The Trust Signals Blog

Want Your Website Visitors to Trust You? Show Them Your Team

Written by Scott Baradell | Jul 16, 2020

What are authentic, high-quality pictures on your website's "Team" page worth to your business? In the case of Idea Grove, I can answer that very specifically.

$456,000.

One afternoon, I got a call from a marketing director at a B2B tech company. She had just completed a three-month agency review process and was down to the final two agencies. But something didn't feel right. She hadn't forged the personal connection she was seeking with either firm.

So she started Googling and stumbled upon the Idea Grove website.

Like many of our visitors, she went immediately to the second most popular destination on our site: our "Team" page. She liked what she saw and picked up the phone.

"I felt a real connection," she told me. "I got a sense of what you'd be like to work with. And we want our company to communicate that same kind of feeling."

Within three weeks, we had begun a long-term engagement that included designing that company's own website and "Team" page.

Balancing Words and Images

"Team" pages are among the most visited pages on all websites, but particularly those of professional services firms and customer-facing small businesses.  That's because your potential customers want to see who they are buying from or who they would be working with.

Your "Team" page provides an opportunity to showcase the talent and experience within your company. But just as importantly, it's a chance to build a trusting relationship by putting an authentic face on your brand.

With our brains processing images 60,000 times faster than text, and with most individuals reading fewer than 30 percent of the words on a page, pictures of your team are key to an effective "Team" page. Make sure your photography captures your leadership or team looking natural -- whether the pics are posed or candid.

The words are important, too, of course. Don't just list titles and accomplishments for your team; give visitors a peek at their personalities as well. Include copy elements that bring your page to life, such as sharing the team's hobbies, favorite movies or most embarrassing moments. Think of it as an online icebreaker, and find a creative way to break the ice with your visitors.

In this way, you've quickly communicated your team's credentials and personality to your prospective customers, making it more likely you will earn their trust.