Should I say “Us” or “Me” on my website?

Small businesses often dither between using first person or third person on their websites. The temptation is to say “Us,” in order to look like big, professional brands.

However, that isn’t always appropriate. Imagine that you are talking to an artist and ask about one of his paintings for sale that might look good on your wall. “We find this to be one of our most meaningful works,” he says. “However, we can sell it to you for the price you are asking for, if you can pay us in cash.”

Sounds awkward, right?

The “big business” feel can come as outright deceptive sometimes. People like sincerity. If your business has one or five employees, but you try to lead people to the conclusion that you must be a busy business with at least fifty… but they know the truth… this can make people feel that you are artificial.

The truth is, people want to feel that you are a person. They want to respect you as a professional and also see that you are human.

So, should your website say “About Us” or “About Me”? “Contact Us” or “Contact Me”? You could just say “About” and “Contact” and avoid the situation. That’s just as clear, and more concise. However, you’ll find the situation coming up again in the text of your website.

More than that, this is an important part of your marketing identity. Are you a professional, or are you a company? Do people learn to like you, what you do and how you do it, your talent and your personality? Or are you a faceless brand?

My rule of thumb:
If your company can run without you, you have a company, and probably a pleasant lifestyle. If you ARE the company, you are a professional and should speak in the singular.

Suppose you are a driving safety instructor. You are the business. If you’re sick, class or driving sessions are canceled. People don’t talk to their friends and say “I trust Happy Trails Driver’s Education to teach my children how to drive,” they say “Rick O’Shea? He’s great, my first choice for where my children learn to drive.”

Note that you might have a receptionist, a bookkeeper, a webmaster, a marketing consultant, whatever. That doesn’t matter. Without you, there is no business. It’s still “I” and “Me” and not “We” or “Us.”

Now suppose you are so successful that you can’t handle the work by yourself. You carefully hire high-quality instructors. You find yourself training the instructors and running the business more than doing the instruction. If you take a month vacation, classes are still taught, students still get their permits. That’s the “us” time. You have a company. You have a brand.

If you feel guilty about saying “me” because other people are doing the key roles, that’s a good sign it’s time for “us.”

If you find yourself questioning which to use, then say “me.” Don’t try to look like a big business. Try to look like a trustworthy, effective, high-quality business. Build a great reputation for yourself, and that can turn into a great reputation for your business.

Be you.