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tatertotthethot · 5 years ago

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The Doms Next Door 2.0

THIS IS A TEMPORARY REUPLOAD FOR THIS CHAPTER CUZ TUMBLR IS RAN BY A BUNCH OF BOTS. 2.1 HERE

Warnings/AN: frequent, casually cursing; comical, gay Jimin; insecure reader; steamy flirting; tattoo/sexualized Tae 🙃. Enjoy~ (TAEKOOK EDIT ABOVE IS ARTKOOK DONE BY NONCONMAN ON INSTAGRAM)

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Your tires came to a stop outside of the tattoo shop you've seen online— a brick building, covered in spray paint and street-style art. A sign buzzed over the awning of the entrance doors, with the built-in UV lights and graffiti-styled font displaying the name of the place in neon-red letters. Kink For Ink! The name alone was what first caught your attention last week, when you Googled "Tattoo shops near me" and it pulled up a list, with "Kink For Ink" being the first option. It just seemed so uncanny and fitting at the time, considering the previous run-in you just had with the sex-crazed neighbors a couple nights before. You couldn't help but to click the link to their Instagram.

A profile came up with 53.4k followers, which immediately blew your mind... but you quickly saw why. Every tattoo and piercing, no matter the body-placement, skin-type, or quirky design, was vividly appealing— certainly done by the articulate hands of certified experts. Even in the comments of the piercings that were posted, people were praising them for the "minimal" amount of pain they experienced, despite the fact that some of piercings were done in places you couldn't even fathom the thought of having a needle jammed through.

It said in the bio that the shop is owned by the two artists that work there— Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jungkook. You couldn't find out much about them, all their pictures showed was their work. You even went back to search for a personal account of their own, but nothing came up. You then went back to the bio and clicked a link to the official website, hoping to find out something, but you were met with a disclaimer rule at the top that automatically deemed your chances of even getting your piece done by them, slim-to-none.

• No walk-ins allowed.

• Every request/idea must be sent in through the DMs of our Instagram page. You will only be accepted only if it spikes our personal interests.

Yikes; You were instantly discouraged by this. The piece you wanted was something so common and cliché, that you actually got the image out of a child's coloring book.... It was the cartoon layout of the glass vase and enchanted rose, from the Beauty and the Beast movie. Cheesy, yes. But it was something of personal, nostalgic value. You remember when you were little— roughly around 3 or 4 years of age— when your parents started fighting and would spend all day screaming and throwing things at each other, putting you in a constant state of anxiety. But then you'd go to bed at night and pop the VHS tape, and the movie never failed to put you in a peaceful state of mind— a hopeful one. It's remained as your all-time favorite love story throughout the years. Which, is ironic, considering that the relationship itself was different, but almost as dysfunctional as your parent's. However, the fact that even the Beast was capable of change, and everything wound up so perfect and happy in the end, makes your heart happy. And even now, at age 19, it still puts you in your feelings. The previous remake of a movie is what actually inspired you to get the enchanted rose as a tattoo, after seeing it in 3D not too long ago. But you're only willing to shell out up to $200 for it, at most. You've just started college, and even though Jimin's parents own the house and let the two of you live there, rent free, you're still responsible for half the utility bills from month to month. Blowing every bit of money you have saved up, right at the start of the semester, would just be irresponsible. But $200 was manageable, and you're looking for anything that'll give you a little extra "oomph" to break you out of this introverted shell you've always known. Pushing it off would just delay it, and you were ready for change. The nose piercing you want is just a small little thing that'll hopefully add a bit of flare to the features of your face. These two guys could probably do the piercing/tattoo with a blindfold on and a hand tied behind their back. So, if it meant that you'd be able to get these things done in confidence, without having to worry about the outcome, you figured it wouldn't hurt for you to at least ask, even if they straight-up ignore you. So, after spending an unnecessary amount of time overthinking the wording of your text, you finally constructed a message in your notes and DM'd it to business page, after sending them a small, simple outline of the cartoony rose, and pressed send.

• You: Hello! I've been wanting to get this tattoo done for a very while now, and was hoping one of you will be willing to do it for me... along with piercing my nose? I know it's a very mediocre and cliché piece, and a nose piercing can be done anywhere. But I'm new to the area and I've never gotten a tattoo/piercing done before and I haven't really checked out any other places either because I found this page first. And from what I can see, you guys are pretty efficient and CRAZY talented. So, I trust it'll get done right.... only if you want to! I'm willing to pay $200 for this, but if it costs that much for just the outline I've sent then that's fine as well. But I understand if neither of you want to do it cuz that is really cheap compared to the ones I've seen lol. But either way, thx for ur time 😁

A few minutes went by and you had just unlocked your phone to check the message again, when the word "seen" popped below the message. You held your breath for a second— but seconds turned to minutes, and time went by with no reply, what-so-ever. You figured maybe you sounded a little too immature to take seriously; kind of like a prepubescent 12-year-old asking someone out for a dance... and you blew it. Which was disappointing, but predictable. So fuck it. Maybe it's a sign; you shouldn't get it after all.

11pm rolled around, many hours later. You were now hiding beneath your covers, beginning your "amateur threesome" exploration on PornHub. You were ready to see what this whole "2 guys, 1 girl" thing was all about. But just when you were about to type it into the search bar, you were interrupted by an Instagram notification dropping down from the top of your screen.

"KinkForInk sent you a message."

You audibly gasped, eyes turning to saucers as you clicked on the notif and switched over to the Instagram app.

• KinkForInk: Hi (Y/N). This is Tae, one of the artists of the shop. The tattoo you sent in is worth roughly $100... but I want to run an offer by you in hopes that you'll be interested.

— Your brows scrunched in oddity, stomach fluttering. An offer? For you?

• You: Okay, sure. What's that?

• KinkForInk: I've been looking for someone willing to showcase the custom design I've come up with, specifically for a much more... exclusive version of the Beauty and the Beast tattoo you sent. And if you'd be down for letting me and my partner put it on you, it'll be free. No charge. BUT you'll also have to sign a contract saying that you'll do a little bit of modeling for us once it's done. You think you'd be in to doing something like that, even if you get it?

— Your head spun for a second, reading the message over and over again until you could fully wrap your mind around what he was saying.

• You: Hold on... YOU wanna put a tattoo on ME so that I model for you? And it's FREE? Are you sure about this? I'm not even model material lol.

• KinkForInk: Yes, yes, and yes, you are. You'd be perfect for this.

• You: How do know that? Is it a face tattoo? Cuz I only have 6 selfies on here and you can't see anything past my shoulders.

—"Seen" came up as soon as you hit send, but a couple of minutes rolled by with no reply to the message, nor was he even typing. Maybe you came off a little rude. But it was already sketchy and it was a logical question.

— An image suddenly popped up: a screenshot of your Facebook profile. Then another— and much to your horror, it was the photo Jimin tagged you in last week, when the two of you were swimming at a local community pool. You were wearing a simple two piece, sitting at the foot of the lawn chair Jimin was also sitting in, as his legs were visible on either side of you and his lap was practically framing your ass. The photo was at an upward angle and looked so scandalous— but really, you had just asked Jimin to put sun screen on your back and he didn't want to stand up because the pavement was too hot against his bare feet. But you actually liked the picture at the time; it was just a silly joke and your ass actually looked quite nice from that angle. Plus, everyone knows nothing sexual actually goes on between the two of you, for obvious reasons. But Taehyung doesn't, so you couldn't help but dreadfully cringe when you saw the caption of the screen shot.

"Babymama 💦🍆"

• KinkForInk: Is this you??

• You: Yes, that's me. The caption is a joke tho... pay no mind to that. But this is like, really happening? You really think it'd look good on me?

— Why that picture though? You couldn't help but wonder.

