10 Ways to Use Case Studies in Marketing

There’s a good chance that you either have a few case studies or have thought about creating some. But, did you know that case studies can be used in more ways than just website pages? In fact, there are 10 different ways that you can use case studies in your marketing. Whether you are trying to increase awareness, drive conversions, or build trust, there will be a marketing strategy on this list for you. Before we dive into the 10 ways to use case studies in your marketing, let’s go over what a case study even is. 

What is a Case Study?

A customer case study is essentially a testimonial from your most loyal customers. Oftentimes, you will ask your customers that you know are happy with your service questions about how they found your company, how they use it on a regular basis, and how happy they are. Once your case study is built, it can be used in a variety of ways to entice prospective customers by letting them envision what it would be like to use your service. In this article, we’ll go through 10 ways that you can use these case studies in your marketing to generate high-quality leads, and lead them down the right path.

1. Website Pages

I’m sure you have seen case studies used as website pages before. In fact, it’s one of, if not the most common use of case studies, and for good reason. Using case studies as website pages is a great way to increase your website traffic, driving leads to your website that have already started their journey down your sales funnel. Additionally, providing case studies on your website can help encourage your website visitors to convert, once they see how your company has helped so many others like theirs. A great example of a company that uses case study web pages is Hubspot. If you have multiple case studies on your website, you can build a parent case study page, where your prospects can choose which case study they resonate with the most. As you can see below, Husbpot keeps their parent case study page simple, luring the reader down the page with “Featured Case Studies” displayed right before the fold. 

2. Organic Social Media

Organic social media marketing is a great way to enhance your brand’s online presence, for free. And, increasing your company’s social media follower count can increase your chances of generating leads. In fact, 53% of customers who follow a business on social media are more likely to be loyal. So, if you are already creating case studies for your website or other marketing initiatives, you can put this content to good use on your organic social media pages. When sharing your case studies on your website, video case studies are one of the best ways to go. If you only have written case studies, create an image with a quote or stat to help get the point across. But, we can’t forget about paid social media advertising.

3. Social Media Advertising

Almost every company uses paid social media advertising in one way or another. Whether you are advertising on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or another social media channel, this is a great place to integrate your case studies. And, there are a ton of different ways that you can do this to generate relevant clicks. The platform that you use, as well as the format of your case study, will determine what kind of social media advertising you should do. A few of the most popular types of social media advertising are remarketing, lookalike audiences, or creating target audiences based on where users are in your sales funnel. But, my favorite type of social media advertising with case studies is remarketing.

4. Remarketing

Remarketing is the process of targeting your previous website visitors with advertisements on social media or with Google Display Advertisements. Since these people have previously visited your website, they are likely to be familiar with what you have to offer, and have started their journey down your sales funnel. Remarketing can be done with both your video case studies, and graphics of quotes or stats from written case studies. Below is an example of a case study quote that DevExpress uses in their marketing. As you can see, if someone is on the fence about committing to your product, seeing how others benefit from your product might entice them to convert. But, if you’re trying to get your company infront of new people, regular display advertising may be for you. 

5. Display Advertising

While remarketing is a great option if you have a lot of website visitors, it’s not the best option for every company. If you don’t have a lot of traffic, you are a newer company, or you’re just trying to get infront of new audiences, display advertising can be a fantastic way to increase brand awareness. In Google Ads, you are able to narrow down your target audience based on their interests, demographics, and other considerations. With display advertising, it can be helpful to include stats like, “Hubspot was able to increase their revenue by 10% with our company.” rather than quotes like the image above. This is because your audience may not know of your company, so a stat would be more enticing and easy to quickly understand.

6. Email Onboarding Sequences

When your new clients or free trial users are getting started, there may be a learning curve. This is common, but, instead of letting them get discouraged, include a case study in your email onboarding sequence. This can help them see the value that your service will bring them. And, give them the opportunity to learn from companies similar to theirs. Here is an example on how you can phrase a case study onboarding email.

Hey {contact first name},

I hope this email finds you well!

I wanted to take the opportunity to share a few case studies with you, to help you better understand our software. We have three case studies listed below, from 10 employees to over 1000 so you can choose the company you most resonate with.

• How ____ was able to increase their revenue by 20% in two months (2-10 employees)
• How ____ gained an impressive market share in under 6 months (11-50 employees)
• Why ____ switched from competitor XYZ and was able to get a 15% higher ROI than before (1000+ employees)

If you have any questions about how to use our software, don’t hesitate to reach out!

{Your email signature}

7. Email Signatures

Including a link to your best or most popular case study in your email signature is a great way to get it in front of both current and potential customers. If you think about it, your sales, marketing, and management teams probably send hundreds to even thousands of emails each week. Below is a simple example of how Hubspot includes a case study in their email signature. Although it is simple, it is still enticing since they have included an amazing stat. As a prospect, it would be hard to say no to finding out how a company increased its organic web traffic by 400%.

8. YouTube Advertising

Since a lot of companies use video case studies, YouTube advertising just makes sense. And, they are extremely easy to create in your Google Ads account. One of my favorite ways to use YouTube advertising is to target your competitor’s videos, as well as complimentary software company’s videos. This is a fantastic way to get your ad in front of a very relevant audience, while staying competitive. When you are creating your video ad, all you’ll have to do is research what videos and channels that you want your ad to play on, and enter in the URLs. 

9. Google Ad Extensions

Another way that you can use your case studies is as a Google Ad extension. In fact, Google has stated that extensions can increase your click through rate by 10-15%. Knowing this, it’s extremely important to include extensions. Below is an example from Mailchimp, where you can see that their Google Ad extension is “Customer Case Studies”. This can help their prospects who are partially down their sales funnel, but still comparing Mailchimp and their competitors. Making this information accessible can make prospective customers happy, and even increase the chances of them converting.

10. Competitive Advantage

The last way that you can use your customer case studies in your marketing is to gain a competitive advantage. While this isn’t an exact way that you can use your case studies, this concept should always be at the front of your mind when marketing with your case studies. Case studies are one of the best ways to stand out from your competitors, and build trust with prospects. So, every time you use them in your marketing, keep in mind how this can help you gain a competitive advantage and stand out from the crowd. A good way to do this is to check out your competitor’s case studies. If they have a ton of really great case studies, try to see how you can make yours better. 

How to Get More Case Studies for your Company

As you can see, there are a ton of great marketing initiatives that you can use with your case studies. With all of these options, you may be wondering, “How do I generate more case studies?”. With the help of otrillo, you can create aesthetic, interesting, and optimized case studies that are sure to impress. All you need to do is enter in the questions you’d like to ask, and send your client a link to their custom case study experience. We’ll do the rest! With our unique Professional Editing as a Service (PEaaS) software, you have the option to edit yourself, or leverage our skilled team of designers to put together your video or written case study. Join the otrillo waitlist today to be the first to access our software.

Final Words

Whether you are looking to entice a new audience, target your previous website visitors, or anything in between, marketing with case studies are a great way to drive conversions and revenue. I always recommend using case studies in marketing efforts, you might be surprised at the trust you can gain. Don’t forget to join the otrillo waitlist today!