First things first
Your About Us Page is where readers get their first introduction to your company culture, core values, and the people running your business.
We all know the importance of a good first impression.
Right now, as we all face the current global situation, those first impressions matter even more than usual for makers, brands, and businesses as they can make or break a shopper’s decision to buy from you.
That said, it’s important to consider how you are building brand loyalty right now. The impressions you make in the current context will surely impact the way consumers interact with you in the future.
So where do you begin?
For online brands, the first impression usually happens on the About Us page. That’s where readers get their first introduction to your company culture, core values, and the people running your business.
Communicating those messages is crucial because even in a time when it’s possible to do most of your shopping online, customers still want human connections. The “human element,” as it’s called, can add authenticity to your brand and make it more personable. And it should be all over your About Us page.
We’ve all heard the saying, “You only have one chance to make a good first impression.” Studies show your website only has 50 milliseconds to make that impression, and many visitors learn about your company through the About Us page. In fact, a study conducted by KoMarketing found that 52 percent of visitors want to see an About Us page.
If your About page is weak, you could be making a bad first impression with half of your visitors.
Fortunately, creating an unforgettable About Us page is easier than you think. Here are five tips to help you write a compelling page that will help you leave a strong first impression with your visitors.
If you’ve ever read a comic book or watched a movie based on one, you know that people love a good origin story. Capitalize on that curiosity by telling the origin story of your company.
You can cover the 5 Ws and the H:
Popular marketing platform Mailchimp tells a great story in their About Us page that gives readers insight into what the company set out to accomplish.
Mailchimp goes on to explain:
Also, the featured photo at the top is a nice touch for letting prospective customers know that Mailchimp’s services aren’t aimed at corporate clients, but rather individuals and small business owners.
There might be a few companies that offer similar services as your brand, but guess what? They aren’t your company.
Think about what makes you different from your competition. Maybe it’s something about your product, the kinds of people who make up your company (or that you serve), or maybe you offer a truly unique service that others don’t. Highlight this information in your About Us page to let readers know what it is that makes you special.
Here’s an example from the search engine company DuckDuckGo.
DuckDuckGo has some big competition: They have to compete with Google and, to a lesser extent, Bing. Notice how they don’t position themselves as just another search engine. Instead, they let the reader know they’re the search engine for people concerned with privacy.
A good About Us page needs to be visually appealing. Not only do images grab a reader’s attention, they can also boost your SEO and improve conversion rates. In a report by Social Media Examiner, 32 percent of marketing professionals admitted images were their business’ most important content.
Canva, a graphic designing platform for making branded content, does a great job of integrating pictures into their About Us page.
There are two reasons why Canva crushed it with their use of images:
Talk about a double whammy.
Your About Us page might be about your company, but it’s really there to serve your customers. The story there shouldn’t focus on your company, but rather how it exists to improve the lives of your target audience.
Take Nike, for example. Nike’s About Us page tells the company’s story while also appealing to the customer’s needs. You see their mission statement at the very top of the page: to empower literally everyone.
From there, we learn more about Nike’s goals and core values, but everything is filtered through the lens of the consumer and a conversation about how Nike is committed to driving innovation to better suit the needs of its customers.
So, you’ve got a compelling About Us page that ticks all the key boxes. It does things like:
Now it’s time to put a ribbon on it by adding a call-to-action (CTA).
It doesn’t have to be anything over the top. It can be simple, like the CTA at the end of Slack’s About Us page inviting visitors to try Slack for free.
This About page is the perfect opportunity to begin the customer journey. You’ve just introduced your brand, now it’s time to see who’s interested in your product or services. If you don’t want to make a hard sell, try inviting visitors to subscribe to a mailing list instead.
Bottom line: Don’t leave your visitors stranded on your About Us page. Give them a path to keep moving around on your site and/or to take further action.
One of the reasons why a compelling About Us page is so crucial is because it showcases the personality of you and your team, what you stand for, and what you plan to achieve.
Like a good first impression, visitors remember a good About Us page that makes your brand stand out from the rest of the competition. It also makes your company more personable, which is important for building brand loyalty that can carry your business into the future.
Don’t rush the creative process when it comes to this page, and remember to let it evolve over time as your brand changes with time. Remember, much like growing a great brand, an About page is not a one-and-done.
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