Do You Suffer from Basic Bio?

When is the last time you really looked at or refreshed your bio? Does it accurately reflect your current professional focus and, even more important, your business development goals? Even if up to date, is it a bit boring, essentially nothing more than a rote recitation of your resume? It doesn't have to be.

What about from a broader, organizational perspective? Are all of your team members' bios similar in terms of general length, format and style, in a way that appears cohesive and reinforces your organizational brand? Or do they vary wildly, perhaps having been hurriedly added (often without material revisions), as new people joined, from the previous organizational websites where they likely sat unchanged for years?

Bios (or "Meet the Team" descriptions) are among the primary professional impressions you make upon the world, and an important part of your brand and PR. It is worth taking some time to make them count. Here are a few tips on doing so:

• The first few sentences are critical, for both for SEO and attention span purposes. Don't waste them reciting your title and company name - especially if that information already appears elsewhere.
  

• If you are a service provider, you no doubt wear many hats. But at least in that all-important first paragraph, avoid that commonly seen recitation of absolutely everything you would or could possibly ever do for a client. (Whether you separate the items with commas or semi-colons, eyes will still cross.) There might be a place for this exhaustive list of all services, somewhere (either lower down, perhaps using bullets, or in another section), but not right out of the gate.
  

• Lead by stressing the primary things you do well and differently from others. Why do those things really matter to your clients? Lead with story; the lists can come later.
  

• A bit further down or in a dedicated section (depending upon your website template design), consider making your case with case studies. Try to share at least one brief but specific (anonymized, if necessary) narrative description of work you've done, for whom and why it mattered. This can help potential clients to imagine what you can do for them too.

  
  

• And at the very end, however briefly, consider sharing a personal detail or two that allows your personality to shine through. Of course, the extent to which you can do this will depend upon a number of factors, including your corporate culture and comfort level. But a small touch of the personal, to give people a sense of what it might be like to do business with you, can sometimes go a long way towards establishing comfort and rapport. (We discussed the pros and cons of doing this in an article recently published in the ABA Journal.)

Reach out today if your bio or team's bios (and any other website content or marketing collateral) could do with a review and possible reboot, to allow them to work more effectively for you.