As well as publishing some great blogs, you can really showcase your work by explaining about some of the historical work you have been involved in. By writing case studies. It isn’t always easy to get time to do this. We, as a company are really guilty of that! You spend all your time helping your clients and then forget to market yourselves! But case studies are a really great way to do this. Within this platform, you can promote what the brief was, the challenges that could have occurred, how you got around them and what the outcome was.
Obviously, case studies are similar to blog posts. You can use a similar format and then once live on your website, they can help to bring in more traffic, with ultimately (and hopefully) more business. What case studies have over blog posts, however, is they show potential clients exactly what you can do for them.
Getting started
Case studies can seem like a bother to put together; especially if you’ve never written one before. How do you decide which clients to feature and what details to include? Just getting started can be a challenge.
While there’s a bit of a learning curve to writing a good client case study, it’s not as difficult as you might think, and the benefits of case studies far outweigh the effort of creating them. Good case studies should be engaging, visual, and effective.
Case studies speak directly to potential clients
Your blog posts are probably well-written and informative, but are they compelling? Readers are busy, and if your latest blog post doesn’t speak to their current needs, there’s a good chance they won’t read it.
Case studies, on the other hand, are more likely to grab readers’ attention. People love reading about situations like their own. If you can tell a potential client a story about how you helped a business similar to theirs, they won’t just pay attention – they’ll remember you later.
Case studies can do everything blog posts can do
Your client case study doesn’t have to be a dry, boring wall of text. It can inform, entertain, and inspire readers. You can share useful findings or advice in a case study, just like you would in a blog post. Case studies are also ideal for displaying your skills and positioning you as an authority, which is what blog posts should do, but often don’t.
Case studies build credibility and trust
Your perceived trustworthiness is a crucial factor in whether people decide to work with you or not. Most people would hesitate to work with a company that didn’t have any examples of their past work on display. Case studies give clients a way to evaluate your competence before they commit to working with you.
Case studies make you stand out from the competition
Case studies are a bit more specialised and challenging to write than blog posts. Which means that not everyone writes them. If you want to look more professional and put-together than your competitors, writing case studies can give your image a boost.
And remember to keep it relatable. Don’t just rattle off a list of stats your client wanted to improve. A compelling case study will also be entertaining and enjoyable to read.
Ask your customers for testimonials
Anyone can posts a case study, which could have elaborated on the truth. However, if you name the customer you have worked with, link to their website and then add a testimonial, this is a pretty powerful endorsement. And can be one of the best ways to promote your work. In most cases, your customers will be only too pleased to write you a testimonial. Especially if you have overcome and difficulties they were having. But make sure you still make them look good and avoid giving away anything they don’t want to be public knowledge!
Sokada Ltd have set up my company Creative Tailored Therapy so I can now be found for local searches. They made it really easy to understand and have answered all my questions so well. Really pleased and would highly recommend them, which I already have!
Catherine Simmonds
Provide great advice
An effective case study doesn’t just make you and your client look good. It also provides information or advice that anybody can use, whether they decide to hire you or not. You don’t have to give away the key secrets of your trade, but don’t be stingy either. Share some of your methods, your knowledge and anything interesting you learned in the process of helping your client. Give the reader something they can take away and apply to their own work.
This isn’t as counterproductive as it might sound. Being open about your work will help build valuable trust with potential clients. And even if you’re completely transparent about your methods, most people who aren’t marketing experts will still opt to hire you instead of doing the legwork of implementing your strategy themselves.
Can we help you?
Ensuring the companies we work with have consistent effective case studies is a large part of our online marketing and will continue to be so. If you are struggling to work out how to promote your business online, then please get in touch today. Either by email, calling us on 01435 817226, or please fill in our contact form and someone will get back to you.