Five Go~lden Rings!
It’s Day 5 of the 12 Days of Branding. If you missed any of the series thus far, you can find them here. In today’s installment we look at 5 creative examples of how to tell your brand story.
One of the easiest places to tell your story is the About Page on your site (here’s mine).
In fact, that’s probably one of THE most visited places for all websites. Check your analytics and let me know. The point is — are you using that page to your advantage?
Critical Pieces of Your About Page
Visitors look for these three key items when they want to know more about you or your business. These are the questions your About page should address:
- Who are you? The company history / Personal background
- What value do you provide to your clients? Brief introduction to your services and products and their benefits
- Why should I trust you? Mission/Vision/Values statements; social proof and other credentials
Not all About Us pages provide exactly the same types of information. Yours needs to be tailored to your ideal client’s needs and interests.
Start by putting yourself in your ideal customer’s shoes. What questions will they have about you and your business? But don’t focus solely on who you are.
You also need to have a message that helps your visitor identify themselves as your ideal customer and say, “Yes! I’m in the right place!”
Next, try to think outside the norm for how to tell your story. Here are five great examples to get your creative juices flowing (hint: click on the subtitles to visit the sites for the full experience).
WhitehousePost.com
Video, audio, animated slide shows…the options are literally endless. Don’t limit yourself just to text.
If you don’t have the skills to do something like this yourself, consider creating a slideshow using a tool like Animoto. (These tools have free options and will give you some embed code to add to your site.)
AbbyKerrInk.com
Let your “voice” — and your personality — come through your text.
AbbyKerrInk.com – Speak in a human “voice”
Be sure to include at least one photo — but make sure it shows your personality. Don’t opt for a boring headshot. Even those who market to corporations can (and should!) express themselves.
FluentSelf.com
Give folks an entire “tour” of who you are and what they can expect to experience while they visit.
FluentSelf.com – Give visitors a taste of your site’s experiences
Introduce other team members, too. Even if it’s just a mascot or other recurring character — this will help newbies get to know you (and your content) faster.
TechnologyWithPassion.com
Show ’em your skills!
TechnologyWithPassion.com – Incorporate a demo while you tell your story
If what you do is creative or technical, give visitors a demonstration. It’s the quickest way to knock their socks off.
PigoftheMonth.com
Share stories or vignettes to connect visitors with your history.
PigoftheMonth.com – Tell visitors real life stories
Stories are the BEST way to capture your prospects’ attention (when they’re good ones). If you’ve got a compelling back story, share it!
Want more About Page help? Check out this post.
More From Story Bistro:
Expressing Brand Values: 3 Case Studies
Create a Truly Memorable Brand Story: 8 Tips to Help You Get the Most Impact
Turbo-Boost Your Brand using Social Media (+ 4 Unique Ways to be Human)
11 Tips for Making Your Brand a Word-of-Mouth Superstar
10 Quantum Leap Actions to Create a Stand-Out Brand
Collaborations: 12 Ways to Build Your Brand
Designing a Brand that Works: 6 Key Eye-Catching Elements
Very nice! I was just thinking about modifying my own About page to change not only the title (because About is about as boring as it gets), but also shake up the static content. Like most people, I wrote the About page when I set up my blog initially, and then just forgot about it, on the theory that everyone is supposed to have one (why else is there a default About page?) but hardly anyone ever reads them. When you give it even a moment’s thought, however, it’s obvious that a great page about who the author is can create additional interest in the site.