9 Ways to Create the Perfect About Page
The ‘About Page’ of your website holds so much potential.
It’s the one page on your site that you can dedicate to brand positioning. You can establish a personality that people will remember and want to follow, and even make some conversions while you’re at it.
Despite these benefits, many brand websites don’t even have an About Page. Quite often the ones that do are essentially left neglected. They might feature one main picture and one or two dry, descriptive lines about the company, and that’s it. No call to actions, no storytelling, no personality—the definition of a wasted opportunity.
By simply having an About Page you’ll set yourself apart from many brand websites. And by putting the time and effort into making it good, you’ll be head and shoulders above the rest.
Read on to find out how you can make the most of your website’s About Page.
1. Use the Right Tone of Voice
The About Page is one of the best places on your site to really let your brand personality shine and establish your brand voice. Knowing the right tone of voice to use begins with knowing your customers—or potential customers. What do they expect from a company in your area of business?
You always want your voice to be warm and approachable, but whether you go more casual or formal will be dependent on your niche. Get it wrong, and you lose potential customers. Startups can afford to be more relaxed, but customers probably won’t respond well to a lawyer or realtor who uses a lot of slang. Similarly, you should take into account demographics. Baby boomers won’t respond well if you speak to them like they’re millennials.
Be straightforward and welcoming. Whatever the case may be, always try to avoid jargon and complicated words, and use supportive, direct language when you can. Everyday people should be able to understand what you’re saying, not just fellow professionals in your industry.
An easy way to affect a supportive tone is to use first-person voice over third-person when referring to your brand. This means using “I” or “we” instead of “This company”. Similarly, when addressing your audience you should use second-person over third-person, so “you” over “customers”. Address them directly. Using second-person makes your copy more personal, while third-person comes across as a lot more aloof.
Once you’ve established your tone of voice, it needs to be consistent across your site and communication channels. Consistency leads to memorability. If you get your brand voice right, your audience will come to recognize it over time. Your About Page is the perfect place to introduce it.
2. Tell a Story
People love a good story. Storytelling is how people relate to each other and the world. Through crafting a compelling story that conveys your brand’s core beliefs and values, you’ll establish an emotional connection with your customers. They’ll better understand what you’re about. It’s also a great way of making your brand stand out among competitors with similar products and prices.
A study by Harvard Business Review found that customers with an emotional connection to a brand are actually twice as valuable than highly satisfied customers. In the long run, emotionally-connected customers will buy more of your products and services while being less sensitive when it comes to price.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? But what exactly does a compelling brand story look like? Maybe you have a product or service that doesn’t exactly inspire emotional resonance at first glance.
That’s okay. You might tap into another aspect of your company that will resonate with people.
Let’s say you run a small business that makes garden shovels. Not very exciting, right? But maybe you’re dedicated to using only eco-friendly, recycled materials. Perhaps you do a lot of work with local community gardens, or you donate equipment to schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods. These are all factors that make for a resonant story. Whatever your niche, if you approach it in the right way, you’ll find a way to make your brand stand out from the rest.
Take WP Standard, for example.
The company makes leather accessories, and their love and respect for the craft becomes abundantly clear as soon as you hit the About Page. It features a compelling narrative about how its founder Ryan Barr discovered his passion, which is cleverly weaved into a brief primer on the act of leathercraft, drawing unexpected but evocative parallels between his life and the process. In just a few richly drawn paragraphs the reader has a good idea of what the company does, why, and its core values.
Much like with tone of voice, your brand story goes far beyond the About Page. It should inform everything from the content you produce to what your post on social media.
3. Remember that It’s Not Really About You
That might seem a little contradictory, but it’s the truth. Yes, this is the page that is about you or your business. But it isn’t an excuse to brag. You need to approach your story in such a way that it illuminates the benefits you offer to your potential customer. Focus on their needs. Always ask yourself: what’s in it for them?
Similar to what we discussed in our post on what makes a good homepage (link), you need to illustrate your unique selling proposition (USP). This is what makes you stand out from your competitors. Only this time it will be incorporated in your brand story.
