Your ‘About Us’ page | Why it matters & where to start
Your 'About Us' page serves as a valuable tool to connect with your audience, build trust, and showcase your brand's personality & expertise.
When discussing your business - its unique selling points, products/services, or values - your passion undoubtedly shines through. However, when it comes to sharing your brand's story and personality, you might find yourself at a loss for words; unable to articulate the simple essence of your brand's identity. But this is what you need to know: one of the primary tabs a website visitor will instinctively click on - right after reaching your homepage - is your 'About Us' page.
Audiences want to know your backstory and journey so that they can understand who you are and why your business exists. This personal touch is the gateway to forging a connection with them.
Despite the looming presence of an online digital world, human interaction remains paramount. People still want to do business with people, which makes an 'About Us' page a powerful avenue in introducing yourself to your audience and extending a warm welcome.
Your 'About Us' page serves as a valuable tool to connect with your audience, build trust, and showcase your brand's personality and expertise. Here’s how to give it the attention it deserves:
#1 Be transparent
Listening to what your mama said - “always be open and honest” - is the key to building credibility and nurturing an ongoing relationship (online and offline). This is where your ‘About Us’ page proves its real value; becoming the space on your website where you get to provide transparent information about your business’ history, team members, achievements, mission and values. Don’t be boastful. Don't stretch the truth. Don’t be self-effacing. Be transparent.
#2 Tell a story
Humans are inherently drawn to stories. An engaging brand story - told through your ‘About Us’ page - is the starting point to humanising your brand's personality and creating an emotional connection with your audience. Share the journey of how it all started, the challenges you faced, and the passion that drives your team. Foster a sense of familiarity and approachability with brief team member bios and photos. By getting personal, you allow visitors to gain insight into the authenticity of your business and bond with your brand.
#3 Showcase your expertise
An effective ‘About Us’ page is exactly the right space to highlight your team's expertise, specialist skills, qualifications and experience in order to instil industry confidence in potential customers. After all, they are not here to make friends. This is a potential professional relationship - often in a competitive market - that needs to be built on competence, value and trust. (Customer testimonials and reviews are a simple way to showcase social proof. Such positive feedback can influence potential customers).
#4 Focus on your target audience
Without a target audience, your days are numbered. An ‘About Us’ page is the best opportunity to establish a meaningful connection with your ideal market. Show that you 'get them' by speaking in a relatable tone, addressing their pain points, and explaining how your products or services can provide solutions or be of benefit to them. Clearly outlining your value proposition with an attention-grabbing headline that is specifically focused on your audience’s needs will go a long way to showing them why they need you in their lives.
#5 Craft an engaging ‘About Us’ page
This is really where the rubber hits the road. The secret to success is designing a page that carefully balances authenticity, storytelling and visual appeal.
Be winsome: Show the human side of your brand by sharing by writing in a conversational tone, avoiding corporate jargon, and sharing relevant anecdotes and personal experiences.
Be interesting: Craft a compelling narrative that will captivate your readers by highlighting the values that drive your brand and how you are making a difference in your industry. (An inspirational case study could work here).
Be confident: There is a place to (humbly) showcase significant (and appropriate) achievements and highlight milestones that you or your company have reached. (This can also include awards, partnerships or community involvement).
Be visual: Incorporate eye-catching photos or videos. Audiences want to ‘see’ who you are and what you are about. Visual content that is engaging and has impact will add another much-needed dimension in conveying your brand’s personality.
Be intentional: End your 'About Us’ page with a clear CTA (call-to-action) to encourage visitors to take the next step; whether it’s contacting you to learn more or exploring your services.
#6 Get your head around SEO
While creativity is essential for your ‘About Us’ page, it's equally crucial to optimise it for search engines. This involves doing keyword research and then naturally and strategically incorporating these relevant keywords throughout your ‘About Us’ page to improve your website's visibility in search results. This would also include optimising the meta tags and URLs as well as including internal links to relevant pages within your website to enhance navigation and streamline the user’s experience.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) remains a dynamic and measurable behind-the-scenes strategy in contributing to your website's overall sustainability and industry longevity.
#7 Optimise for mobile
Accessibility is always under the spotlight when auditing your website. Your ‘About Us’ page display and layout should look just as amazing and be responsive on a smaller screen as it does on a laptop. With the majority of internet users accessing websites on their phones, a mobile-friendly design is essential for reaching a broader audience.
If your page is not optimised for mobile and the way it is structured is clumsy, or the content hard to read, you are likely to frustrate prospective clients. Always take the time in your website design process to refine and simplify your design aesthetic and layout for smaller mobile devices.
Every brand needs a distinctive identity that sets it apart from its competitors and commands attention.
Your brand story is unique, so capitalise on that. Prioritising the ‘About Us’ page as a pivotal part of your overall marketing strategy means you will not run the risk of being a faceless industry player with a weak storyline.
The moral of the story is to never underestimate the power of your ‘About Us’ page. As it shapes people’s image of your brand and is a major deciding factor in their next step, it should not be relegated as a generic afterthought.
If you want your audience to ‘feel’ something, then your ‘About Us' page is where you can make that happen. Sharing the vision and passion you have for your business could very well be the magic touch to connect with audiences all over the world; showing off why you are unique.
