Make Your “About Page” More Awesome Than You Thought You Were.

By CJ Brogan
Marketing & Technology Director | WEST, a WFG Company
cjbrogan@poweredbywest.com

Ah, the ‘About’ page: one of the most important pages on your website, yet also one of the most commonly overlooked. A remarkable ‘About’ page will clearly communicate your unique identity in a compelling way, but that’s much easier said than done.
Often, it’s your ‘About’ page—the page that introduces you to your website visitors, tells them what you do, and builds a rapport that will hopefully turn them into a customer. So, think of your ‘About’ page as speed-dating with a buyer or seller. They’re on the prowl for the right real estate agent and you only have a few short moments to win them over. And that might not be as easy as you think… Consumers are visual, their attention span is short and they don’t want to read a bunch of words. Please, don’t just copy-and-paste your company mission statement onto your page. That might look great to the execs but it doesn’t mean anything to the consumer.

“Often, it’s your ‘About’ page–the page that introduces you to your website visitors, tells them what you do, and builds a rapport that will hopefully turn them into a customer.”

So here are some thoughts for making an ‘About’ page, that makes the consumer want to stick around and get to know you … maybe enough for a second date.

“So, what do you do?”

This is a Real Estate website, so chances are people that end up here know that you list and sell homes. So perhaps you state some key areas that make you stand out, i.e. years in the business, types of homes, area or clients you specialize in. Establish your brand to help identify and attract your ideal clients and find a profitable niche.

Including images and video on your ‘About’ page isn’t just about making it look pretty (though that certainly helps)—it’s about building trust. Doing business on the internet, (and speed dating) is all about trust. Users will be evaluating your page asking: Is this a realtor I can trust to deliver? And one excellent way to build trust with potential customers is by including photos and videos.

Have a video that tells your story. A good rollercoaster ride lasts about 2 minutes and so should your story. Take people on a bit of an emotional journey, incorporate your  ‘Why’, be authentic and real. Tell the story of how your business came into being or some other part of your history that really speaks to what your business is all about.

“One excellent way to build trust with potential customers is by including photos and video on your page. Research shows that pictures of people (as opposed to houses and things) increases user trust.”

Make it more than just a business by identifying and sharing your ‘Why”. What speaks to you? What Cause or Causes are you involved in? This should also be in your video. A portion of every listing closed and you will … what? Show your customers you are making the community a better place, one house at a time.

Some examples and ideas:

Toys for Tots

– throughout the year, run a campaign that for every closed listing, at the end of the year you donate a bike to the Toys for Tots drive.

Animal Rescue

– beds, food or vet care donated to a certain rescue group or shelter.

Child Welfare Centers

– suitcases for children placed into Foster Care so they have a way to transport and keep their belongings.

Homeless

– for every closing a sleeping bag is donated.

Musical in Education

– for every closing donate a musical instrument to local schools music or band program. Continue in that vein and be a sponsor of an end of year concert they perform.

Athletics

– support a struggling youth sports team or program. Team photos displayed on the ‘About’ Page.

There are so many wonderful worthwhile causes to become involved in and if you do, let people know that this is part of who you are and what you do. These end of year campaigns could become media events. And if so, video it and have it play on your ‘About’ page as well.

Your ‘About Me’ video can be repurposed to play on your YouTube channel and Social Media platforms.

“Where have you been all my life?”

You might have a brilliant ‘About’ page, but if users can’t find it then it’s not much use. That means your homepage needs to have a direct link to your ‘About’ page that’s easy to spot. There are two types of hard-to-find ‘About’ pages:

1. Link buried among a bunch of advertisement-like graphics.
2. The link labeled something obscure, like “Info Center.”

It’s this latter issue—giving your page a non-standard name—that poses the biggest threat to the findability of your page. The easiest solution is to simply name the page ‘About’ or “Meet [Realtor Name]” The other option is if you are part of a team, “Meet the Team,” works fine, but less obvious names run the risk of being overlooked.

“So, can I get your number?”

Hallelujah, a user loves your ‘About’ page—then what? Your page needs a call to action. Something for the user to do next. Rarely do I see a call to action option on the ‘About’ page. What a wasted opportunity! This is the perfect place to put contact details. Some websites seem intent on burying contact details in the farthest, cob-webby reaches of their site. It seems to me that, doing so will make your credibility drop fast. Users will start wondering why and what you’re trying to hide. The best speed-dates end with giving out your phone number and so do the best ‘About’ pages! Don’t forget to put your company contact details there so that they can get in touch.

Another option is to have a link to your IDX property search page or Home Valuation page. At this point, you have to decide if you will be using a Gate that will require their contact information. And that in itself is an entirely contested topic in itself!

Re-Cap.  What makes a great ‘About’ page?

Remember these key points:

• Say what your business does in a way that is easy to understand, what makes you different, what makes you, YOU.
• Video and Images show that you’re a legitimate business, and show the real you.
• Be “human,” easy to understand and relatable.
• It needs to be easy to find from the homepage.
• Include a call to action.

Just like speed-dating—you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Here’s hoping that first impression is even more awesome than you thought you were!