• KinkForInk: Yes. Like I said, you're perfect for this piece. Are you down to at least see what the tattoo will look like? We don't expect you to be experienced with modeling or anything, but if you listen to us and cooperate, you'll do just fine.

• You: Yes I wanna see, and I'll do the best I can if I decide to get it... I'm just a bit shy, is all.

• KinkForInk: You'll be in good hands. I promise.

• You: Okay... are you going to show me??

• KinkForInk: Can't send it over a message, I don't want it plagiarized or the concept stolen. But the piece itself isn't necessarily crazy or anything, just more creative. I'd be more than happy to show you at my shop some day this week, if you'd be willing to swing by.

• You: Yeah, I can do that. When should I come?

• KinkForInk: Are you available after 5 tomorrow?

• You: I am, I get off at 4:30.

• KinkForInk: Great. Be here by 5:30, and make sure you've eaten in case you like the piece and wanna get started. It's pretty big for a first timer and gonna take a lot of time and patience. It'll have to be done in sessions but I hope you have a fair enough pain tolerance to at least get the outline of it done first.

— It can't be any worse than a bikini wax, you thought, shivering at the memory. That a story for another time. You decided on an alternative scenario.

• You: I give blood from time to time... but that's easy and doesn't really hurt that much. I think I can handle it though... maybe. I honestly don't know lol, I'm sorry 😣. But I can try my best. Can I ask where it's supposed to go?

• KinkForInk: That's okay, I'll work with you. It's supposed to go down the middle of your back. Starts between the center of your shoulder blades, and trails down the length of your spine to your lower lumbar. You'll see how it looks once we transfer a template on your back. But if you don't like it, there will be no hard feelings from my end. I can still do the tattoo you want if that's the case, free of charge just for your time.

• You: Oh no, you don't have to do that! I'd still pay!

• KinkForInk: Not if I don't accept your money. Trust me, I'm not worried about it. The nose piercing is gonna be $30 regardless, though. JK isn't so lenient.

• You: Of course. Will I have to take my shirt and bra off for the tattoo?

• KinkForInk: Yes, and for the pictures once it's done.

— Your mind blanked at that; thumbs froze over the keypad. He was typing again.

• KinkForInk: Don't let that discourage you. Again, you're in good hands. You can bring something to cover your chest. And the pics will be if your back as well.

• You: Okay, I can handle that. So 5:30 tomorrow?

• KinkForInk: Yes, please don't flake on us!

• You: Lol, I won't. I'll be there.

"They're gonna knock us the fuck out and sell our organs to the black market," Jimin declared. He had parked next to you outside of the shop, and was now sitting in the driver seat of his car with his door locked and windows all the way up, refusing to get out. You were standing right outside his door, still having to talk on the phone. "And is this Tae-guy an AllState representative or something?"

Jimin is petty. You wanted him here for moral support— which he's usually reliable for— but this time, he's just plain salty right and doing everything he can to remind you of that. Reason is, he's been begging you to get a matching tattoo with him ever since your 18th birthday, and you've always refused because of what he wanted to get.

Cupcakes. Jimin wanted to get matching cupcake tattoos... in honor of Cupcakke the legend. Sorry, but H E L L no.

You rolled your eyes, growing frustrated. He only has enough time to pop in and confirm that these two aren't gonna kill you, and then he's gotta head home to get ready for work. You were already supposed to be in there. It was 5:33pm, 3 minutes past the time.

"Jimin, you're the one that insisted on coming along! And now you're making me late!" you ranted. "I'm going in without you."

"Hold your horses, hoe! I'm finishing my blueberry slushie," He retorted, sassily bringing the straw to his mouth and loudly slurping it into the phone. He then abruptly flinched away from the straw with a disgusted expression, nostrils flared, body locking up; lips drawing into an air-tight knot that was so extreme and unnatural, it caused an ugly snort to break out of your nose.

He smacked his lips in exaggeration to the taste, face falling back into stone as an eyebrow arched over the top of his aviators; unamused and saltier than before... Like you were at fault for that, too.

"Or... Blueberry-ass, I should say."

That forced another giggle out of you as Jimin stiffly rolled his window down, phone still pressed to his ear and eyes still scowling at you behind the inspector shades. He bit down on the straw and withdrew it with his teeth before dumping the dark-blue contents of the drink out of the window, making it a point to shake the styrofoam cup empty of every drop before tossing it over his shoulder and into back seat. He then spat the straw out of his mouth with an audible "PLUUUUH!" of a French accent, and waited until the window rolled all the way up again, just so he could hang up the phone. You scoffed at this as you shoved your phone back into your pocket, scornfully watching Jimin exit the car and slam the door behind him. He snatched his glasses off his face as his cotton-candy hair swayed in the breeze, revealing his scornful eyes right back at you as he gestured for you to lead the way in exasperated manner— as if you were the one wasting his time now.

"Go on, lead us to the grave," He shooed, a snippy little shit. You sauntered away, walking up the side of the shop, then paused just before reaching the glass entrance door, when you remembered how much of a coward you are. You've never even stepped into a parlor before, and supposedly, this was a famous one. Which makes it more and more surreal when you think about it.

"Are we doing the mannequin challenge now? Is that what we're doing?" Jimin sardonically inquired.

"You go first, I'm nervous!" You whisper-hissed.

"You don't want me to go in there first— I'll show out," he reasoned, simply stating a fact.

"Please don't," you whined.

"Then, again, I'll show out?" He reiterated, as if to say duh. "How else am I supposed to break the ice? I look like Timmy Turner's Fairy-Gay- Parent."

You gave him a wary look... he's right. You sighed, slightly kicking your foot in distracted defeat. Fuck, you hated making an entrance to new places—

"Hold up— is that Drake?" Jimin suddenly blurted, holding his hand up to silence you. You honed in on the muffled track playing from behind the glass door, and Jimin's face soon light up like a Christmas tree before he spun around you, unstoppable.

"Jimin, NO—!"

"KIKI, DO YOU LOVE ME—?!"

It was already too late. The door was flying back behind him as he Milly-Rocked his way into the shop, leaving you no choice but the chase in behind him.

"—ARE YOU RIDING? SAY YOU'LL NEVA-EVA LEAVE FROM BESIDE ME— hello there."

You were panting, coming to a stop right behind Jimin, where you instantly latched on to the back of his shirt as you met the face of the man behind the studio counter. And, as corny as this is gonna sound: the world actually stilled for a solid beat... or maybe you were in the verge of cardiac arrest.

A pair of glossy-Black eyes looked up at the two of you; A series of silver-studded earrings trailed along the outer cartilages, peaking out beneath a head of soft, layer-swept hair. It was a Carmel-tinted blonde in color— thick and shaggy, and neatly spilling in waves around a headband that proudly sported a high-dollar brand-name you've never seen anyone wear in person before. G U C C I, it read— Meaning that the headband alone was probably worth more than some of your college text books, put together. It sat just a few inches above a pair of dark brows, that oddly brought out the shape of his cat-like eyes— irises like polished marbles. His ample lips had a sharp, well-defined Cupid's-bow, and a natural shade of pink that fit the porcelain appearance of his melanin-kissed complexion, to the finest degree.

And here you are, looking like an actual bum. You had just enough time to clock out of work and head straight over here to make it in time. You didn't even have any makeup on, and the only thing hiding your raggedy hair from those captivating eyes is your old baseball cap from high school. It took a second for him to take the bold presence that was Park Jimin— who was also frozen to the spot as he openly checked the guy out. He was hunched over the counter, a v-neck hoodie covering the rest of him with a thin, loose-fitting material. It was Black and allowed a full visual of his tan neck, and prominent collar bones. And it certainly didn't hide the fact that he had a pair of wide-set shoulders, either. A pencil sat in his hand— one that was laced with masculine veins, and lot of decorative ink. There was a silver ring on his thumb.. and a very heavy-looking Rolex watch.