The Moz About Page does this really well. It strikes a balance between explaining who they are and what they’re about while placing the customer front and center.
4. Back Up Your Claims
If you’re already an established company, chances are you’ll have some data at your disposal to add credibility to your About Page. Customer testimonials are especially great for this. If there’s one thing people trust, it’s recommendations from real people. Any press mentions or awards will also help boost the prestige of your brand.
It’s important not to clutter your page, though. Sprinkle in a percentage, a testimonial or two, or a case study quote to support what you’re saying, but don’t let it distract from the purpose of your page. You can link them to a dedicated testimonials page or specific case study to find out more.
5. Put the Most Important Information Above the Fold
“Above the fold” is the part of a webpage that is viewable to users before they scroll down. By putting the most important and engaging information here, you’ll make sure that users see it. According to the Nielsen Norman Group, web users tend to pay more attention to information placed above the fold. You’ll also increase the likelihood that they actually will scroll down. Anything less pressing can be placed further down the page.
6. Introduce the Team
An About Page can also be a great place to highlight your team. Far more relatable than just featuring information about the company CEO, it will show that you care about all the moving parts that make your company what it is, while also putting human faces to your brand.
Again, it’s best to keep it minimal so as not to clutter up the page. A common team section features candid shots of each employee with their name and title. You could also include a fun photo of the whole team at an offsite event. Many companies also link to their Instagram feed, which will help promote a strong company culture. If you’d like to get more in-depth, you should create a completely separate “Meet the Team” page.
7. Optimize for Conversions
It’s a wasted opportunity if you’re not encouraging users to take some kind of action. For an About Page, it’s probably best not to make a hard sell, since they may still in the “getting to know you” stage. As such, it’s a great place to ask users to sign up for your newsletter. Email newsletters provide a great opportunity to nurture leads and eventually turn them into loyal customers.
Reel them in with a visible opt-in form and an irresistible call-to-action, ideally placed somewhere above the fold.
Learn more about launching a successful email marketing campaign in our email marketing 101 guide.
8. Optimize it for SEO
Every page on your website is an opportunity for getting your site found on organic search. Your About Page is no exception. At the very least you should be doing keyword research and deciding on a primary keyword that will be featured in your pages H1 and supporting keywords that will be sprinkled sparingly throughout the rest of the content.
Read our easy small business SEO guide for a more in-depth look at getting started.
9. Check Out Some Great Examples for Inspiration
Where better to draw inspiration than some actual About Pages? Take the time to visit some of your favorite websites and see what their approach is. In the meantime, here are some great examples of About Pages done right.
It’s hard to think that Google really needs an About Page considering the search engine is an everyday go-to for millions of people around the world. But they do, and it’s a good one. They use the space above the fold to immediately hit you with their mission statement:
It’s short and snappy, but it says a lot. It really drives home the fact that you don’t need to write an essay to impart your company values. The remainder of the has other essential About Page features, such as links to company news, information about the company’s culture, and products.
Much like with Google, you’d hardly think that Twitter needs to explain what it is. That doesn’t stop it from hitting you with a mission statement that explains itself way better than you ever could as soon as you hit their About Page.
The rest of the page is made up of a few choice, tweet-like subheads that communicate exactly what the micro-blogging site is all about in just a few keywords.
Online marketplace Etsy has a simple but effective About Page, which outlines its mission and values, information about becoming a seller, information about shopping, and making secure payments. The page is optimized for several kinds of conversions but isn’t obnoxious about it.
Scroll down to the end of the page and you’ll find links to other important pages like company news and careers. The page ends with an invitation to sign up for their newsletter.
Marketing platform Mailchimp manages to manifest an air of brand approachability throughout its About Page. Throughout it emphasizes both the importance of its customers as well as its team and work culture. Even the founder story is extra relatable, beginning with childhood anecdotes from both.
It’s a great example of how to incorporate humanity into your branding.
Conclusion
When it comes down to it, a good About Page should define your brand’s mission and purpose and appealing to your customers’ needs and wants, while maybe even making a conversion or two. It may sound like a tall order, but if you keep it focused, uncluttered, and approachable, your website’s About Page is certain to be effective.
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