By Myrna Vaca
The “About Us” page on your website provides a great way to give your potential customers the lowdown on why they should be doing business with you and to remind your current customers why they are purchasing your products and services. Unfortunately, some companies pass up this golden opportunity to tell the world how great they are.
Other than your home page, “About Us” is probably the most widely read section of your website. Visitors go there to find out more about your company and to decide if they want to continue searching your website for additional information. Don’t disappoint them.
Tell Your Tale
Your initial goal in creating your “About Us” page should be to grab the visitors’ attention and encourage them to stay a while. The story you tell should be interesting and well-written; if you’re not a writer, consider hiring one to turn your thoughts into a literary masterpiece – or at least into an engaging narrative.
Here are some ways to give people some insight into who you are and why they should trust you enough to do business with you. This is especially important for online stores because your customers don’t see you face-to-face.
- Include a short bio about your background, education, experience and credentials, along with a photograph of yourself. If you have employees, include information and photos to introduce them to your potential customers as well.
- Offer information concerning the products and services you provide.
- Put together a statement that tells your potential customers what sets you apart from your competition.
- Explain how and why you started the business.
- If there’s an interesting story about the products you sell, tell it. And don’t be afraid or too humble to tell people about what motivates you. Tell them why you can’t wait to wake up every morning and get to work.
- Do you have a vision for your business? If you do, tell your potential customers about your dreams and where you’d like the company to be in a decade or so.
Spreading the Word
There should be other important information on your “About Us” page besides your personal story and the story of your business. Here are some other important details for you to include.
- Testimonials – These will help you establish credibility. Your satisfied customers are your best advertising.
- Awards – If you’ve been cited by a professional or community organization, tell people about it.
- Media coverage – If the local newspaper or an online magazine has published a story about you or your business, provide a link on your “About Us” page.
- Press releases – If you aren’t a writer, hire one to put together press releases about your business. You can send them to print and online publications, and you should have them available on your site as well.
- Newsletter – If you don’t have a newsletter that you send to customers and potential customers on a regular basis, maybe you should consider establishing one. The “About Us” page is a good place for a link that allows visitors to sign up for the newsletter.
- Blogs – If you or your employees are blogging about your products or services, it’s a good idea to provide a link from your “About Us” page.
- Social media – Make it easy for people to interact with you with links to your Facebook page and other social media platforms.
- Picture this – Photos are great, but only if they are of real people and places.
Consider Your Customers
Now that you’ve put together all the important information about you and your business, you should dedicate some of the space on the “About Us” page to your customers and those that you hope will someday be your customers.
- Facts are important – Boast about it if you know that your products are shipped on time 100 percent of the time and that you ship the right product 99.5 percent of the time.
- But don’t make stuff up – If you don’t have statistics that make your business look reliable, don’t fabricate them. Instead, explain what your goals are and how you intend to meet them.
- Congratulate yourself – Tell your potential customers about the important certifications you’ve earned and awards you’ve won. You’ll have to decide which ones are important and which ones aren’t.
Your “About Us” page can serve as a great marketing tool, but just because you’re happy with the page you create today doesn’t mean you should be satisfied with it tomorrow. You should continually update the page, especially when you enhance your education or experience, obtain major customers or gain a foothold in new markets.