The man cracked a grin at Jimin— a boxy one that dimpled in at the corners.

"Love the hair," he humorously began, twisting a quirky eyebrow at Jimin. You subconsciously snagged the bill of your hat as your eyes went a little wide at how mature the man's voice was.

"Love the watch," Jimin retorted, then reached around and gripped you by the wrist before pulling you into full view beside him. "You wouldn't happen to be Taehyung...?"

"Mhm," the man hummed, absentmindedly moving his wrist at the mention of his watch. His eyes cut over to you, and you swore you could see a minuscule reflection of yourself in his eyes, before they flashed back at Jimin and blinked. "You must be the babydaddy?"

Blood rushes to your ears. It's really him... a guy who looks like a high-dollar model himself, asking you to be his canvas model. Your own conscious didn't even know what to say right now. So you stayed quiet and still as Jimin took charge... which was a mistake.

"She wishes, but no. I'm the best-friend— and a gay one, at that," Jimin replied, and you knew he did that for his benefit. Thot. "I'm just here to make sure you're not gonna sacrifice her to Satan, or anything of that nature. I need her around in case I ever forget the Netflix password."

Taehyung chuckled at that, mouth opening to reveal a row of teeth shinier than Chip Skylark's. But then, you caught something behind his teeth that caused your gut to leap. A silver ball... a tongue ring. Your thoughts clouded over for a second.

"Well, I can assure you, she's safe with me," he said, looking over at you again. You blinked, nothing more. His brow arched at your lack of response, but this time, it was done more handsomely as he was still smirking at you. "Still, you don't look too thrilled to be here... You sure you wanna do this?"

"She's just nervous because you're really fucking hot," Jimin announced, unyielding. "You should feel how sweaty her hand is."

"Don't listen to him— I'm gay too," You lied in panic, trying to defend yourself from the absolute truth Jimin spoke just then. You snatched your hand away from him and jutted a finger at the door, eyes beading and lid twitching as your nerves ran amuck. "Goodbye, Jimin."

"She's a lonesome hetero," Jimin told Taehyung, assuring him with a face that showed no bluff. "One look at her camera roll, and you'd see for yourself—" You were yanking him away by the arm now, in a tug-of-war game that Jimin obviously could've won if he really wanted to. But he figured you suffered enough and eventually let you drag him out of the shop, waving bye to Taehyung before turning to look at you with beading eyes.

"I think he wants to fuck you— text me as soon as you can," Jimin uttered with unmoving lips as before he walked to his car. You stopped for a second, noticing he was actually being serious. How could he possibly think that he wants to fuck you, just from that small encounter? And what is the odd sensation currently coiling in your stomach? Things grew awkward again when you re-entered the shop, coming to a stand at the same spot... only alone now. He was still amused, it seemed. And so calm and cool despite this odd, intense look in his eyes. It gave him a Casanova effect, where all he had to do was give you that look and it'd instantly make you blush.

"He seems like a fun person to be around," he noted, somewhat honestly, but more so making fun of the red-hot appearance of your face.

"He's a pain in the ass," you muttered, trying to conjure up a smirk but hardly even able to speak properly from how dry your mouth was. It felt like there was a white-hot iron expanding in your throat. "I'm really sorry about him."

"Don't be. I'm just glad you're here— thought you'd chicken out." You nervously wiped your clammy palms over the back pockets of your jeans as Taehyung got up from the barstool behind the counter and approached you on the other side of it, a whole head-and-a-half taller than you. He was wearing black cardigan jeans and matching combat boots.. his headband and jewelry the only thing not black on him. And oddly enough, he made it look fucking fantastic.

"Mh-mm," You hummed, not trusting your voice. You've never needed a sip of water so bad in your life— he even smelled expensive.

"Well, It's very nice to meet you," he formerly began, and you mustered up the normality of placing your (dried) hand into his much larger one, as he held his out to you in greeting. And boy, was he close. So close that the heels of your spine itches to lean back from the proximity.

"It's nice to meet you, too. I'm really sorry if I'm acting weird. I'm just nervous." — Your mind struggled to stay focused on your words, arm tensing at the skin-to-skin contact. You were extra-effected by the firmness in his grip. You really wanted to look down at all the bold ink you saw dashing across the veiny surface of his tanned hand, or see if those were images or scripted letters on the knuckles of lengthy fingers... But you were held captive by those God-blessed eyes... And that fucking tongue ring. It was infecting your head in ways that weren't necessarily healthy for your current state of mind, as you saw it peering in and out at certain words.

"And physically shaking," Taehyung pointed out, brows twitching down at your trembling hand in his as if he was concerned for it. But his smirk gave off an odd sense of fascination to the involuntary symptom, like it was cute or something? Hm. He glanced back up at you, causing your dehydrated throat to bob as his other hand came to clasp over the rest of yours, swallowing it completely from the wrist down. "Intimidated?"

"V-Very," you spluttered, a small slither of saliva copulating down your throat as you looked back up at him. He absentmindedly rolled his tongue ring over the button row of his teeth as he watched you with tainted eyes— undoubtably getting cocky with that damn grin of his and proudly teasing you about your reaction to him. It gratified the effortless sex-appeal he had. You were even beginning to imagine that tongue ring elsewhere, and you literally just met him. Then, as you felt the band of a ring move along with the pad of his thumb as gently ran it across your trembly knuckles, chills shot up all the way to your shoulder. Oh... oh wow. You glanced down at his knuckles on reflex this time, and saw a four-letter word scripted in black ink across the bottom row of his knuckles, and another word scripted on the middle section of his fingers. A silver band on his naked thumb. STAY TRUE, it said.

"And why's that?"

"I.. feel like you're a celebrity," you sheepishly admitted, your other hand wedging into your back pocket as you had to stop yourself from reaching for the bill of your hat again. Is he flirting? The words seem too innocent for the way he was making you feel. It was getting so hot in the oven of his massive palms, and he wasn't even squeezing you hard enough to cut off any circulation, but yet your fingers were beginning to tingle.

"Mm, no. Just a little popular, really," he granted, teetering his head a little as he pondered the thought. You could see his vocal chords contract in his sleek neck as they project his smooth, pungent voice. "You still trust me?"

"Mhm," was all you could muster. He'd gotten even closer, to where his hand had gone into a prayer stance around yours. You were aware of how wide your eyes had gone from the awe you... you knew this was just the beginning. He was going to be very handsy throughout this whole process. But in a very twisted way, you were more than okay with that. Even if it meant you were at risk of fainting from actual dehydration. Maybe you were in over your head. But you couldn't will yourself away from this now. And then, just as a wide, heart-stopping smile edged out on that mind-numbingly handsome face, the door at that back of the room swung open, and heavy-metal rock blasted through the quiet vibe of the scenery and caused you to jump a little at the disturbance. Taehyung shot a wicked smile over his shoulder, and his next words nearly knocked you out right then and there as you beheld yet another, breathtaking sight.

"Oh, there you are," Tae eagerly acknowledged, one hand still holding yours as he walked around to grab your with the other, presenting you to the.. hulking presence in the room. "This is (Y/N), our next little experiment."

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incorrect-marauders · 5 years ago

Photo

THE OWLS ARE IN! IT’S TIME FOR THE SURVEY RESULTS!

So, as many of our followers are probably aware, we recently did a survey to get a feel of what people thought of our blog. We got a total of 57 results and we are grateful to each and every one of you for taking the time to let us know your thoughts. Now, we’re here to share the general consensus of what people thought and how we will accommodate these opinions.

We’ll definitely have some changes to the blog, so read on to see what those changes are!

Before we begin, we have a few things to briefly mention.

The results are pretty scattered. We didn’t want to restrict anyone, so most were free response or included “Other”. In hindsight, there were a few questions that could have easily been multiple choice without really restricting anyone. (Side eyes the first question.) Therefore, most of these will just summarize the results we got. Occasionally drop the graph for the multiple choice questions.

