When people visit your company’s website, one of the first places they’re instinctively drawn to is the ‘About Us’ page. Visitors want a quick guide on who you are, what you do, and the qualities that make up your team. The ‘About Us’ page is relevant in educating consumers about your business’ brand and services as well as helping to establish your reputation and personality. The following three tactics will help you create an engaging and successful first impression with your audience.
1. Start Your Story Right
Visitors are most likely going to skim your content for words that resonate with them. Tweet This You want to make your story as engaging as possible so they slow down and connect with your brand. Start with a hook that is empathetic to the audience, such as presenting a problem your audience has. This allows you to navigate them towards what your company provides and how it will solve their problem. The key here is to establish a personal connection, and speak to your audience in a direct way.
As you are explaining your company and how it will solve their problem, you also need to establish your company’s relevance and credibility. You can do this by:
- Explaining your history
- Asserting your companies credibility in the industry
- Showcasing customer testimonials
- Blending in the benefits of the products and services you offer
Make sure your ‘About Us’ description is not too sales orientated as this can be off putting. Always be truthful and authentic so you can connect with your audience on a personal level.
2. The Personal Touch
Your “About Us” page is more often the most casual page of a website in terms of revealing the more personable side of your business. You want to maintain professionalism, but you want to portray an authenticity, personality and approachability. You want the visitor to feel reassured and comfortable about doing business with you. The About Us page provides the human touch and acts as an important bridge and connection for the customer to take the next step of doing business with you.
3. Engage Your Audience
You need to inject some of your brand personality into your story. Tweet ThisTry these four tactics to make your story more engaging:
- Explain Why. When you want to keep it simple, give website visitors a reason to trust your business and use your services. Prove to your audience that what you do is better than other companies in the same market.
- Use Humor. If it works for your business, try adding little traces of humor here and there. It adds a personal touch and will help keep your audience engaged.
- Get Your Audience Emotional. You don’t need to tug vigorously on their heartstrings, but the goal here is to humanize your business and show some personality. Use a combination of telling them who you are on a personal level to validate your claims as to why they need to choose your business. When you combine personal experiences with solid proof of why your company is better, visitors will respond emotionally and convert into customers.
- The images on your About Us page should be professional but personally revealing at the same time. They will be highly influential in the first impression that the visitor will make of your business.
4. The Importance of Images
Images are a very important element of an About Us page because they offer visitors a very personal window into the company. It is important to add a personal touch here through photographs of company staff, your office and other elements that make up your identity.
The goal is to be professional but personal at the same time. If you are too professional you can present a very cold and sterile persona, but if you are too personal you can come across as too relaxed and casual. Finding the right balance is the key to your About Us page images.
Your About Us page is almost always the first place someone will go to introduce and familiarize themselves with your business. So you need to approach this page in the same way you would an introductory meeting with a client – you need to be warm and welcoming, you need to look good and communicate well, and you need to be engaging, credible and reassuring. The About Us page is so important I have ranked it as number 4 in my report on the Essentials of a Successful Web Page Design.