I was speaking with one of our telecom agent clients the other day regarding their website. We were discussing the bios that go in the “About Us” section. They don’t have anything there, and were hesitant to post about their founders for fear it would make them look unprofessional and small-time. They asked me straight out: Why should we include bios on our website?

The short answer is: your bio is one piece of the puzzle in gaining your reader’s trust and potentially earning more business. And below I go into more depth about why that is.

Reason #1: Business is personal. People want to do business with people they know and like, so including a bio on your site describing your professional and personal background is a great idea. People don’t just want to know what your company does, they also want to know who they will be working with.

Reason #2: You’re allowed to be arrogant here. Besides your resume, this is the one place in the world where it’s perfectly acceptable and expected to brag about yourself. Tell the world about your educational and professional accomplishments, awards and other recognition you have received. Highlight any specialties, certifications or designations you have. Setting yourself up as an authority in your field makes you more trustworthy.

Reason #3: It creates a pre-disposition of trust. When someone gets a glimpse into your background, expertise and personal life, you become a real human being to them. This is important because people will trust people they know and respect more than they will a nameless, faceless company. And in a competitive landscape like telecom sales, you need all the trust you can get!

Now that we’ve discussed why you want to include a bio on your website, here are some tips for making them effective.

• Share the educational and professional accomplishments that will be most relevant to your target audience.
• Keep it short and sweet . Three to four short paragraphs should do it.
• Use a bulleted list if you have a lot to share.
• Include a friendly professional photo of yourself.
• Don’t be afraid to share some personal info, such as hometown, family or hobbies. Just keep it to 2-3 sentences.
• Feel free to use some creativity and personality! Being different and standing out from the crowd is a good thing.
• Consider using brief video introductions for yourself and your team in addition to the printed text.

Now we’d like to hear from you. Any other reasons we left out? Any tips you’d like to share? Please let us know in the comments below.