Are you using your website correctly as an effective traffic funnel through inspirational content?
Marketers everywhere are reworking the About Us pages of company websites to sell the inspiration behind businesses. This previously overlooked section of company websites usually highlights company quotes, ethos, or statements. But are we using it the right way?
We investigated the world of the About Us page according to the average digital marketer. Unsurprisingly, we found that most of the test websites we perused were failing to meet the guidelines set out by the experts. After this initial research, it seemed obvious that this is an industry-wide problem that requires further investigation.
Let’s discuss you’re About Us page. Is it good enough? Are you missing an opportunity? Let’s find out.
What Your About Us Pages Should Say?
The average SME faces a constant array of uphill struggles. There are certain challenges that all small businesses face, and one of those is creating that vital online presence we all so desperately need in the digital era.
Your about us page should contain a clear outline of your brand persona. When clients read it, they should know exactly who your business is and if it’s a business they want to invest in. You can use it to draw in new customers, direct old ones towards new action, and even hit key phrases like “family-run,” “free consultations,” and “quality service”.
As with all pages on your website, you’re About Us page is a chance to hit those essential keywords that will help you build your brand. From an SEO point of view, it ought to contain your location, too.
You can write you’re About Us page poorly as well. Imagine you have a company with a lengthy history and pages of information to get through. Consumers will lose interest easily and get their information elsewhere.
Let’s break this down to an easy-to-read formula of dos and don’ts.
About Us Page Dos:
· Be customer-centric, not business-focused. Write from the angle of how you can help your client with their needs.
· Tell the story that inspired your business.
· Give a brief (100 words max) story of setting up that business.
· Clearly and deliberately state your missions/ethos/brand messages.
· If you have a lengthy history, use a timeline for easy navigation.
· Add badges, certificates, and any other selling points here.
· Use it to direct clients to your site, pages, or products.
· Use it to touch locational keywords.
About Us Page Don’ts:
· Don’t be too corporate. A brand persona that’s too corporate will make clients lose interest.
· Don’t write too little. A two-paragraph About Us page looks suspicious.
· Don’t be scared of personality. Your brand needs it.
· Don’t be too detailed in your history.
Why Inspirational Back Stories Help Build your Business?
As Forbes points out, you’re About Us page is available to your audience 24/7. It is a way of communicating your corporate information and principles in one place. Customers who love your brand can research it if they want to, while other brands can see your potential as a partner at-a-glance.
Inspirational backstories spread on social media. Screenwriters use a technique known as a ‘hook’ in the first few minutes of each script. This draws the watcher in and makes them care about the story. Your About Us page is your brand’s hook. When you use it correctly, it puts a human face on your business. It makes buyers and clients care about your progress. It gives people a place to learn about the unique obstacles and challenges that have shaped your SME.
Let’s look at some of the best tips we could find online regarding creating a killer About Us page that really gets that brand message across.
Top Tips for a Successful About Us Page
Now that we know what to try and do and what to avoid, let’s talk top tips on getting the job done expertly.
1. Not Writing Your Life Story
It’s too easy to write your whole brand history on one webpage. A good trick to narrow it down is to divide your history into a timeline. This lets you bullet-point each year or stage of your brand’s progression in a way that is short, clipped, and to the point. You can even add a graphic to go with the point and make it easier to digest for the reader. The double beauty of the timeline structure is that clients can navigate around to the point in time they need.
2. Include Certifications
If your brand operates in partnership with others, the About Us page is a good place to tackle that. You can place their branding alongside your own to add to your respectability and build both reputations. To further enhance your branding, place the logos of authoritative boards, industry standards, or other certifications you have on this page. Let people know your business is reliable through those you associate with. Licensing and insurance certifications, as well as data compliance certificates, all help.
3. Focus on the Customer
When you are designing your About Us page, design it in a way that it does the things the customer wants it to do. Your website should give customers what they want, even without them knowing they want it.
When your website doesn’t do what customers want, it loses you profit. In one study Gartner report, the website surveyed was performing poorly. Only 11% of people reported that they got what they needed when they landed on the site. The rest were leaving and either going elsewhere or clogging up their phone lines with inquiries that you could have dealt with online.
Focusing on the customer lets you enhance the customer experience, even on a page of your site that you don’t necessarily think of as important. What are clients looking for on your About Us page? They want to know if your ethos matches theirs. They want to know if you will make time for them if you will focus on them if you are a business that will take their needs to heart.
What are Customers Reading your About Us Page for?
Customers look at your About Us page to find out where you are, which areas you serve, and to answer FAQs. They want to know about your service, how you got into your business, and how long you have operated. Provide them with this information and you will have created an unforgettable About Us page which is doing what you need it to do.
You’re about us page matters. Get out there and give it a boost.
____________________________________________________
Some other articles you might find of interest:
Understand how you can maximize your time to grow your business:
Time Is Money And Your Most Valuable Resource. Use it Wisely to Build Your Business
Looking for effective ways to drive and increase traffic to your startup website?
SEO Traffic Guide To Boost Your Blog Rankings
Looking for effective ways to drive and increase traffic to your startup website?
3 Top Reasons Why Startups Fail and How Not to Become a Victim