Because of the large amount of responses we got, not every answer will be listed here. We highlighted the things that were either most commonly mentioned or had us thinking the most.

If anyone would like to see the full results for some reason (par the names, to keep anonymity), feel free to email us at [email protected] and we’ll send it over!

And yes, we are making changes to accommodate these results! That’s what this survey was all about!

We’ll be opening applications for new mods within the next couple days as well.

We’ll have a tiny hiatus as all of this is going on.

Now, we begin...

How long have you been following incorrect-marauders?

The most popular answer seemed to be around 2 months or 10 months. A lot of people filling out this survey seemed to either be relatively new or here since the beginning. Kudos to you incorrect-marauders veterans, and welcome newer followers!

How did you find incorrect-marauders?

Somewhat as we expected. Keep reblogging us, lovely people!

What do you love MOST about incorrect-marauders?

"It's funny.” (x50)

No really, we got 50 variations of “It’s funny,” “It’s hilarious,” “The humour,” “The funny text posts.”

Thanks, we appreciate it!

“How weirdly in character the quotes always are.”

(Similar variations include, “How actually accurate your post are,” “That not every post is as funny, imho, but that they do keep true to the characters,” “How much they fit the characters.”)

“They offer new content to the Marauders 'franchise' as it were because some stuff within the fandom is constantly being reused.”

“How correct it actually is if Joanne made it canon.”

“McGonagall with the marauders and that the sources are listed.”

“Accurate representation, variety of ships and relationships, isnt toxic.”

“Very funny and can be great art/writing prompts.”

“The taste.”

“EVERYTHING.”

These are all very nice, thank you all. Glad we hit where we were aiming.

What do you love LEAST about incorrect-marauders?

The most common response was, “Nothing,” or a variation thereof, but that’s no fun for this question, so here are some of the legitimate criticisms we received!

“Quote sources, I think, occasionally aren't there.”

Our original quotes often don’t have sources. But if there’s one where a mod forgot to credit a source, please just message us and one of the admins will fix that!

“There isn't a particularly nice aesthetic to the blog, e.g. a matching layout and profile picture or quote.”

Yeah, we’re working to fix that. I like pretty blogs too.

“Could be updated a little more.”

(”Not much posting in my opinion,” “Long time between posts.”)

Strangely enough, we got this a few times but our later poll about how often to post were contradicting this. So, unfortunately, we will not be adjusting this.

“I mean I would say that Peter is on it, but can’t really get rid of him...”

(Got a few of these, like, ”Peter being seen as a good person.”)

Sorry!

“Some are a bit too small.”

“I don’t like the long quotes.”

Well, then.

“Seeing my #notp but that isnt rly a minus?? Its called diversity so im not gonna hate or anything.”

Thank you for appreciating the diversity. We get occasional hate over it, but we also get hate over not posting some of the other ships. I suppose that’s what happens when you have lots of different followers of different opinions.

“If I send you a text post you credit the source in # but i'd like you to include a link to my tumblr in the post itself so people would actually find my tumblr. I doent send you text posts anymore, cause it doesn't really profit me and it feels like you get credit for my work.”

We’re sorry you feel that way. We always put it in the tags, just in front of the source. We are more of a mod-based blog rather than a submission-based blog. Anyone is welcome to submit, but about 98% of our posts are created by our mods.

“Sometimes I feel like the wrong characters were chosen or not well thought out.”

We can assure you our mods put a lot of thought into what characters to use, but you are welcome to message us with your own suggestion! (But please note that we are a Marauders blog; we got a few comments about how we don’t post enough Hinny or Romione, but that’s not what our blog is about.)

What makes incorrect-marauders stand out?

Once again, we got a lot about how funny we are, so we’ll skip over those and highlight the more unique answers!

"They don't use things from other people without credit.”

“The love and attention put in to everything.”

“Don't think there are any other blogs about marauders in this style.”

(We got this a few times. ”Like the type of blog and incorrect-marauders was the first one Harry potter themed I found,” also, “Its really funny and pretty much the only blog that just does this kind of post and i LOVE it.” But alternatively... “There are a lot of textpost blogs like it, but it is one of the only ones that I have found that consistently keeps characters in character in the posts and appeals to my sense of humor.”)

“I feel the quotes are in character and from multiple sources which Is cool.“

“How open it is.”

“The continuous content.”

“The posts arent so often that my dash is spammed like other blogs of the same nature.”

“Not sure but I like you.”

Not much to comment on these except we’re happy to see people think this about us!

How satisfied are you with the blog and the posts, in all?

So, you’re telling me, we opened a public, anonymous survey and not a single hater filled it out? Am I impressed or disappointed?

Please explain your response to the previous question.

“I just love the whole blog.”

“It's not my favourite blog ever ever which is why it's not a 10 but i still love it.”

“You guys are just so awesome! But it'd also be cool to have a little, meet the creator(s).”

“Its good but I don't have or want notifications on.”

“It’s the #qualitycontent i signed up for.”

"Always room for improvement, and also there's no 9 3/4 option.”

Awesome! We definitely agree that we can always improve, which is what this survey is for!

How often should we post?

We got a lot of variety here. Some say once a day (which is how often we currently post) was ideal. Others put stuff like...

“I wouldnt mind my entire blog just being filled with your posts.”

While Once A Day is the most voted for, the rest of the options put together, which we’ll name Two or More Times a Day, do win overall. Since we have one new post followed by a reblog, we’ll compromise by posting two times a day, but with one new post a day (the second being a reblog).

In UTC, what times do you prefer us posting?

As expected, not many people cared. But two people felt very strongly and voted for 12am, 1am, and 6pm UTC. So, we’ll consider that.

What characters, relationships, universes, etc. would you like to see more represented in our posts?

We got a lot of responses here, primarily being more Wolfstar, Jily, and BFFs James and Sirius. We also got a lot saying we should post about Hinny, Romione, next gen, FBAWTFT, etc. in which I remind you that this is a Marauders blog.

We also got the hilarious response that said we should maybe post about the “merauders”. Well, we can certainly promise you that.

We also got a lot of people saying more McGonagall. That’s something we can definitely do.

Would you like to see more original quotes from us?

For the longest time, the option 50/50 was at exactly 50%. Kind of disappointed that is no longer, but the 25% option is at 25%, so that’s something. Anyway, we’ll aim for 50/50.

What else would you like to see us post?

This was one of the results that will make the biggest change to the blog. People seem to really love these ideas. So expect...

Marauder Mondays! Every Monday we’ll have Marauder Monday, where we’ll answer asks, reblog posts, and have a party! Probably when we’ll post the “extra” posts, like our GIFs, graphics, aesthetics, videos, etc.

How would you feel if we did sponsored posts?

Combined, it seems like ~75% of those who took the survey are good with sponsored posts.

These results honestly surprised us. We’ve gotten a lot of offers of sponsorships in the past but have always denied them because we didn’t know how our followers would feel. We probably won’t do this in the near future, but it’s an option.

What kind of projects would you like to see us host?

We got so many people suggesting merch. Shirts, stickers, pins, other merch... So we’ll keep that in mind! We’d love some Marauders shirts ourselves.

“Projects that other blogs can get involved with to help other accounts grow.”

Noted!

“An art challenge maybe? like, 30 day challenge where you have to draw them as characters from movies/tv shows? like, friends, clueless, avengers, dc characters etc.“

Definitely interesting. Art challenges would be a lot of fun. Hopefully there’s an interest for this!

Which of our other accounts do you follow/would like to follow?

We’ll look into bringing on people to regularly post on other sites.

What device do you use to browse our blog most often (whether through Tumblr or our site)?

Why are we bothering with a redesign again? Oh, right. Personal vain.

