The Do’s and Don’ts of Crafting Compelling About Us Pages
The truth is there are compelling about us pages, and those which are a pretty reliable cure for insomnia. But to leverage the potential of an about is page, there are a few do’s and don’ts so your business’s story can be very persuasive and convincing, and influence people to WANT to do business with you.
DO use photos:
Customers like to know who they are buying from, or put a face to the people they are thinking of hiring. This means you need to look like what they expect you to be. If you are a professional service business, professional head shots accompanied by position descriptions and skills are a chance to showcase the professionalism of your team. If you’re selling baseball caps, it’s a chance to show a more fun loving side. Always use photos that support the personality and image of the business that you are trying to represent.
DON’T use industry babble
Befuddling people with industry lingo won’t impress anyone, and it’s a common mistake for many about us pages, which are actually a snooze alert. Even though it’s an about page, the page is really about the visitor, and how you can help them. Using insider terminology, or talking about yourself
DO tell your story – But DON’T tell your life story
An about page is an opportunity to share the story of why are you in business, what made you get started, and why does the passion your industry dictates everything you do. But be specific here, and avoid the cliché’s like “Our main passion is exceptional customer service delivery’ and other generic, safe, and salesy copy which people are so used to reading they’ve almost become suspicious of.
Instead use this page as a story telling feature to tap into the story of what started the venture, how you help customers overcome problems, how the idea was born, and why you wake up in the morning to do what you do. The key here is to be selective in what you choose to tell, and use keep the most compelling or interesting information which will give the visitor the biggest chance to know you. Once someone feels like they know you, only then can they decide to like you.
Show how your business has grown, instead of telling. If means more products and services, a bigger team, interstate offices, or international clients mention this specifically.
DON’T be Overly Formal
Use language that is human, and keep the tone light. The tone can still be professional without resorting to how a stuffy corporate speak. The about page is one of the best opportunities your site has to be fun, and personal. This is chance to make people like you. Formality often kills that quickly as people feel nothing or are bored, both of which are very bad when it comes to about pages.
Also consider the profile of your major customers and develop the tone based around what they are likely to identify with. Auto enthusiasts will appreciate a more ‘blokey’ tone than health conscious mum’s looking for organic products.
DO spruik some credentials
Milestones are great way to tell the story of your company in a format that is not too text heavy. Some of these could be major awards, contracts or tenders won over the years, or to switch it up a ‘light-bulb moment’ where your company changed the way something was done. This can be a way to balance the feel good facts you want people to know the business, with some solid measurable endorsements and reassurance.
DON’T Forget to Forge a Connection
With such a personal piece of content, the finishing touch should be an invitation to connect more with the business, which also doubles as a call to action. Reach out by offering your social media profiles details, where they can see previous work, offer a callback, and link through to the contact page. (if you’re interested, check out our article on how to create a best practice contact us page). Give an invitation for people to learn more about the business by linking to testimonials and other relevant pages.
Some other things to consider:
- Tailor your about page to reflect your brand.
- Do be clear about exactly what your business does. This might seem obvious but in certain fields it can still be difficult to decipher how the business helps people.
- Don’t be too long, refine and revise several times to keep the most important points.
- Inject personality – but be authentic and not forced.
- Always reveal what you want people to most want about your organisation.
There is no single best way to write an about page, as it will vary from industry to industry, but these general Do’s and don’ts will give you a good starting point to tell the story of your business effectively, and inject a healthy dose of humanity which in the online realm can often be missing. Contact us at Media Heroes and let our experts help you in crafting the perfect about us page for your website.
