The importance of using case studies in PR

We love a good case study here at Motive and over the years have had lots of success with them. 

We’ve done everything from celebrity health and fitness transformations to showcasing money saving families who feed their families on a budget.

They’re a great way to highlight a product or service a brand offers and what better way is there to shout about how good it is than from a customer?

Journalists love them too. It’s a different, more relatable way of telling a story and with the right imagery, has the chance to turn a PR campaign into a massive success.

There are a number of reasons why you should integrate them into a campaign, the main being they offer credibility and trust in a brand.

There are the other elements though - an increase in organic traffic to your website if readers like what they see, which in turn leads to an opportunity to turn those visitors into customers.

Finding a good case study isn’t easy and there are some key considerations when you’re looking for the perfect match for your brand:

Relevance

Does the case study fit the demographic of the publications you’ll be targeting? If you’re targeting women’s titles with a case study and the key demographic is a 35 years + woman then that’s who you want to find as your case study.

Genuine

Do make sure the case study is genuine. Make sure they’ve experienced the product your brand is promoting or the service being offered. Fail to make this simple check and you could begin to erode any trust that has already been built.

Is there a story to tell

Like all PR, success will come with a good story and the same applies to case studies. If there’s no story to tell, then don’t tell it. Nine times out of ten a good PR practitioner will be able to find a story when they interview the case study. But if there isn’t one there, don’t force it.

‍Images

Images are key. Good pictures can make or break a case study. They don’t need to be professionally shot -  three or four pictures which really tell the story, taken on a mobile phone is all you need.

‍Using elsewhere

The added bonus for a brand is that once the case study has placed in the media, they can then use it elsewhere for wider marketing purposes - on their website, for email marketing and on social channels.

‍© MOTIVE