A company is more than the products or services it offers. It’s more than the profit margins, the hours of operation or the brick-and-mortar store. A company is more than all these things – it’s built from passion, designed through careful (and sometimes not-so careful) planning, and molded from challenges.

So, why don’t more businesses tell that side of their story online?

 The “About” page of a website can sometimes seem like a throwaway element. “Why does my customer need to know about my company? If they’re already here, they know what we sell, and that should be enough.”

Sure, they might know what your company sells, but that might not be the deciding factor. More than likely, there are hundreds of other businesses they could support instead, so give them a reason to choose you. Let’s check out some key numbers regarding brand awareness and customer retention:
• 81% of consumers need to trust the company before they purchase the company’s products.
• 77% of consumers buy from brands who they share the same values with.
• 64% of consumers would either boycott or make purchases from a company because of their stance on social or political issues.

Trust and values are two of the power words that companies should be paying attention to, and while it may seem difficult to integrate, the “About” page of a website is the best place. Keep reading to learn some tips to take your “About” page from just OK to memorable.

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 Five W’s and One H

Remember that writing exercise from elementary school where you had to outline a story using the five W’s (and oftentimes one H)? It may seem a little rudimentary, but it’s actually a great way to outline your company’s story.

Trust and values are two of the power words that companies should be paying attention to, and while it may seem difficult to integrate, the “About” page of a website is the best place. Keep reading to learn some tips to take your “About” page from just OK to memorable.

First, let’s review what exactly these elements are:

W – Who: This is where you talk about the important people. Think the founder, CEO and current team members.

W – What: “What” can be very open-ended, but in this case, we’re talking about the products and services your company offers. While you don’t have to list everything, even mentioning a couple of your top sellers will have a positive impact.

W – Where: “Where” has anything and everything to do with location, both past and current. Did the company start out of the founder’s garage and has now expanded to 5 locations across the state? These location details are a small but necessary element to your website.

W – When: Like other parts, this has a couple main elements, No. 1 being how long the company has been up and running, and No. 2 being the hours of operation.

W – Why: As we dive into the nitty-gritty, ask yourself: “Why did I start this company?” It’s just one question but will provide a springboard to the brand’s mission and how to connect to your customers.

H – How: So, we know what the company does, but how does it do it? You don’t have to give away all your trade secrets – it can be as simple as using the highest quality materials or hiring those who are knowledgeable in your field.

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Tell Your Story

Once you have your outline and main points down, it’s time to write a rough draft. Now, we recommend thinking about these elements in a different way. You aren’t writing website content; you’re writing a story.

With that in mind, there are a couple elements you need to identify utilizing your outline:

Opening Scene: Take your reader back to the very beginning – even before your company was founded. What was the founder doing at the time?

Problem & Solution: This is relatively easy – what problem did your fearless leader identify and how does your company offer the best solution on the market?

What Comes Next?: This can go a couple different directions – you can either write something general like “Our company is proud to utilize cutting-edge technology and is looking forward to creating new and innovative solutions” or say something you plan on doing in the near future, such as “We’ve expanded plenty in the last year, and our goal is to make our company a household name from Idaho to Arkansas.” These statements are useful to wrap up your content without overwhelming the audience.

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Let’s Write!

Finally, we’re onto the last step – writing the content. Hopefully, the exercises above will make this easier, but we also know that writing takes time. Here at Impact Marketing, our copywriting team can help you put your ideas into words while keeping in line with your current brand. Leave the writing to the experts – give us a call at 319-232-4332.

 

Sources:

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/branding-statistics

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/05/27/guide-to-about-us-pages

https://www.shopify.com/blog/how-to-write-an-about-us-page