Every website should have an ‘About Us’ page; fortunately, most do. But there are a lot of websites that are taking the wrong approach or underutilizing this part of their website. Here’s how to write the perfect ‘About Us’ page for your business.
Understand Its Purpose
In order to write the perfect ‘About Us’ page, you need to understand exactly what the purpose of it is. When it is done poorly, the page is little more than a restatement of what most visitors already know. On the other hand, if you compose your ‘About Us’ page in the right way, then it will provide deeper insight into you, your business, and the ethos that drives you both. As well as explaining who you and your business are, your ‘About Us’ page should also persuade a reader that your business is worth choosing over your competitors.
It is important that your ‘About Us’ page includes all of this information, but it is just as important that you do not start adding elements that don’t belong there. If you’re trying to do too much with your ‘About Us’ page, then you will reduce its effectiveness.
Make It Accessible To New Visitors
People who are already familiar with you and your business are less likely to be browsing your ‘About Us’ page. On the other hand, this is often the first place that a new visitor will go to get an idea of what your business is and what you do. You should, therefore, write your ‘About Us’ page primarily with this audience in mind, and not assume any prior knowledge on the part of the reader.
These days, consumers like to know the businesses that they are dealing with on a more personal level. Consumers are also much more aware of the ethos and morals that the businesses they espouse. Whether it be environmental or a concern for the rights of workers, showing that you care about issues like these can land you business that you would otherwise miss out on.
Demonstrate Why Your Business Is Unique
Every business should have a unique selling point or USP. This is the unique factor that your business has that your competitors can’t match. Your USP can be just about anything, or it can be a combination of different things. Your USP should be front and center of your ‘About Us’ page. A new visitor should be able to read over what you write and immediately know what it is that makes your business special.
Every business has a unique history, so tell your audience about this. You can then explain to them how your history and that of your business have led you to where you are today. Taking this approach will make your words much more engaging than if you simply present your business as it exists today, with no context or history.
Include A Value Proposition
Once you have defined your business’s unique selling point, you can then use your ‘About Us’ page to draw attention to it. For example, if your business’s unique selling point is how you source the raw materials to make your products from, explain to your audience exactly what that source is and why you have chosen it for your business.
If you are having difficulty in coming up with a unique value proposition that you can present to your audience, this is something that is worth discussing with your digital marketers. For many businesses, their unique value proposition is easy to identify because it is at the core of their business and has been since they started operating. However, it is perfectly possible to create a new value proposition when you can’t identify an existing one.
Include Some Photos
Having visual aids to break up your text doesn’t just make it more digestible for a reader – it also gives your business’s story a more personal touch. For example, when you are discussing the origins of your business and who you are, having a photo so that readers can put a face to the name will, literally, give your business a more human face.
Our eyes are naturally drawn to images, especially faces. When a user opens your ‘About Us’ page, you don’t want them to be put off by a wall of bland, uninteresting text. Including just a few images of you and other members of your team will make the reader more curious and more likely to read what you have to say.
Spin A Story For Your Brand
Instead of just recounting the history of your business as a sequence of events, try to write it with some kind of narrative structure. Remember, the history and story of your brand are unique to your business; no one else has this exact same story to tell. It is therefore important that you tell it in the right way.
Storytelling gives you the opportunity to solidify your brand values in the minds of your audience and to breathe some life into what would otherwise be little more than a list of things that have happened.
The language that you use can also convey your personality to the reader. For example, if your business sells arts and crafts supplies, then you should use a more relaxed and informal language than you would if your business provided legal services, which demand a more serious approach.
Provide A Peek Behind The Curtain
Consumers have come to expect a degree of transparency from the businesses that they used. Most people, especially those who go to great lengths to ensure that they are shopping ethically, will want to be able to trace the journey that a product makes to get into their hands. Your ‘About Us’ page is the perfect place to introduce them to your suppliers and to the steps that you are taking to ensure that your business is contributing positively to the marketplace.
As well as including photos of your key members of staff, it is also a good idea to include photos that show the actual space that you all work in. Giving your readers a little peek out back in your store, for example, will make your ‘About Us’ page seem more friendly and inviting.
With those tips in mind, you should have no trouble writing an engaging and effective About Us page. If you do it right, your ‘About Us’ page will help to increase conversions and make your business more appealing.
