We erroneously think of websites as mere addresses. Hence, while stuffing our websites with practical content, we forget about building the brand essence. The truth is, creating a website is often the first step in virtual branding. So, how do you balance practicality and brand building? It starts with the About Us page.
The ultimate goal of your About Us Page is to present the WHY to your customers.
Why are you doing what you are doing?
What is your purpose?
What impact do you wish to have in the world in the future?
A good About Us page does not present only the product offerings. Rather, it shows how your product fits into your customer’s life and solves their pain points.
Moving further, better About Us pages function as online handshakes. It works as your conversation starter. It makes the website visitors feel accepted.
Finally, a great About Us page engages the right customers. What exactly do we mean by the ‘right’ customers? They are the people who believe in what you do. These people believe in your mission and vision statements if presented in the right way. This is why an About Us page is important and you absolutely need it.
People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe - Simon Sinek
Your company description is the most important section of all. No matter how many years you have been in the business, there will always be new customers.
What is the ideal length of your company description in the About Us page? As per HubSpot, it should not exceed 150 words. Therefore, you must cut to the chase and briefly describe the ‘why’ of your organization. The bottom line is that the unique value proposition should be explicitly described in your company description.
This is a great About Us page from Cultivated Wit.
See how they boiled down their description in one line? The company makes everything fun. It takes just about a second to notice their playful nature. Humor is their unique value. Fun is their way of doing things. This is how they distinguished themselves from every other generic consulting agency.
Humanization is what we truly seek in this age of digitization. Therefore, post the photos of your team members along with their bios on the About Us page. Apart from humanizing your image, the photos can help in multidimensional ways.
Your organization is your people. And the people reflect your company values. Hence, you can attract not only your potential customers but prospective employees.
Here is what Ketto, an Indian fundraising company did.
They took employee profiles to a whole new level. The people in the photos show their true personalities when you hover them. We believe that these photos speak about the company values louder than any words.
Now, what about companies that have 500+ employees? In this case, a single group picture in the About Us page does the trick. It shows how vast your company is. How diversified your culture is. How strong your brand is.
We human beings are engineered for stories. Stories help people connect with your brand. Your stories should not be fabricated with too-good-to-be-true events. Rather, they must be true, and engaging.
Here is an example of a good story by Doomtree. The About Us page traces the origin of the hip-hop band, from zero to the peak. See h0w they frame their journey in a relatable and recognizable fashion? This is how Doomtree entices the right set of listeners. People who are utterly passionate about hip-hop music and would do anything for it.
Suppose you have engaged the right customers and allured them with your humane stories on the About Us page. Now instead of keeping in suspense, guide them to the next step with a proper call to action.
A call to action may come in different forms. Maybe you can direct them to your company blog with a “Read More” link. Or perhaps you can send them to your product page with the “See Our Product” link. Whatever you do, ensure that you are not in any way overwhelming your visitors. Make the call to action seamless and look natural.
Well, how do you make calls to action look effortless? Here is what 500px did. Firstly, they grab your attention with the dog staring at you. As you move down, 500px shows you how the platform is different. Once you are convinced, they ask you to Get the App (First Call to Action).
Now as you scroll further down, 500px tells you how it fits into your life. Now in case, the platform really adds value to your life, you would want to Join The Team (2nd Call to Action). Finally, if you are still not convinced, they ask you to read their blog with the Read More links (3rd Call to Action).
See? Seamless. Effortless. Natural. By the way, be sure to add a Contact Us page. You don’t want them your customers to hang in midair, do you? So keep the contact information where your customers are most likely to seek it.
Remember what we said about attracting prospective employees? Often the interested candidates visit your About Us page the most. It is in their endeavor to find out whether they are the right fit for the company.
So as much as you want to entice your customers, you don’t want to lose talented to-be-employees, do you?
Here is what you will find at the end of Nike’s About Us page. As expected, you will find the contact information for the customers. Just beneath the contact, Nike included its career and opportunities page in its attempt to retain global talents.
Furthermore, the customers and candidates can also subscribe to Nike News so that they don’t miss out on any important announcement.
Don’t get so engrossed in creating compelling copies for your About Us page that you forget about the visuals. The roles of graphic elements are more important than you think.
Visual elements convey your brand look and feel. A consistent set of brand elements can make people remember you even if you are not there. Think about Nike’s swoosh or Apple’s half-eaten apple.
Moreover, an overcluttered webpage decreases the time visitors spend on your site. Hence, simple and minimalistic visual elements can engulf your visitors and eventually convert them into your customers.
It would be a sin to talk about aesthetic visuals and excluding Anton & Irene. Their website is so simple, yet so complete. So minimalistic, but so powerful. Everything on their About Us page is ingenious and deserves a standing ovation.
Disclaimer: These are not the only content that you can keep in your About Us Page. Think outside the box. You can also include customer testimonials, engaging videos, past work references, etc.
However, you must ensure that nothing you include overwhelms your website visitors. Tell your story, but don't fabricate.
Speak of your legacy, but don’t boast.
Be very frank, but not insolent.
Finally, if you further need help with your About Us page, you can always contact BlogWriters, your dedicated content marketing team. Who knows? Your About Us page might become a reference for others