How often do you visit the blogsite?

Those numbers are higher than expected...

What kind of things would you like to find on our blogsite?

“Character aesthetics.”

“Fanfiction links.”

“Marauders fan art would be cool.“

We’ll be working on this! Thank you for the suggestions!

More meet the creator(s) (if not comfortable with should, maybe just telling a funny story)

We got a lot of people saying they’d like to know more about us. We are anonymous, but this particular comment had us thinking. We’ll be implementing something in the near future. We will still remain anonymous, but we will have “blog identifies”, I suppose you could say. More info to come!

Other than show, character, and ship lists, what would you like to see in our navigation?

We didn’t get many new suggestions for this, except for fanart, aesthetics, etc. which we will add as more people join the blog!

Do you have any additional suggestions for us?

"Maybe find a blog that could do fan art, but only if you’re comfortable with it. Also, you’re blog is already so amazing, and any redesign would just make it more awesome!!! Don’t let anyone get you down espically if some one puts something negative on the survey because it is so so great already.”

We got no negative feedback (just constructive criticism), but thank you for your concern!

“um. keep doing this. i like it. it helps fill the gaping void in my soul“

Mood.

“Thanks for making the survey, caring about our feedback, and being awesome overall :)”

Of course! This is not just our blog, this is the Marauders fandom blog. Your feedback means everything to us and we hope you will like the changes we’ll make in response to it.

And that covers all of it! Cookies to anyone who read all of that! Keep an eye out for those new mod applications if you’re interested in joining our team!

We’ll be taking a tiny little hiatus as we’re figuring some stuff out.

#admin #survey #survey results #updates

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overdrivels · 8 years ago

Note

could we get a continuation to "change of plans?" like genji's s/o eventually caves to his persistence and joins blackwatch. maybe explore what his s/o's time is like in the organization and how they get along with mccree? (i imagine genji was kinda snippy with him when they first met; i'm curious how their relationship developed over the years.)

A continuation to “Change of Plans”? I can’t say I’ve ever really thought of one, so this one took a little while. But I also very much like exploring character development, so I’mma play around with this a little. At this point, tensions between Blackwatch and Overwatch are starting to plateau. It turned into less of a Genji x Reader and more of a general story that went off on a weird tangent.

The stress was mounting, and it was coming on fast.

The screens that surrounded you had different articles from varying news sources of the decay of Overwatch, and the dark underbelly known as Blackwatch. Topographical maps for the next mission are also up, enemy posts and potential points of interests such as chokepoints and strongholds are all highlighted by blips of red and green, connected by lines that illustrated theoretical attack and escape routes.

You work tirelessly into the night for your first mission plan in Blackwatch. It took Genji roughly four months, a mock proposal, several handwritten letters, several more stunts (some which may or may not have involved the usage of his shurikens), and long conversation after the failure of a Blackwatch mission to get you to join.

Even now, you don’t know if this is what you should be doing. More than once in the past, you found yourself glad to have been in Overwatch and Genji in Blackwatch. Your missions and his would never intersect, at least, not directly. And it was a boon you both, despite Genji’s insistence to the contrary.

Even now as you continue to study the map, bringing up holograms of buildings, you can’t be sure you belong here.

“Huh. So you’re the newbie.”

Genji steps in front of you defensively before you even have a chance to open your mouth. “What do you need, McCree.” It is much closer to a threat than an actual question, and the sudden change in demeanor makes your head spin just once around. You’re barely able to take a breath, the tension thick.

“Can’t a guy just introduce himself to a new member?” The man says all too casually.

You look at the man Genji calls ‘McCree’ carefully. If he finds him to be dubious, then there’s no reason on your end to doubt that. He meets your gaze and nods at you, then at Genji. “Awfully cute. I hope that’s not their only redeeming feature?”

“McCree!” Genji drops to his stance, and McCree’s hand swings down to his holster, a triumphant grin spreading on his face.

“Hey! Get out of here, you’re blocking up the halls.” Both Genji and McCree jump to attention at once. You yourself take a moment before you realize it’s Gabriel Reyes, your new commander. He stands there impatiently, waiting for all of you to disperse.

McCree takes off his hat for moment, and holds it to his chest. “‘scuse me, boss. Just practicin’ my manners.”

“I didn’t employ for your manners. Don’t you have a mission to prepare for?”

McCree’s eyes fall on you, and places his hat back, his drawl becoming languid but purposeful. “I’ll prepare once th’mission plan’s complete. Wouldn’t want to charge in without one now, would I?”

“What did you say?” There is no mistaking the sharp ‘kshink’ of shuriken slipping out from Genji’s mechanical arm.

“Genji.” Reyes’s voice is stern, and even Genji knows to step back. “Now quit standing here, you all have work to do.”

McCree tips his hat at the commander and gives you a wonk before departing whereas Genji takes you by the arm and hurries you both away. But before you can get completely out of earshot, Reyes says, “I expect results good things from you.”

That was about a week ago. Gabriel has since given you further details on the mission you were to conduct the research for. A factory building omnics needs to be shut down, but as the factory itself builds consumer robots as well, there is a strong opposition against Overwatch’s ‘help’. And so, this mission must be completed with the utmost secrecy and care as to not pin the blame on Overwatch or Blackwatch.

You don’t sleep even when Genji urges you to do so. He will be carrying this plan out along with a small team of two others. You have to get this right. The pages of your carefully crafted plans laid out on the screens before you, and tab after tab of contingencies wait quietly. Profiles of each agent is on a different screen, meticulously gathered statistics fill the space underneath their pictures. The office space (more of a control center) was still bustling with other agents who were trying to perfect the last of their operation plans.

The sun is already rising when you have your plan fully compiled and ready to be presented. When you arrive at your new boss’s door, your nerves rattle. Perhaps you should have asked Genji to accompany you, but quickly shake it from your mind. No, you need to be proud of your plan and sure of it. Some other members have already given it a once-over and approved of it, so there was only the final hurdle.

You won’t disappoint.

“Come in.”

“Good morning, Commander Reyes. I’m here to present my plans for Operation Garm.”

Gabriel looks through the file he’s been presented, mouth drawn in a hard line. It didn’t even take a minute for him to put it down, and tap a finger against it. You straighten your back in attention. You were going to get questioned. This is normal. You are ready. You believe in your plan.

“This,” he says slowly, “is built from your concern for their safety.”

You hold your head high. You can’t falter when it comes to presenting your ideas. “Yes.”

He laces his fingers together, regarding you with a casual expression, but his eyes are shrewd. “It’s good, but your plan is not suited for my men.”

Your brain sinks straight to the ground, and you utter a shaky, “…excuse me?”

“My men can take care of themselves; they don’t need a plan that gets them back safely. They need a plan that will complete the mission.”

You take a step forward, weariness stripping you of your filter. “But sir, with all due respect, if we don’t take the necessary precautions, our agents wi–”

“We need a plan that will stop the production of these omnics before someone uses them for something they’re not meant for, agent, not a plan that forces my men to drop out at the first sign of trouble.”

Your mind splutters for a moment. Didn’t he realize that this factory was also outfitted with state-of-the-art security bots? If the agents engaged them in a fire fight, they’d lose. Heck, if they engaged any of them in any sort of skirmish, they’d immediately alert everyone in the vicinity–the whole city will converge on them and trap them and then Blackwatch will be implicated. Among these agents were Genji, and if he suffered any more than he already has then…

“I can’t compromise the safety of our agents for any reason,” you say breathlessly.

“You are compromising the mission.”

His word ignites your anger. The mission? Did he care at all about how his men acted? About securing points for them to rest? Their equipment? Nothing? Just the mission itself? Frustration eats at you in relentless chucks, and you try to get the impassive man in front of your to understand.

