When developing a website, creating images, and crafting content, your ‘About Us’ page probably isn’t high on the list of priorities. Most of your time will be spent perfecting the home page, optimizing product listings, and developing all-important landing pages. However, you shouldn’t look at your company ‘About Us’ page as an afterthought. For many site visitors and customers, this is the first place they go after skimming the home page. Failure to recognize this can result in a significant disconnect between your business and your customers.
The Goal of an ‘About Us’ Page
Specific goals will be different, but – generally speaking – every website should aim for the following when developing an ‘About Us’ page for their company:
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Tell a story. This is your chance to reinforce your brand story and explain what happens behind the scenes. Tell customers about how the company started, where it’s been, and where it’s going. Don’t be shy here – it’s okay to brag on your company. After all, this is your page.
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Show personality. The worst thing you can do is design a cold, corporate ‘About Us’ page. Show personality, put faces to names, and let loose. The rest of your website can cover business topics, but this portion needs to show customers that there are real people behind the company – not corporate robots.
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Make it available. Have you ever been on a website and couldn’t find the ‘About Us’ page? It makes absolutely no sense. Why would you hide it in small font at the bottom of the footer? Make your ‘About Us’ page readily available for everyone to see. You may even find it’s one of your most popular internal pages.
5 Tips for Effective ‘About Us’ Pages
Here are some easy, tangible tips for developing an engaging ‘About Us’ page:
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Make it short and sweet. As content writer Nicole Beckett puts it, “‘About Us’ pages don’t have to be long to be effective. In fact, you can say a lot in 200 or 300 words!” While some companies may feel like they need to go beyond 200 or 300 words, there’s certainly no need. It should be short, sweet, and to the point. In reality, most people won’t read any more than that amount anyway.
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Mention your customer-centricity. The paradox of ‘About Us’ pages is that they are really about pleasing the customer. You want to talk about your company in a way that impresses customers and shows you care about them. Pergola Kits USA does a good job of this on their ‘About Us’ page. They give a direct shout out to their customers, saying, “Without you, we wouldn’t be here, and we remind ourselves of that every day.” It’s subtle, but the message is clear: We care about you.
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Include a video. One non-traditional (yet effective) technique is to include a video on your ‘About Us’ page. Like the page itself, the video should be brief (less than two minutes) and filled with personality. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, but do make sure it’s high quality. Your video will likely be around for years to come, so pay to have it professionally done.
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Brag on yourself. As mentioned, it’s okay to brag a bit. You don’t want to come across as cocky, but you should prove your worth. Eight Hour Day does a fantastic job of this, subtly mentioning their work with Target, Williams Sonoma, The New York Times, and other clients on their ‘About Us’ page.
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Let your customers talk. One strategy that’s becoming more and more popular is to actually let your customers tell your story. Many companies have found that it’s better to include testimonials from trusted clients, as their opinions are viewed as less biased. You should probably include a blurb from yourself as well, but it’s not a bad idea to give most of the page real estate to your customers.
Make Your ‘About Us’ Page Count
Customers want to know who is behind the products and services they buy. By investing in an engaging ‘About Us’ page, you can show personality and convey value. Use these tips and examples to improve yours today.
