First Steps to Take to Promote Your Case Study

You just published a case study on your website. As you look at the text on the web page, you recall all the effort that went into the piece. It’s not always easy to get people to open up, but not only did you get a unique angle with which to describe the outcome of your work, you also got some great insights about your client’s experience that you can take to your team. Now is no time to sit back and bask in your client’s glowing words. It’s time to get to work to promote your case study.

Start with a Thank You Email
 
The first thing that you need to do is to thank your client and share the story with them. Depending upon your process, your contact person may have already signed off on the final version, but they have not yet seen the published piece. Go ahead and gush a little about your client’s success, and the privilege you have in working with them. Remember, this person not only took time out of their schedule to cooperate, they’re publicly backing you. It’s a big deal.

Related: Learn how to use case studies to guide your prospective customers down their buying journey.
 
Include a Link and a pdf Version of the Story
 
In your thank you email, include a link to the web page and a pdf version of the case study. A printable version will give your story the legs to go to places where you can’t, like the bulletin board in the break room at your client’s office, or home to their spouse who is the CEO of a company you would like to work with.
 
Ask Your Client to Forward and Share
 
In your email, suggest that they forward the story to people they know. When you can persuade people to share with their personal network like this, you’re really asking for referrals without asking for referrals. You might even want to word the email as a referral ask but make sure that the ask is nicely wrapped up a thank you.
 
Show Them How to Find Themselves On Your Social Channels
 
In your thank you email, tell your client that you’ll be mentioning their company on your social media channels, and give them instructions on how to find you. It’s super easy to do this if you have a branded hashtag. Give them links to the social accounts that you’ll be using. For example:
 
On Twitter search for the hashtag #brandedhashtag or go to our company page at ….
 
Post on Your Social Media Channels
 
When I write case studies, I include several different social media posts pulling out different pieces of the story. At least one of the posts tells a super succinct version of the story in just two or three sentences. Pull out some quotes and include names. Write posts that set up the problem then include a call-to-action to read more playing on people’s curiosity. It might sound a little like click bait, but even the people on national news do this. “You have to see what happened next…” or “We’ll reveal what they did next…”
 
Use Graphics to Guide People into the Case Study
 
When you are posting the same story more than once – and you should be doing that – create some different graphics to mix things up. You can also put some short quotes on your images along with your logo. Sometimes the only thing that people will see is your image, so use it to guide them into the story.
 
Enlist Employees to Share with Their Network
 
Your employees are an important arm of your network that you shouldn’t ignore when you’re sharing your case studies. If you invite them into a celebration of a job well done, they probably will join in.
Not only will they be proud to share stories that illustrate the good work that they do, your case studies give your staff a reason to talk about you with their network because they probably aren’t sharing your prospect-directed posts.
 
A Card and Gift Show Appreciation
 
Sending a tangible thank you to your client is a must-do after you have featured them in your case study. Remember, your contact person decided that it was worth their time and effort to participate. They may have even given you access to their staff, taking them away from their main duties so that you could get the interview.
 
The thank you could be a card and small gift directed just to your client contact. It could be some of your corporate swag that not everyone gets. Sending food these days can get a little tricky unless you know about preferences and allergies. It would be awful if you sent expensive truffles to someone who is allergic to milk. On the other hand, however, if you want to send something that can be shared, then sometimes food works the best.
 
You’re Not Done Yet
 
You’re not done promoting your case study, but these are the first activities that you need to do to launch it out into the world.
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Need some help to not only create your case studies but help you develop a story gathering and promotion process? Contact me for a free consultation.

Photo by Lindsay Henwood on Unsplash