In the last blog post, we learned that the About page is not going away any time soon. ?So, now what do you do? Well, we hope to help you with that! This post will go into more detail about what to include on your About page.
What should be on the page?
There are many things you can include on an about page. The items listed below are absolute necessities.
A mission statement
Many businesses already have a mission statement. If you do, you should review it to make sure that it is ready to be published on your site. If you don?t already have one, you should definitely create one.
We mentioned in the last post that your About page should talk about a problem and solution in the content. This is especially true for the mission statement; your mission statement should find a way to convey the solution your company provides in a small number of words.
Real, live people
The mission statement and other content have hopefully peaked your visitor?s interest. But, in order to turn them from a visitor to a customer, you need to let them get to know the faces of the company. The more we advance in technology, the less personal things seem and the easier it is for visitors to forget that there are real people behind a website. It is your job to remind them.
Show pictures of your staff. And not just headshots. If you have any, show a picture or two of events or of people doing their actual work. Visitors respond well to the ?behind the scenes? images.
And don?t forget to talk about yourself and your team! This is your About Us page after all! The rest of your site will be dedicated to your services or products. This page is all about you. Let them know who you are!
This has an advantage for your conversions too! It is easy to say no to a block of words, whereas people get much more invested when they see real people. Show some personality!
A balance between fun and business
For most companies, this is the one page where you can be fun and quirky. Instead of staff bios that simply list off job responsibilities, they can include hobbies and other interesting facts about the person.
On the other hand, you also have to remember that visitors are here to learn more about the actual company. So although it is okay to get carried away with the fun side of showing your company and the people behind it, don?t forget to talk a bit about what the company actually does.
A call to action
An overwhelming percentage of About pages do not include a CTA (call to action). This is astounding. Would you go to a sales meeting, pitch your company and then not try to close? Would you tell them all about what you do and why it would be good for them and then say goodbye and leave? Of course not! So, why make the effort to tell your visitors all about your company without providing them any direction on what to do next?
If you have done a good job creating your About page, then you have probably gotten your visitor?s attention. Make the most of it by giving them an action to take. If they have to search for a way to contact you or schedule a consultation or whatever it is that you want them to do, they might lose excitement by the time they find it.
So instead, provide them with buttons or forms directly on the About page that tell them how to interact with your company. This can be the deciding factor that turns site traffic into actual sales.
Other (optional) elements
Depending on the type of company, there are variations and additional things that can be included. For instance, if your company has been around for a long time, it may be worthwhile to share the company history and perhaps even an actual timeline.
Companies focused on social improvement (whether non- or for-profit) might have more than just a mission statement. They might have a Vision Statement or a Promise Statement and more.
If your company has had a lot of positive press or awards, the About page might be a good place to showcase these. You can also include testimonials that customers have left that really touch on your purpose and the experience you want your customers to remember.
Depending on your purpose, there might be other details you want to include on your site that don?t quite fit into other places. The About page might be a good place to discuss your business model or show actual numbers that paint the picture of your company.
What now?
Now that your page is done, just sit back and watch it convert. You can even use it in your Sales emails. If someone wants to learn more about your brand, simply send them the link directly to your About page and let the magic happen!
At this point in the series, you should have all the tools necessary to build a beautiful site with great content. There is one thing left to talk about. Join us next time for a quick overview on some of the methods for marketing your new site.