“I know I’m out of line, but because of that sort of thinking, Blackwatch is getting into more and more trouble! Our plans need to have our agents carefully consider their actions and take them carefully.”

“Because of your thinking, we’re going to end up with more casualties. We don’t do things half-assed here.” The words ‘like Overwatch’ hung unspoken in the air.

Embers inside you become a flame. How dare he.

“I didn’t know you were this sort of man,” you hiss, patience long evaporated.

“And I didn’t know you had so little faith in our agents,” he responds coolly.

“I have faith in them! That’s why–”

“–that’s why you created a plan that forsakes the mission. That is not faith.” He takes a dramatic pause to look you in the eye and whispers, “That’s fear.”

Perhaps it’s because he’s absolutely right and he dug straight to the core of it and yanked it out without regard, or perhaps it’s because he’s entirely wrong and there’s nothing cowardly about prioritizing the survival of your teammates, but you shout, “I CARE about our agents, I’m not going to send them off to die!”

“Cool your head,” Gabriel orders, unfazed by your outburst having dealt with much, much worse. “Come back to me with a new plan with the mission as priority. I want it on my desk by the end of day, tomorrow.”

You salute half-heartedly and turn your heel, instantly more angry as the door slides open instead of granting you the satisfaction of slamming it behind you. The silence you leave behind in Gabriel’s room is tense even without your presence, but from a blind spot in the room, hidden behind a cabinet and a wall, McCree emerges, a low whistle escaping his lips.

Gabriel remains motionless, face still hidden behind crossed fingers.

“Ain’t that a lil’ too harsh, boss? First plan ‘n all.” There is little sympathy in his voice however.

“I already said it: I have faith in my men.”

Jesse skims over the plans strewn over Gabriel’s desk with mild interest, and scoffs after the first few bullet points. “Genji’s nabbed a sweetie, but sweetness ain’t got anyone nowhere; Blackwatch ain’t for bleedin’ hearts.” Again, he looks over the papers. “Awfully nice of ‘em though,” he adds as an afterthought.

Gabriel does not agree, but he does not refute it either, getting up from his chair, your plans in hand.

Zenyatta catches you storming out of Gabriel’s office. It is strange to see the omnic walking around Blackwatch territory, but then again, it isn’t as though you knew exactly where he goes all the time.

The omnic waves at you. “Greetings.”

“Agent Zenyatta,” you politely nod in his direction which he returns in kind. You have worked with him before, arranging for reinforcements and protection whenever he goes on his trips to negotiate on behalf of Overwatch. However, with the recent troubles Overwatch seems to have gotten into, Zenyatta’s job was becoming more and more difficult to handle–no protection meant an easy target, but more protection meant bringing in hostilities to any diplomatic meetings. It was a horrid paradox.

“You seem distressed. Is something the matter?”

An immediate ‘no’ comes to your mouth on the account of your pride, but remains there. Of course something was the matter, but how could you even begin to tell someone unrelated to the situation that ‘oh, it’s no big deal, it’s just that one of my plans that I slaved many nights over just got rejected when I’ve been doing the same damn thing for YEARS and isn’t good enough because apparently I care too much’. The frustration that gnaws at you is beyond words.

Zenyatta, sensing your trepidation, says, “Perhaps elsewhere then.”

It doesn’t take long before you unleash your torrent of grievances and insecurities on Zenyatta, who pries them out of you with practiced ease. You both talk and talk–other rather, you talk and he listens, an occasional nod of his head or a helpful quip to show he is listening.

It’s late into the afternoon by the time you both part ways, your chest already lighter without the burden of your troubles.

“I heard about what happened with Reyes,” is the first thing Genji says when he sees you in the canteen. He doesn’t normally eat, at least not a lot, but he needs the structure of pretending by ordering it anyway.

“He went over it with us,” he continues as you shovel another forkful of food into your mouth. “I told him we should do it.”

You almost choke. “You wha–”

“I believe in your plans, that’s why I asked for you to transfer here. I believe in you.” His words are resolute, even more so than you are about your own ideas. There is a fire in his voice that transfers over, warming you.

“Genji…”

“I trust your plans. I made that clear to Reyes today.”

You immediately perk up. “Is he…”

“He says he will think on it more, but still wants another plan. He was just…hesitant because it is not Blackwatch’s way of doing things.” Genji says slowly, his human hand resting reassuringly on your thigh.

You grumble slightly. “Then what is Blackwatch’s way?”

The cybernetic robot does not answer for a long while, but when he does, you nearly drop your drink. “Perhaps not the right way.”

In the end, you go see Commander Reyes again, and with some slight modifications to the original one, he begrudgingly accepts it with a warning that follows you throughout the whole time you await the results of the mission. “Your intentions are good, but they’re going to come bite you.”

You tell him with unwavering confidence that they won’t. You’ve designed many plans and spearheaded several projects for Overwatch, and this should not be any different. The only difference is your faction and the fact you’re sending someone you’re intimately close to on a mission of your design.

“I trust you, so you better come back safely,” you say to Genji just before he leaves.

He gives your hand a squeeze, and you realize just how cold yours are in comparison to his. “And I trust your plans, so I will. Do not doubt that I won’t.”

You let him go reluctantly, and watch as he joins the other members of the team who then shortly disappear into the dead of the night. You can only hope it goes well.

But hope by itself does not manage to put a damper on Murphy’s Law. The mission goes terribly. The three-man team was forced to abort almost immediately upon reaching the target, unable to execute any contingencies while under siege by the city’s police force which you had not anticipated to be so deeply entangled in this mess.

The agents managed to have their lives spared, a bloodless escape that was long calculated into the plan coupled by Commander Reyes’s supervision, but the mission itself–

Plastered all over the news in another smear campaign against the tyranny of Overwatch and Blackwatch, who in their words, are attempting to make themselves relevant by now interfering with the daily lives of civilians. Some even suspect that Overwatch sends Blackwatch to create havoc so that Overwatch themselves may come in to ‘rescue’ everyone, securing their position in the world as peace-keepers while secretly doling out evil deeds.

The stories becomes unbearably ridiculous, and is reported suspiciously quick.

However, you were deaf to all of this, rushing desperately to the medical bay, Gabriel hot on your heels. Genji. He sits in one of the offices alongside the other two agents who accompanied him, clearly agitated but uninjured–just like your plan dictated. But when he catches sight of you, breathless and wide-eyed, he immediately gets up.

“I’m sorry. Your plan–”

You don’t bother letting him finish, flinging your arms around his shoulders, still mindful of the tubes and wires that protrude from his back. Relief and anguish tumble inside you, fighting their way out at once. “Thank god–thank god you’re okay, I’m just so glad you’re not hurt, I’m so sorry, Genji–”

You babble on and on, Genji’s touches and reassurances unable to soothe you. You fell into the exact trap that you yourself had spoken against prior to joining Blackwatch. How could it have gone so badly? It wasn’t supposed to be this way–it was supposed to be simple, an in-and-out mission with all factors accounted for.

“That’s enough, good to see you all still alive,” says Gabriel, stepping forward. Genji untangles himself from you, and joins the other two agents in rigid salute.

“Thank you. sir,” they all say in unison.

“Gabriel Reyes.” All of you jump, except the man in question, jumps at the irritable and booming voice.

“Jack.”

“The hell was that? Operation Garm. Not even Zenyatta is going to be able to put out this fire you’ve caused.” The blond commander was practically seething, angrier and more exhausted than you’ve ever seen him. You meekly step forward, a growing dread in your stomach.

“I’m sorry, sir, that–”

“Yeah, I sanctioned it. Got a problem with that?” Gabriel practically shields you with his body without actually seeming to do so. Sharp blue eyes turn toward your new commander.

“Let’s take in this my office.”

