If you think the About (or About Us) page on your business website isn’t important, please reconsider! That page should be much more than an afterthought. It is often the page customers go first — so it creates a potential customer’s first, or second, impression.
The About Page might play a major role in their decision to do business with you – or not.
If the page that promises to tell them about your company does not meet their expectations, you’re missing an opportunity. And if it makes a poor impression, you may be losing business.
Lots to consider. So let’s talk about:
- Why Your About Us Page is So Important
- Untapped Opportunity in the About Page
- Must-Haves for Your About Us Page
- Tips to Power Up Your About Page
- How to Personalize Your About Page
Why Your About Us (Brand Identity) Page Is So Important
Too often, small business owners underrate the importance of this page. Businesses sometimes launch their websites with generic explanations of their companies.
Worse, they might fail to delete the “Lorem Ipsum” placeholder text that came with the template. That is a serious mistake.
To the new page visitor, this will signal you’re not ready for business, whether you intend it to or not. It is, therefore, a wasted opportunity — both to connect with a visitor and to strengthen your brand identity.
Consumers may want to know what type of values your company holds before doing business with you. Now, more than ever, people are advocating for causes they believe in. Increasingly, they use their purchasing power to make their voices heard.
They may seek to support a small or woman-owned business. If your organization’s values align with what they care about, it can be a deciding factor. But it’s easy to lose that potential customer if your site doesn’t inspire their confidence.
Unless you are a sizeable organization, a website visitor may know nothing about you. Building a strong web presence starts with your firm’s About Us page.
Use this page to build rapport with new visitors. Give them confidence that you’ll deliver on your promises.
Besides being an overview of your services or products, your About Us page can provide many useful details in one location.
Prospective customers need a way to connect with you. They may have questions or research your services to see how it squares with their needs.
Offer solutions and benefits that consumers can understand. Give them a solid concept of what your brand will do for them. This is a key step in motivating them to buy.
Untapped Opportunity in the About Us Page
The About Us page is also one place where you can feel free to show your company’s personality.
Besides displaying your professionalism and building your credibility — two important functions — this is the page where you can try to convey the essence of the organization. You can show the human side of your business. And you can give them a glimpse of the organizational culture, let them actually see you.
You want people to get to know and trust your brand. Also, you may be trying to attract a certain kind of customer. This page is where you can let those people know that you’re looking for them; and tell them why.
A consumer’s trust in a business is powerfully linked to the company’s brand identity — the way people outside your organization see you. So unsurprisingly, one big credibility builder is giving visitors a glimpse of the inner workings of your company.
But this page is not only for customers! Potential employees, partners, and other collaborators will reference this page as well. They are looking for a snapshot, and they will form a first impression.
You can talk in general terms about your company’s areas of expertise on this page, too. For some professions, it will be important to discuss your background and display your credentials as well!
The Mission Statement
Your mission statement should reveal who you are, what you do, and why.
It can hint at or clarify what makes you unique, and why they should choose you over the competition. So don’t be modest. Here is where you can shine a light on what makes your company special. Let consumers know why they are your target audience. Give visitors a summary of your company’s culture and how you plan to grow your business. Highlight how your goals support clients.
Be sure to mention your accomplishments, or any industry awards. Introduce your leadership team. Talk about any social commitments you have made as an organization. Are you, as an organization, community-minded? Tell us about your company’s community engagement. You want readers to relate to your brand’s principles and then share that knowledge with others.
Company History
How your company got started is often a compelling story. Your story can end up being part of the dynamic that draws in a potential customer. Great storytelling will help you here, so you may want to hire a professional copy writer for this task.
Use this section to humanize your brand and let potential purchasers know there are real people that stand behind the logo. Be sure to include your founders’ information. Illustrate the organization’s years in business with a timeline graphic. Or enhance the storytelling with informative video.
