It’s Not All About You
I know, I know, by very definition an “About Us” video should be about you, your company, your values. But…
Picture the scene: you’re in the grocery store picking up some last minute essentials for a dinner party you’re holding that evening. You run into an old friend. Excited to catch up you ask a few, well meaning questions about them. “How’s work?”, “Kids enjoying school?”, “Is your mother well?”.
And then it begins. An onslaught to your ears. All they talk about is themselves, their worries, their achievements, their plans.
You nod politely. But are you really listening? Or has your mind wandered. Are you back to thinking about that impending dinner party. Wondering how long it will be before you can beat a hasty retreat back to your kitchen.
An About Us video that does nothing but talk about you (and not your audience), is the equivalent of that self-involved friend. Except, instead of being held captive in the frozen food aisle, the online viewer can very easily escape. They will leave your site. In search of another solution to help them.
So what are you to do?
Well, you can still talk about all those things. But you need to make them relevant to your viewer. How does your mission statement directly impact your client? Why does it matter how big your team is? What value can your company bring to your customer, that none other can?
Use The Real People In Your Team
People are coming to this page to learn about you. You don’t necessarily need flashy gimmicks or special effects. Instead, use the real people on your team.
In a brick and mortar store the sales rep meets the customer in person. But, in the digital world this personal interaction is often lacking. An About Us video helps you to overcome this obstacle.
A common hurdle that many businesses face here is camera phobia. Your CEO isn’t necessarily a video superstar. Standing in front of the lens can sometimes be daunting. The key to getting a good performance from reluctant teammates is to keep the energy light. It’s ok if they make mistakes during filming (better, even, it’ll give you some entertaining blooper reels!). If you’d like more tips on how to get comfy on camera this guide has a whole section on it. Enjoy 🙂
Be Authentic
Stick to what you know. If your product helps businesses to drum up customers, share your own lead generation troubles & triumphs. If you’ve created a yoga tutorial site, share whatever difficulties you ran into that led you to develop it.
If viewers feel like you understand their pain points they’re much more likely to respond positively.
Examples of Businesses Rocking The About Us Video
Ok, so now you know the perfect recipe for your About Us video, it’s time to take a look at some examples. Hopefully the videos below will provide some inspiration to help you go create your own!
Hubspot: An Exercise in Building Trust
Why It Works
- Identifies a common problem Hubspot knows its audience have:
“The reality is so many businesses wake up in the morning, buy email lists, send out a bunch of junk mail that no-one is going to open, despite the fact that it doesn’t work.”
You’re pretty much guaranteed to be nodding along. And, if the viewer recognises their own struggles then they know they have come to the right place to answers to this problem.
- Builds trust:
“After almost a decade of being at the heart of the inbound movement….the reason over 11 thousand customers in over 65 countries…”
This helps the viewer to feel like they are not alone and assures them that the Hubspot team can help them, like they helped all the others before them. All those people are using Hubspot? Hmm, they must know a thing or two!
- Puts forward an aspirational set of company values:
“Attracting not interrupting… helping not harassing… an empathetic approach to growing business.”
Feel fired up? Ready to grow your business? With a team you believe understands your problems and has experience in solving them?
Thought so.
Casual Films: A Team You Want To Be Friends With
Why It Works
- Establishes that all important relationship between the viewer and the business:
“When I was growing up I really wanted to be an architect…. But, um, I wasn’t good enough at maths…”
Any About Us video worth its salt should leave you with a positive attitude towards the company’s team. By sharing what their job role is, their childhood aspirations, even what genre of music best describes their personality, the team at Casual Films definitely give you a sense of who they are.
- Subtle hints about the value of working with the team:
“If I was to describe Casual Films in one word, that word would be… innovative… smooth… progressive… sexy.”
The video is peppered with important references to why the viewer should hire Casual. For example, shots of the ICVA Gold Award build confidence that this team knows how to produce great quality work.
The viewer is left feeling that the team is smart, fun and fantastic at what they do. It makes you want to work with them. Job done.
Harwood House Bed & Breakfast: Family Feel Brought To Life
Why It Works
- Puts the viewer at ease:
“This is my wife… she’s late!”
By including shots of the family at work, and play, Harwood House manage to project the welcoming atmosphere waiting to greet you when you arrive at the hotel in person.
- Includes a customer testimonial:
“This is probably one of the best B&Bs I’ve stayed in.”
A positive review from someone who has experienced your business for themselves can work wonders for conversion. People are much more likely to trust an independent review. I mean, as someone who works in the business of course you will say it’s awesome… but can you find a customer who agrees?
- Identifies value for the customer:
“We moved next door when I was pregnant… it means the guests can have the run of the house…People get all the attention to detail that they feel like they don’t get in a hotel, but they don’t feel like they’re cutting in on our privacy.”
“I will taxi [guests] to the airport. I am a licensed taxi driver. I taxi them at the time that they’d like to go. It’s a bespoke service”
Harwood House clearly know they’re competing with hotels and bigger chains. So by mentioning the little, personal touches they can bring they’re making clear to the viewer what sets them apart from the rest. It nicely answers the question “why should I choose you?” without feeling like a hard sell.
Throw in a few subtle shots of award certificates, mention some positive reviews on TripAdvisor and you’ve got a pretty compelling video.
Dashing Dish: A Story You Can Relate To
Why It Works
- Shares a true story:
“I remember growing up just watching my mom trying so hard to feed us healthy meals…”
“When I started to learn how to cook I actually got really discouraged and overwhelmed because I would pull up a recipe, there would be all these spices and different ingredients that I had never heard of…”
Founder Katie Farrell shares with the viewer what inspired her to create Dashing Dish. A service which provides recipes and practical tools to help its customers eat healthily.
And it’s a story which rings true for the viewer. The problems that Katie faced are also problems which her audience faces. It helps build a connection because you believe that Katie can relate to you and your situation. And thus you believe she can solve it.
And…Our Attempt.
Time to put my money where my mouth is. Here’s our very own About Us video.
Why It Works (we hope!)
- We introduce the team, say why they’re awesome and what they can do for you, our customer:
“Karmen here’s our eyes and ears. If you give us feedback she makes sure we hear about it.”
“Lawrence and Ali here are the best at what they do and they’ve got a response rate second to nobody.”
- Builds trust:
“We’ve been doing this for 6 years, we’ve built a great customer base all over the globe”
- With a little bit of extra quirk thrown in:
“We have Dan. And Dan has a beard…”
So there we have it. The vital elements your About Us video needs. If inspiration has well and truly hit (and I really hope it has!), you’ll now need to get started and make your video.
Here’s a bonus treat: follow this link for a practical guide to making videos for your business. From conceptualization & planning to scripting & shooting, we share our mistakes so that you can learn from them. Make it happen!
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