There is no room for argument in Commander Morrison’s order, and he turns tail, fully expecting Gabriel to follow. Gabriel gives you something of a sympathetic look, he pats your shoulder with a heavy hand and squeezes, a slight resemblance of comfort and reassurance, before he dismisses everyone with a nod of his chin and follows after Jack.

Genji and yourself stand there for several long moments, and you try to wrap your head around what’s just happened and what you have gotten yourself into.

#reader #genji shimada #ask #anon #zenyatta didn't know how to levitate until he reached enlightenment because it made him light enough to float #my writing

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unixcommerce · 6 years ago

Text

The Power of Social Media Polls: The Drill-Down on 3 Platforms + 5 General Best Practices

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, all the way back to 2007. The world was a different place. Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (ella, ella) dominated the Billboard Charts. Scorsese’s masterpiece The Departed won Best Picture. Facebook was only a year removed from opening its membership to the general public, and Twitter was a fledgling startup, still looking to gain traction. But even then, online polls were already emerging as an intriguing tool for digital marketers. On this blog, TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden penned a post about the relatively nascent tactic, which could be utilized through a modest WordPress plugin. “If you want to know what your users are thinking,” Lee wrote. “Just ask them.” It’s a simple premise, and one that hasn’t changed over the past decade, although the tools at our disposal have evolved considerably. Today, audience polls are integrated features on most major social media networks. As marketers seek new ways to drive engagement and gather data, the allure of social media polls is obvious. Let’s take a look at how polls work on each platform, what kind of value they can provide, and how to get the most out of them.

The Polling Details

Twitter Polls

Users on Twitter could informally run polls in the platform’s early days — by manually tracking responses, hashtags, or retweets — but the official Twitter polls feature was launched in 2015. This made it easy to create sleek, interactive, customized polls with two (and later up to four) options. Lee frequently runs polls like this one on Twitter to gauge the opinions of his followers on various subjects:

The folks at @workfront have a new post about 4 motivators potentially greater than money that can light a fire amongst your marketing or agency team. Which of these would you rate as the bigger motivator for you?

Read the full post: https://t.co/nmo4GiAOPv — Lee Odden (@leeodden) June 12, 2018

What Makes Twitter Polls Engaging Staying in line with the overall appeal of Twitter, polls are extremely easy to participate in — one quick click of the mouse or tap of the mobile screen. How to Get Twitter Polls Right Knowing that the platform is built around quick-scrolling and bite-sized content, you’ll want to to ensure these polls are light on text, and eye-catching. Maybe include a couple of emojis, like HootSuite does here:

When do you see the most engagement on your social networks? ? ? #twitterpoll

— Hootsuite (@hootsuite) July 11, 2017

Instagram Polls

In 2017, Instagram rolled out its own polling convention, which became a part of its Stories feature. Instagram polls are added in the form of interactive stickers with two options that you can drag-and-drop on visual content you’ve created. As is the nature of the platform, polls will usually pertain to the content of the post in question. (“Which color shirt do you like better?” or – in the example below via the company’s official announcement post – “Which donut should I eat?”) (*Extremely Homer Simpson voice* Mmm, donuts…) What Makes Instagram Polls Engaging This is an excellent avenue for quickly gathering feedback around something people can see right in front of them. And you’ll have many options for making them stand out aesthetically. How to Get Instagram Polls Right If you have a sizable and engaged Instagram following, you could enlist your audience to help guide a decision (a la M&Ms). Customers might be more attached to what you’re doing if they feel like they played even a small part in directing it. You may also try using polls for more general topics or market research – Instagram does have an enormous and active user base, after all – but the way it’s set up doesn’t lend itself to such applications as well as the other platforms mentioned here.

Facebook Polls

Very shortly after polls were introduced for Instagram last year, parent company Facebook released its own version for members and page administrators. Like Instagram, it only offers two response fields (presently), but does have some nice features like the ability to include images and gifs. Businesses might consider trying out more robust third-party apps Polls for Pages. What Makes Facebook Polls Engaging Driving engagement on Facebook, as a publisher, has become very challenging. You likely know this already. Polls can be helpful in this regard. A study by BuzzSumo found that questions rank as the most engaging types of posts on Facebook. Partially because of this, Neil Patel has argued that “a well-designed Facebook poll is one of the most powerful Facebook marketing tools today’s social media marketers have available to them.” How to Get Facebook Polls Right You’re competing with content from friends and family members in highly personalized feeds, so you’ll want a poll that stands out and bears considerable relevance to your audience. Take advantage of the ability to use images or moving graphics for voting options. While polls can be more impactful than a standard text-based update, your organic reach will still be somewhat limited by Facebook’s suppressive algorithm unless you really catch some viral traction or pay to boost the post.

What About Other Platforms?

As of now, these are the only three social networks with built-in polls. LinkedIn used to have a Group polls feature, but retired it in 2014 (much to the chagrin of B2B marketers). Snapchat and Pinterest have never offered polls.

Best Practices for Social Media Polls

In the sections above we mentioned some distinctions and pointers specific to each platform. But at a higher level, here are a few recommendations for marketers looking to use social media polls.

#1 – Pique Your Audience’s Interest

One thing I really like about the poll features on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram is the immediate incentive factor for participants. Voting on a poll allows you to instantly see real-time results. I know there have been plenty of times where I’ve come across one on my feed and clicked because I was very curious to see what the general consensus was. Keep this irresistibility factor in mind as you create poll questions and response options.

#2 – Use Polls as a Springboard for Content

Let’s be honest: this isn’t exactly a scientific survey method, and the data obtained through social media polls isn’t going to be substantial enough to draw serious conclusions. However, you can still leverage the results in interesting ways. In May, Search Engine Journal ran the following Twitter poll:

Which social network drives the most traffic to your website? #SEJSurveySays

— SearchEngineJournal® (@sejournal) May 28, 2018

Then, they used the results (and responses) for an article on the topic. It was, transparently, just a sampling of feedback from random followers, but still made for a good read. Using the poll question as the post title also happens to be a savvy SEO move in this case, since it’s exactly the query a business owner might type into Google. You can also simply poll your audience to ask earnestly what kind of content they want from you, as Slack* did here:

Hey there — it’s time for an afternoon poll. What types of @SlackHQ tweets would you like to see more of?

— Slack (@SlackHQ) April 19, 2018

#3 – Choose a Fitting Platform for Each Poll

Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. Make sure your polls align with them. Instagram and Facebook will only work for A/B type questions, which can be limiting. Twitter provides more of a multi-choice format but you can’t incorporate images or video into the voting options. And of course, each channel has its own distinct audience profile.

#4 – Think Strategically

In many cases, the objective for a running a poll will simply be to attract attention and boost engagement. Nothing wrong with that. But you can also think bigger and tie it to other goals. For example, you could run a Facebook poll with a trivia question, prompting voters to visit your website and find the answer. Think big and, when possible, tie your poll to a larger strategy.

#5 – Follow Up on Results

Granted, it doesn’t take a ton of effort to vote in a social media poll, but users are still taking an action and you should make it worth their while in some way. One method is to create content around the tabulations, as mentioned earlier. But even following up with later posts remarking on the results, or inviting further thoughts, will show that it you’re not just tossing out throwaway questions for the heck of it. It will signal that you’re genuinely engaged with what your audience has to say and that you want to hear more.

What’s Your Poll Position?

Now that you know a little more about social media polls and how they work on each platform, where do you stand? Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Let us know below (and, hey, we’d love it if you gave us a follow on Twitter while you’re at it).

Alright, friends. Time for a poll about polls! What entices you to participate in polls on #socialmedia?

Don’t see your perfect answer? Tweet us about it. — TopRankMarketing.com (@toprank) July 9, 2018

Interested in finding other ways to increase your social media reach and engagement? Check out these recent posts from our blog:

The Question on Many Marketers’ Minds: Should My Brand Start a Facebook Group?

