How to Write a Killer ‘About Us’ Section

How to Write a Killer ‘About Us’ Section

We’re not very good at bragging, us Brits. If someone compliments us on our hair, we’re more likely to reply with, ‘oh I haven’t washed it for days’, than ‘thank you’, and on the rare occasions that we do discuss our achievements, we tend to temper them with self-deprecation. But what works for you, will not work for your company, and if there’s one place to go against your instincts, it’s your ‘about us’ section. Your ‘about us’ section is your place to promote. It’s your virtual trophy cabinet, your wall-of-fame, and the one place where you can tell your customers exactly why you’re so fantastic. With that in mind, however, you don’t want to bore your visitor, and the difference between a good ‘about us’ section and a terrible one can be small. So, here are our three tips for making your promotional page a successful one:

Avoid the historical timeline
Your ‘about us’ should be fun, useful and informative, and ideally less than 500 words. Yes, it needs to include a little factual information (an old founding date connotes heritage; a local operating area suggests a more tailored service), but unless it’s completely relevant for a brand to indulge in a historical timeline (exceptions can be made perhaps for breweries, banks and train museums), then it’s probably best to avoid it. If they’ve wandered into your ‘about us’ section (and trust us, this is rare in our click-happy age), then your brand has piqued their interest and they want to know more. Your job is to inform, impress and entertain, so tell them how many awards you’ve won, include a funny anecdote, and make sure they leave with the information they came for.

Don’t break with character
If you’ve ever worked with a marketing or branding agency then you’ve probably heard the phrase ‘tone-of-voice’ bandied around. You see, it’s not just typeface, colour palette and illustrative style that make a brand, it’s also rhetoric, vocabulary and diction. A super-good-for-you smoothie company, for example, might want to have a chatty and informal tone-of-voice (eating well is seen as the gateway to youth), whereas a luxury car brand will prefer to be a little more serious, a little more exclusive, in the way that they speak. If you haven’t discussed your tone-of-voice with a marketing agency yet (hello!), then have a good think about the kind of company you are. Your words should always reflect your brand’s values and ideals, so before you launch into a Uber-serious tribute to what your founder Sir Henry achieved in 1829, make sure that you’re not going to alienate your under-25 demographic, who look to you for the latest clothing trends.

Don’t write it at all
If content is King, then video content is the Supreme Leader. If the success of visual platforms such as YouTube and Instagram didn’t make it clear enough, then let’s just say that videos are having a moment. According to WordStream, internet users spend 88% more time on a website with a video than a website without, and this phenomenon is only on the rise. Making a brand video to take the place of a written ‘about us’ section allows you express your company values using a whole host of different techniques. The music you choose, the script you write and the locations you shoot in will all build up a brand feeling in the viewer, and enable you to be much more expansive with the information you convey. And if you need proof that we believe in the power of this medium, then just check out our own self-promotional work (hint: we used a video).