes of your quiz-taker (at all times!) Like any good launch, always consider how your quiz-taker will feel throughout the entire process of taking the quiz. Is it too long? Questions or answers don’t make sense? Too dorky? Boring? To avoid pulling a Tropicana and entirely missing the mark with the public, test it out with LOTS of friends along the way (see question #8).

7. Make it fun and humorous. People will be taking this willingly (unless you have some crazy prize giveaway), so if it’s the same user experience as doing one’s taxes, probably won’t be very successful. Put your social psychology hat on, and try to engineer something that might take off.

8. Take the quiz yourself (several times), and send to some beta-testers. Better to catch everything before it goes live!

Launch

9. Have a promotion plan. Once you get the quiz all tee-ed up, think of an action plan for how you will promote it. Will you use Twitter? Facebook? Newsletters? Emails? Ads? When and how will you get the word out? Will you try to segment your audience? Like any good promotion plan, consider all the variables that make sense for you.

10. Track analytics closely and push out heavily through successful channels. Most apps have analytics tracking built in, so carefully monitor your efforts and obviously, do more of what is working. It’ll be a rollercoaster ride, so continuously have a plan to breathe new life in.

Have fun!