From Messenger Bots to the Growth of ‘Gram, Social Media Examiner’s Annual Report Reveals Trends to Watch

Social Media Marketing Benchmarks: What Works & Where to Focus

Death of Facebook Organic Reach = New Opportunities for Influencer Marketing

The post The Power of Social Media Polls: The Drill-Down on 3 Platforms + 5 General Best Practices appeared first on Online Marketing Blog – TopRank®.

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itswomanswork · 6 years ago

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The Power of Social Media Polls: The Drill-Down on 3 Platforms + 5 General Best Practices

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, all the way back to 2007.

The world was a different place. Rihanna’s “Umbrella” (ella, ella) dominated the Billboard Charts. Scorsese’s masterpiece The Departed won Best Picture. Facebook was only a year removed from opening its membership to the general public, and Twitter was a fledgling startup, still looking to gain traction.

But even then, online polls were already emerging as an intriguing tool for digital marketers. On this blog, TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden penned a post about the relatively nascent tactic, which could be utilized through a modest WordPress plugin.

“If you want to know what your users are thinking,” Lee wrote. “Just ask them.”

It’s a simple premise, and one that hasn’t changed over the past decade, although the tools at our disposal have evolved considerably. Today, audience polls are integrated features on most major social media networks.

As marketers seek new ways to drive engagement and gather data, the allure of social media polls is obvious.

Let’s take a look at how polls work on each platform, what kind of value they can provide, and how to get the most out of them.

The Polling Details

Twitter Polls

Lee frequently runs polls like this one on Twitter to gauge the opinions of his followers on various subjects:

Read the full post: https://t.co/nmo4GiAOPv

— Lee Odden (@leeodden) June 12, 2018

What Makes Twitter Polls Engaging

Staying in line with the overall appeal of Twitter, polls are extremely easy to participate in — one quick click of the mouse or tap of the mobile screen.

How to Get Twitter Polls Right

Knowing that the platform is built around quick-scrolling and bite-sized content, you’ll want to to ensure these polls are light on text, and eye-catching. Maybe include a couple of emojis, like HootSuite does here:

When do you see the most engagement on your social networks? ? ? #twitterpoll

— Hootsuite (@hootsuite) July 11, 2017

Instagram Polls

As is the nature of the platform, polls will usually pertain to the content of the post in question. (“Which color shirt do you like better?” or – in the example below via the company’s official announcement post – “Which donut should I eat?”)

(*Extremely Homer Simpson voice* Mmm, donuts…)

What Makes Instagram Polls Engaging

This is an excellent avenue for quickly gathering feedback around something people can see right in front of them. And you’ll have many options for making them stand out aesthetically.

How to Get Instagram Polls Right

If you have a sizable and engaged Instagram following, you could enlist your audience to help guide a decision (a la M&Ms). Customers might be more attached to what you’re doing if they feel like they played even a small part in directing it.

You may also try using polls for more general topics or market research – Instagram does have an enormous and active user base, after all – but the way it’s set up doesn’t lend itself to such applications as well as the other platforms mentioned here.

Facebook Polls

What Makes Facebook Polls Engaging

Driving engagement on Facebook, as a publisher, has become very challenging. You likely know this already. Polls can be helpful in this regard.

A study by BuzzSumo found that questions rank as the most engaging types of posts on Facebook. Partially because of this, Neil Patel has argued that “a well-designed Facebook poll is one of the most powerful Facebook marketing tools today’s social media marketers have available to them.”

How to Get Facebook Polls Right

You’re competing with content from friends and family members in highly personalized feeds, so you’ll want a poll that stands out and bears considerable relevance to your audience. Take advantage of the ability to use images or moving graphics for voting options.

While polls can be more impactful than a standard text-based update, your organic reach will still be somewhat limited by Facebook’s suppressive algorithm unless you really catch some viral traction or pay to boost the post.

What About Other Platforms?

Best Practices for Social Media Polls

In the sections above we mentioned some distinctions and pointers specific to each platform. But at a higher level, here are a few recommendations for marketers looking to use social media polls.

#1 – Pique Your Audience’s Interest

Keep this irresistibility factor in mind as you create poll questions and response options.

#2 – Use Polls as a Springboard for Content

In May, Search Engine Journal ran the following Twitter poll:

Which social network drives the most traffic to your website? #SEJSurveySays

— SearchEngineJournal® (@sejournal) May 28, 2018

You can also simply poll your audience to ask earnestly what kind of content they want from you, as Slack* did here:

Hey there — it’s time for an afternoon poll. What types of @SlackHQ tweets would you like to see more of?

— Slack (@SlackHQ) April 19, 2018

#3 – Choose a Fitting Platform for Each Poll

#4 – Think Strategically

Think big and, when possible, tie your poll to a larger strategy.

#5 – Follow Up on Results

But even following up with later posts remarking on the results, or inviting further thoughts, will show that it you’re not just tossing out throwaway questions for the heck of it. It will signal that you’re genuinely engaged with what your audience has to say and that you want to hear more.

What’s Your Poll Position?

Alright, friends. Time for a poll about polls! What entices you to participate in polls on #socialmedia?

Don’t see your perfect answer? Tweet us about it.

— TopRankMarketing.com (@toprank) July 9, 2018

Interested in finding other ways to increase your social media reach and engagement? Check out these recent posts from our blog:

The Question on Many Marketers’ Minds: Should My Brand Start a Facebook Group?

From Messenger Bots to the Growth of ‘Gram, Social Media Examiner’s Annual Report Reveals Trends to Watch

Social Media Marketing Benchmarks: What Works & Where to Focus

Death of Facebook Organic Reach = New Opportunities for Influencer Marketing

The post The Power of Social Media Polls: The Drill-Down on 3 Platforms + 5 General Best Practices appeared first on Online Marketing Blog – TopRank®.

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befoundonlinemarketing · 6 years ago

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The Power of Social Media Polls: The Drill-Down on 3 Platforms + 5 General Best Practices

The Polling Details

Twitter Polls

Read the full post: https://t.co/nmo4GiAOPv — Lee Odden (@leeodden) June 12, 2018

When do you see the most engagement on your social networks? ? ? #twitterpoll

— Hootsuite (@hootsuite) July 11, 2017

Instagram Polls

Facebook Polls

What About Other Platforms?

Best Practices for Social Media Polls

In the sections above we mentioned some distinctions and pointers specific to each platform. But at a higher level, here are a few recommendations for marketers looking to use social media polls.

#1 - Pique Your Audience’s Interest

#2 - Use Polls as a Springboard for Content

Which social network drives the most traffic to your website? #SEJSurveySays

— SearchEngineJournal® (@sejournal) May 28, 2018

Hey there — it’s time for an afternoon poll. What types of @SlackHQ tweets would you like to see more of?

— Slack (@SlackHQ) April 19, 2018

#3 - Choose a Fitting Platform for Each Poll

#4 - Think Strategically

#5 - Follow Up on Results

What’s Your Poll Position?

Alright, friends. Time for a poll about polls! What entices you to participate in polls on #socialmedia?

Don't see your perfect answer? Tweet us about it. — TopRankMarketing.com (@toprank) July 9, 2018

Interested in finding other ways to increase your social media reach and engagement? Check out these recent posts from our blog:

The Question on Many Marketers’ Minds: Should My Brand Start a Facebook Group?

From Messenger Bots to the Growth of ‘Gram, Social Media Examiner’s Annual Report Reveals Trends to Watch

Social Media Marketing Benchmarks: What Works & Where to Focus

Death of Facebook Organic Reach = New Opportunities for Influencer Marketing

The post The Power of Social Media Polls: The Drill-Down on 3 Platforms + 5 General Best Practices appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

The Power of Social Media Polls: The Drill-Down on 3 Platforms + 5 General Best Practices posted first on http://www.toprankblog.com/

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christopheruearle · 6 years ago