When using your personal Facebook account your updates are always met with a tonne of likes and comments. So how come the stuff you’re putting out on your business Facebook page is going unnoticed?

No one is liking them, no one is commenting on them. Perhaps all your fans are out and their phones are switched off? Or perhaps you’re not putting out stuff that interests them because if it doesn’t appeal to them they’re not going to take any notice of it.

Here are some of the most common mistakes people make – do any sound familiar?

1. Wide of the mark

If you’re using questions in an attempt to get people to respond, what exactly are you asking?

The best responses come from questions that are very specific and ask for an opinion on one particular issue. If your questions are too broad no one will bother answering.

Also, if you ask something that’s deemed a bit too personal, it’s also likely to go by unanswered.

2. Mix it up

Text updates are great, but it’s good to mix things up with images and videos too.

Your fans want variety. How about adding a few opinion polls for good measure to unearth what your fans think about certain topics. It could lead to a whole new raft of update ideas etc.

3. Have fun

Even if you are Facebooking on behalf of a large company try and have a bit of fun with it. Boring corporate posts will turn your fans off faster than a fast thing, so show some personality and inject some humour into your posts.

4. Bigger picture

Do all your status updates relate to your business and what you’re doing?

Well then, there’s your problem. Your fans don’t want to hear about you all the time, they want information that’s going to help or entertain them too.

5. Be relevant

Guess what? Your fans aren’t always going to be interested in the same things you are, so make sure you put their needs first at all times.

6. Is anyone there?

Facebook should be about conversation, so when fans do make comments or post things on your wall make sure you respond to them, quickly.

7. Offers

Although I said earlier you shouldn’t constantly bang on about your business, that doesn’t mean you can’t throw in the odd offer now and then. After all, it will be of benefit to your fans and if it’s a particularly good offer, they may tell their friends about it and encourage more people to like your page.

8. Patience

Yes, like all social media platforms, mastering Facebook is going to take time. You’ll have to do a fair amount of experimenting before it starts working for you. Plus, constant testing and reviewing of your strategy will make sure you continue to be an effective Facebooker.

There’s a lot more to Facebook for business than meets the eye, but so long as you remember it should be a platform for engagement and interaction rather than sales, you should soon start getting the results you want.