Without a doubt an About Us page is the hardest one to write on a website. However, it’s also one of the most important.
Chances are you don’t want to come off sounding like a pompous, self-absorbed ass + you want to sound credible + relatable.
It’s a tricky balancing act but, given that statistics say it will be the second most commonly visited page on your website after your home page, it’s important that you hit the mark with it.
What do people really want to know about you on your About Us page?
First of all, they don’t actually want to know about you at all.
They want to know how you can help them and they want to know that you are the right person to do it.
Your about us page is a little like a job interview but the kicker is that you don’t get to do it face to face.
However, kicking off your about us page with a video is a really good way to bring personality to your words. For our client Nat Knight, who’s a photographer, we created an about page that uses video as the perfect medium for her to introduce herself.
However, even with a video as your opener you still need to come up with a script.
So, how do we mesh our knowledge and professionalism with our personality and passion without coming off cheesy or un-relatable?
Your about us page needs to start with reassurance that ‘you’ve got this’ for your potential client. After letting them know how you can help they want to know how you are qualified to help? What is it that makes you credible? Why are you the right person?
Ditch the fluffy, filler adjectives and keep your about us page clear and to the point.
You can rest assured that a string of letters after your name or prizes and accolades are not necessarily what your prospective client or reader are looking for. What they really want to know is that you understand their problem and have the skills and experience to help them.
This bio is great example of what you want to hear when you are looking for someone with their specific skills and record! A lot of history and credibility + a little bit of personal…it doesn’t even say he’s an LLB!
Hang on…
MBA BEng CPA PhD DipT WTF? Do you need your letters on your About Us page?
At this point a story, anecdote or short case study is going to blow all the formal accreditations in the world out of the water. All people really want to know is how you can solve their problems for them and what experience you have in solving the same problems for other people.
How many years you’ve spent slaving over the books and sweating in an exam room, they don’t care so much about that. Yes, accreditation and qualification are important here but experience and proven results even more so. That’s the important element to convey.
First establish you have the track record to help your prospective client solve their problem. Next, give them an idea about whether they’ll find you relatable and easy to get along with.
If your business it new or has a small team be honest about it.
Never ever, ever,ever, ever, ever use stock photos in place of the real people who work in your business. EVER.
Did I say ever?
It’s obvious and, honestly, nothing is a bigger turn off. People want to know what the real people who work in your business look like.
They also want to know what footy team you barrack for…or if you really don’t like footy at all.
Besides understanding how a business or person can help your audience also want to know at least a little about you, personally.
Social media guru Brian Solis mused that as we become more digital we expect people to be more human online. It’s an important point to keep in mind whenever you are writing on the internet. Especially when it comes to writing about yourself.
Perfect example of this…as a runner, if I ever decided to engage the services of a physiotherapist I want to know that they are also a runner. I’d also want to know, that they were female (because we actually aren’t anything like the same as men when it comes to running) and I’d probably prefer them to have given birth too. Because…runners problems.
It’s important to know that the people we are engaging to help us are like us and understand our problems.
Irrespective of what service a business is providing we are going to feel a much stronger connection to them if we know a little about them as a person too.
Ask yourself, what are those important random facts about you? The first few things that come to mind when you are introducing yourself. Take the human aspect one step further and turn this idea on the head, what are the first few things that you would really like to know about someone when you meet them.
Use these elements to build in humanness to your About Us page.
Tell the story of why you decided to become a family lawyer or bookkeeping genius or relationship expert. Whatever.
Let people know that you love a quiet glass of red on the weekend over nice juicy steak or that you’ve taken up pole dancing as an athletic pursuit or that shoes are your total weakness and you have more pairs than days in the week. Whatever.
Tell people that you love to travel to the far flung corners of the globe, eat deep fried insects and go skydiving every chance that you get. Whatever.
This is the stuff that people want to know about you. For real, because it makes you real.
Adding in a few facts like this are essential to building an instant connection with people who visit your website. Honestly, revealing this side of yourself is the big thing that will set you apart from all the other professionals in your field who are sticking with their resume-esque, bragging heavy bio and groomed-and-photoshopped-to-within-an-inch-of-their-life photos.
Pinky swear it.
Last but not least, now that it’s written don’t leave it alone for the next five years before revisiting it again. Check in with people to see what understanding and ‘vibe’ they get about you, your team and your business from your about us page. Tweak it baby, tweak it.
How do you feel about your about us page? Does it feel a little stiff and out dated or do you feel like it paints your business exactly the way you want it to be seen?
Need a little help to bring it into 2016?
Click here to get in touch to find out exactly how we can help!
