A decade ago, the Internet was a luxury; it has since become a part of everyday life. People use it to access the weather, find restaurants, gas stations, driving directions, shop, gossip, and that is the short list. It goes with us everywhere, we carry it in our pockets, in our phones - where countless business transactions are made every hour. As a result, every business, small and large, strives to have a web presence, and as the Internet becomes more crowded with business websites it is becoming difficult to stand out.
Many companies have turned to adding a corporate history to their business websites, which is becoming so common it is almost expected by users, and not having one could leave a user feeling disconnected and annoyed at the privacy of the company, and what it may be hiding. Adding such a page can help your business seem more open and honest, which helps to make users feel closer to your business, as if they have a relationship with your company. This serves to improve brand loyalty, and keep customers coming back.
Another important aspect of sharing the corporate history on business websites is the valuable content provided. Because much of what has transpired in the past is relevant to the website, the added content can help with search engine rankings, by improving the site’s SEO (search engine optimization). It also creates more pages for other websites across the web to link to, which will also raise search engine rankings.
Every business has a beginning, as past, a story of how it was started, and how it came to where it is. Your corporate history may not seem important to you, but can be a powerful tool to market your business, and should not be ignored. It can tell of the inspiration that started the business, or major accomplishments the business has achieved. If it applies, a biography of the founders, and their philosophical ideas for the company can be a great tool to draw in new clients. As long as the information is positive, and belongs to the company in question, a corporate history belongs on business websites everywhere.
Writing a corporate history isn’t too difficult. One simply needs to gather all of the information that can be found on the company in question, leaving no stone unturned. Places to look might include financial records, old memos, emails, old ads, papers of incorporation, or anything else that might bring back memories from the past of the company. Old copies of business websites are also a good source of information, as they often contain information long since forgotten. For companies, which do not keep old copies of their business websites, help might be found at http://archive.org, using their Way Back Machine, which archives websites on the Internet.
Once all of the historical information is together, the information should be categorized into a time line, by year or by decade, depending on the age of the company. Next, a format should be chosen: essay, timeline, or a myriad of other options. Whatever format is chosen to portray the company’s history, it should be put in order, from past to present or vice versa, and a few pictures can be added for good measure. Remember, a corporate history is there to impress clients, and can be a great marketing tool for business websites.
There are more than a few articles across the Internet offering help with writing corporate histories. You can check out: thewritemarket.com. Writing a corporate history is easy; however, if there are time constraints, or other issues, you can't go wrong when you hire a professional.
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