Career Boosting Newsletter

Sign up now to receive your free subscription to the Cutting Edge PR e-News newsletter, packed with cutting-edge news and information specifically for PR people. You can unsubscribe at any time.

*

*

*



We value your privacy

* = required

Current Newsletter

To view the current issue of Cutting Edge PR e-News, click here.

Free Articles

A great resource for learning more about key areas of public relations practice, which will help your career path. You can read about the following topics:
PR plans
PR and the internet
PR ethics
Employee communication
Change communication
Employee recognition
Crisis communication
PR management
Sponsorship
Media relations
Event management
Corporate reputation
Core PR skills
Marketing communication
Communication measurement
Speeches and presentation
Investor relations
Visual communication

Browse free articles

Testimonials

"Had to drop you a line to thank you for your news letter. I enjoy reading your excellent ideas and comentary.

I've used your communication ideas in my approach to my clients in my two businesses and have been accepted not as a "salesman", but rather a person delivering information that educates them about a subject of interest."

Dave Preacher
Palm Coast
Florida USA

Read our testimonials

Ensure the About us area of your website is helpful

By Kim Harrison,

Consultant, Author and Principal of www.cuttingedgepr.com

For some reason, informational web pages about organizations can be difficult to find or they give only minimal information. It should be easy for visitors to your website to find out the basics of your organization, large or small. But surprisingly often, this important information is hard to find or even missing.

An About us or About [the name of your organization] page should give concise summary information such as:

  • what your organization does

  • organizational vision, mission and goals

  • broad structure

  • names and titles of senior executives

  • brief summary of products and operating locations

  • succinct summary of your most recent financial results or operating performance

  • short chronology of the organizational history and key milestones

  • up-to-date contact information, especially your telephone number

Obviously, if you are a small or medium business, the content on your About us page can be adapted to suit. Overall, the page should represent your organization to strangers – you should put yourselves metaphorically in the shoes of a visitor and offer them a snapshot of your organization.

Don’t use fancy names like Info Center or put the information anywhere except the home page. This only makes it harder for a visitor to access the information they are seeking.

An easy-to-find About us page is essential for journalists. If you don’t have a separate area for the media, they will visit your About us page instead, or they will visit it regardless.

Make sure the essential information is accessible on your About us page, especially the contact information. Some organizations merely give an email address for enquiries. This looks evasive. If your telephone number is not supplied, it gives visitors the impression that you are making it difficult for current and potential customers to speak to a live person and thereby dodging accountability for your products and services. Government websites are common offenders.

If your corporate information is hard to find or is out of date, visitors are likely to go to straight to a competitor’s website.

Why not conduct a quick usability check of your website to see how accessible your About us area, or its equivalent, is? Look for the name of your CEO, check your corporate telephone and fax number, and find your organization’s operating philosophy.

About the Author

Kim Harrison is a recognized authority in the public relations field. His website, www.cuttingedgepr.com, provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on public relations techniques and management.

 

Click here to go to the Free Articles Index