How to Write a Company Boilerplate and Description
A boilerplate is the short, factual paragraph that describes your organisation at the end of every press release and on every profile. Write it once, carefully, and use it everywhere.
A company boilerplate is a short, factual paragraph that describes your organisation: what it is, what it does, for whom, where and since when. It appears at the end of press releases and, in shorter forms, on websites, social profiles, directories and partner pages. Written once and used consistently, it helps journalists, partners, search engines and AI assistants describe you accurately.
For organisations in Ghana, an inconsistent description across platforms is one of the most common and easily fixed communication problems.
Why it matters
When journalists write about you, they often copy the boilerplate. When partners list you on their websites, they use whatever description they have. Search engines and AI assistants build their understanding of an organisation from these descriptions across many sites. If each source says something slightly different, your organisation becomes harder to describe and easier to misdescribe.
Start with one clear sentence
Write one sentence in the form: [Organisation] is a [category] that [does what] for [whom], based in [place]. Put the organisation's name first. Use plain words for the category, the ones people would actually use to search for you.
This sentence should be identical everywhere it appears.
Add supporting facts
Follow it with two to four factual sentences. Useful facts include:
- Year founded and founder or leadership
- Main services or products
- Notable clients, projects or partners you may name
- Locations served
- A verifiable scale indicator, such as members, attendees or years of operation
Every fact should be accurate, current and approved. Avoid claims that cannot be verified, such as "leading" or "best".
Write three lengths
Prepare versions for different uses:
- One line (around 25 words): social bios and directory listings
- Short paragraph (around 50 to 75 words): press releases and partner pages
- Long description (around 150 words): your About page, proposals and award entries
All three should begin with the same core sentence.
Use third person
Write "PR369 is", not "we are". Third person is what journalists and partners need, and it reads naturally when copied into other people's materials.
Add contact and web details
End the press release version with the website address and a media contact.
Use it everywhere
Update your website, social profiles, LinkedIn page, Google Business Profile, directories and partner pages with the same description. Send it to partners who list you. Keep a master copy and update it when facts change.
Connect it to your positioning
A boilerplate is the public expression of your brand positioning and should match your key messages. If writing it is difficult, the positioning may need work first.
An example
PR369's own short description reads: "PR369 is a strategic communications and marketing consultancy in Accra, Ghana, that plans and runs PR, brand, event and partnership campaigns for arts, culture and entertainment brands, talent and organisations." The same sentence appears on the About page and the facts page.
If you are planning a change of name or identity, see how to communicate a rebrand. For the full picture, see our complete guide to PR in Ghana.
PR369's Strategic Communications and PR service includes positioning and messaging. Email info@pr369.com with your current descriptions and what you want to be known for. We will begin with a strategy conversation.
