This is a piece I wrote while at Twogether. It’s not current – the About Us descriptions have probably changed by now. But the main point is still relevant, I reckon.

Website analytics demonstrate that ‘About Us’ is one of the most frequently visited pages of any site.

Which means that for all the lovely content we might produce as marketers, a lot rides on that old staple of the earliest websites: the page where companies tell us who they are, and what they do.

Or do they? I wondered how effective ‘About Us’ pages are as deliverers of fresh, relevant and valuable information, and did a quick investigation.

Here’s how some of the world’s biggest and best-known tech companies presented themselves on their ‘About Us’ pages back in 2016. See if you can guess who they are and what they do, just from what they say and how they say it:

1. [COMPANY] is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. At [COMPANY] customers come first and an integral part of our DNA is creating long-lasting customer partnerships…
2. We believe the network is the single greatest vehicle for knowledge, collaboration, and human advancement that the world has ever known. Now more than ever, the world relies on high-performance networks. And now more than ever, the world needs network innovation to unleash our full potential.
3. Our vision is to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere — every person, every organization, and every community around the globe. This motivates us — inspires us — to do what we do. To make what we make. To invent, and to reinvent. To engineer experiences that amaze. We won’t stop pushing ahead, because you won’t stop pushing ahead…
4. Making a Better World
   Through innovative, reliable products and services talented people a responsible approach to business and global citizenship and collaboration with our partners and customers, [COMPANY] is taking the world in imaginative new directions.
5. We believe in what people make possible
   Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
6. Hello, we’re [COMPANY].
   We help make your customers love you. Seventeen years ago, we launched [COMPANY] with a vision to create a new kind of company. [COMPANY] pioneered a new technology model with our cloud platform, a new pay-as-you-go business model focused on customer success, and a new integrated corporate philanthropy model…At [COMPANY], we go further to make our cars better, our employees happier and our planet a better place to be. Learn more about the work that makes [COMPANY] a company that we’re proud to be a part of.
7. As the market leader in enterprise application software, [COMPANY] is at the center of today’s business and technology revolution. [COMPANY] helps you streamline your processes, giving you the ability to use live data to predict customer trends — live and in the moment. Across your entire business. When you run live, you run simple with [COMPANY].
8. At [COMPANY], we go further to make our cars better, our employees happier and our planet a better place to be. Learn more about the work that makes [COMPANY] a company that we’re proud to be a part of.
9. [(Employees at) COMPANY] value… Dedication to every client’s success. Innovation that matters — for our company and the world. Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships.

You’ll notice that one company is not directly IT-related. I just wanted to see if it made any difference. But it’s striking that, without the company names, it’s difficult to tell them apart.

One of the interesting things is the pervasive theme of corporate responsibility and the idea of making the world a better place. Products are almost incidental.

Yet the ones that say up-front exactly what the company does — cars, networks, enterprise application software — make it much easier to work out who they might be.

For the record, they are: Cisco, Juniper, HP, Samsung, Microsoft, Salesforce, Ford, SAP and IBM, in that order. Ford was my trick non-IT one, but they say ‘cars’ in the first few words, so you can immediately tell what they do. And, as I say, this was a while ago — they might be completely different now.

Of course these ‘About Us’ pages are not designed to be seen in isolation. You’ll learn all about the products and services on offer in all the other content these companies produce.

But one of the reasons ‘About Us’ records so many hits is because prospects, customers, analysts, journalists, graduates and all kinds of other valuable audiences go there first to get a snapshot or a reminder of what the company does. It saves navigating through all the other content scattered across the site, and the rest of the web, to try and piece together an idea of what the company is about.

I worry that getting too philosophical or idealistic about things might mean you’re missing a great opportunity to be simply informative and helpful. I also worry, because I’m a bit old and cynical, that you risk forgetting what you’re actually about unless you get it down in writing, plainly and matter-of-factly, somewhere. ‘About Us’ seems as good a place as any.

It’s worth remembering the wise words of the Plain English Campaign: “Always check that your writing is clear, helpful, human and polite.”

Then everyone will be able to work out who you are.

Originally published at www.wearetwogether.com by Stuart Constable – my real surname – on November 9, 2016. If you’re interested, Maxwell is my middle name and I like it better than Constable.