Meet the Team
Introduce yourself and your staff with information like job titles. Include their photos. If it’s a family business, be sure to include family photos to add a personal touch. This will help to connect emotionally with readers, and convey your promise to treat them like family. Each team member can record a short intro and speak about what asset they bring to your business. If you want to go a little further, maybe add a section of fun facts.
Compelling Images
The right pictures can visually emphasize important elements and highlight your professional goals. Boost your About Us page with images, as you do with other pages on your site. Original photography is always best, but stock photos will do.
The Call-To-Action
Customers who have taken the time to click on your About Us page obviously have an interest in you. So your site should make the next step easy for them. Your call-to-action can encourage visitors to contact you for more information. You can also ask for their emails, or direct them to your online store.
Try beginning with a heartwarming message about your company’s mission. End with a compelling call-to-action to make your About Us page worth reading.
Tips to Power Up the About Page
Consistency is Important
First and foremost, your About Us page should have the same look and feel as the rest of your site. In fact, use a style guide to govern the look of your entire website. Your fonts can communicate a lot about your firm. Your brand colors should be applied consistently. And your page layout should be clean enough to allow visitors to focus on the text.
Say Your Name
This is a simple tactic, but it can make a difference. As an alternative to saying “About Us”, use your company name. For example, About ___________. Add your company name to fill in the blank. Your website is about branding so you should use your company’s name as much as possible. Echoing your company name will support the feeling of familiarity.
Link Up
Make use of internal links — to your products, main pages, and blogs — if you have them. A good link strategy will also make your website easy to navigate — a key driver of SEO strength.
Check your links frequently to make sure they work. We all get frustrated when we click a link that leads us nowhere. And it’s a major turn-off for someone who doesn’t already know you.
Less is More
Simple is better when naming your About Us page. You want to make the page easy to find. People’s attention spans are short. They will not devote more than five seconds to finding the information they want. Don’t make your About Us page difficult to locate by using eccentric names. Use your creativity in the copywriting, not the title.
Not Too Long (or Short)
Your text should be concise while giving easy access to the most important details. The page needs to find a good balance. Provide enough information to encourage your customers to buy — but be brief enough so that reading it will not be hard labor. Try easy-to-read bullet points, then add a “Learn More” link for the reader who wants more details. Also, split your message into categories and digestible sections with headings. You don’t want clutter slowing down or discouraging your visitors from buying.
Using the Gentle Sell
Being informative rather than blatantly peddling can go a long way. Customers need to know your brand and trust you before making a purchase. However, you still want to encourage a sale. This can be a delicate balance. Gently guide your potential client by telling them why they need you, how you can solve their problem. Don’t forget to tell them why they should care about your business. Then issue a polite invitation to call you.
Go The Extra Mile: Personalize Your About Us Page
Here you get to be creative. There are endless ways to personalize your page. These are just a few examples:
- Provide a client list. Visitors may be impressed. And it gives potential customers a starting point to seek references if they choose to do so.
- Place articles or media coverage links here as well. If you’re still working on building your brand or just starting out, you may not have enough for a whole page. So, placing them here is a good solution.
- Testimonials can make a great addition to your About Us page. Use testimonials to let future customers know that past customers loved your product. Great reviews are 3rd party endorsements that help you more quickly develop that essential trust.
- If you have a social media presence, have links to your social profiles. Linking to Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn gives visitors the option to collect more data about your company.
- Use multimedia to communicate with people of all different learning styles. You can also incorporate music, videos, and slideshows to increase the visual interest of your site.
Keep It Fresh!
Your About page won’t have to be updated as often as other elements of your website. But you still should keep it fresh.
Experiment periodically to figure out what’s working and what’s not. Remember to update the site with new projects and your wins.
A fresh, current About Us page will convey what’s great about your company — right now.
Call The Allyson Group for Help or Counsel
At The Allyson Group, we can help enhance your About Us page and take the guesswork out of all your content creation.
Give us a call to discuss how we can help you keep customers engaged in your company.
