Why Case Studies Should be Your Favorite PR Tool
Case studies are valuable tools for PR activities. They can be used as content for media placement, social media material, contributed article opportunities, and even sales and marketing efforts. Once you have it, a case study can go really far. But, how do you make one?
A case study is a story about how your product or service solved a problem for an client. Traditionally, they follow a standard format of a challenge, a solution to that issue and the final results, using quotes from the customer and perspectives from your team as the thought leader.
Want to reap the benefits? Check out these best practices for writing a case study for your business:
Collaboration
Incorporating different points of views from team members, clients, and customers makes a case study dynamic. First, ask those involved at partner companies as well as your client if they’d be comfortable in being involved and being quoted. Then, establish a set of questions targeted for each group and set up an interview. Doing so will help to establish a genuine and well-rounded story illustrating the challenges and problem-solving methods of the product or installation in a credible way. An authentic take on a situation will be more successful with the media and take your story even farther.
Photography
Case studies are just more successful with quality photos. Possibly before even writing your case study, look into whether attaining photos and permission to use them is possible. Selecting images to accompany the challenge, solution, final results and the steps taken along the way will make a case study much more likely to get picked up and shared.
Who, What, When, Where, and Why
Case studies aren’t breaking news, and need to be written them in a more conversational and casual language. As with any narrative, a case study needs to have a natural beginning and end and answer: Who, What, When, Where and Why. Consider the current state of your industry and why you might be interested in reading something similar. Are there any trends you could tie into your story? Is there something you could mention that resonates with others in your business? The key to creating a relevant and interesting case study is to consider why the media may find it interesting compared to other installations.
Once you are finished writing your case study, you can use it for years t come. Don’t be afraid to reuse and recycle your case study for new content; share it on your social media channels, post it on your website, incorporate it into marketing materials, or even use it as a base to write a contributed article.
Want to learn more about writing case studies? Reach out to us on Twitter at @CasterComm. Or, learn how to start your own social media and PR program with Caster Academy online courses.