Pop quiz: what’s the most boring page on your website?
Did you answer, “About Us?” If so, you’re in the same boat as a lot of small business owners. After all, it’s easy to post a quick bio and an old staff photo — and then forget about it.
But this neglected page is one of the most powerful marketing and customer engagement tools you have. Your company’s About page should build confidence in your brand and tell visitors everything they need to know about your team’s mission.
The bottom line is that you need to put as much effort into this page as you do all the others on your website. A stellar About page can be the difference between a customer purchasing your product or service or heading to a competitor’s website.
Convinced? Good. Let’s make your About page sparkle with these 10 must-have components.
10 Must-Haves for Your Company’s About Page
Your Mission
Entrepreneur magazine defines a mission statement as, “what an organization is, why it exists, its reason for being.” One idea we’d propose adding: it has nothing to do with revenue.
A mission statement allows you to radiate your passion about why you do what you do, how it helps the world, and the lengths your company will go to in order to align your product or service with your values.
Tip: Check out these inspiring examples of mission statements.
Your Story
An infographic is a terrific way to share the story of your journey from big idea to milestones to the present day while respecting the reader’s time.
Include details about customers and key employees along the way who changed the company’s direction or influenced new product development. Moz included a sincere “thank you” to their customers” who made their success possible.
Your Team
To make your company seem like it’s actually run by humans and not automated messages, include a section about the team. Here you could include a photo of each employee — preferably relaxed and smiling rather than posed and serious — their title, and a brief bio that covers both their job description and personal facts. Once again, Moz does a great job of this.
Your Endorsements and Reviews
Sharing how others feel about your company signals that you have a strong commitment to building relationships and are not just about amassing a huge customer base.
If you happen to have relationships with a few — or a lot — of industry experts, like FortyOneTwenty, proudly display their brand logos (with permission, of course). Knowing who else trusts and respects your brand often goes a long way with potential customers who drop by your site to learn more about you.
Your Personality
This is one page where you can drop the professional jargon and just write casually. And don’t be afraid to use images to express your style — or cartoons of the team!
High-energy brands can use unique colors and scrolling techniques to showcase their personality, whereas a more conservative company may opt for stationary elements and more traditional color tones and hues.
Your Contact Info
There’s no faster way to alienate people than to make it hard for them to contact you. Up-to-date contact information heightens trust and provides a way for current and prospective customers to reach out to your business with questions.
Include phone numbers, chat widgets, secure email forms, and your physical address — with an embedded map of your location so people can click on it and immediately get directions.
Your Social Media Handles
Whether you position the links above or below the fold is not nearly as important as making sure that you can be found on the top social media sites quickly. Make is easy for people to interact with your brand where they feel most comfortable.
Learn How to Grow Your Small Business Through Social Media
Your Content
Clear, concise, and easy-to-understand content is vital on every business page. Fifty carefully chosen words can do more to build confidence and trust than three paragraphs filled with rambling industry jargon.
Keep your written text short, professional, and value-packed. Be sure to arrange text around plenty of white space for mobile visitors and break up the content with visual components.
Your Visual Texture
The digital age is all about visual elements. Photos, infographics, short videos, and other images capture a visitor’s attention faster and make it easier to digest a lot of information in a short time.
In fact, an image can evoke strong emotions that solidify relationships and drive customer engagement more effectively than just text.
Apptopia is a good example of a brand that includes most of these ten points on their “About” page — notice their incredibly succinct eight-word mission statement at the top.
Your Trust Badges
Build confidence with trust badges, which are visual insignia that let website visitors know that your site is secure. MonetizePros reports that nearly 61 percent of survey participants said they have decided not to purchase a product because it was missing a trust seal.