Digital PR Agency Essentials: How to Write a Case Study

At a digital PR agency, content creation is one of the most important tools for helping your clients  grow their businesses. A great way to showcase a client’s work and expertise is by incorporating case studies into their content marketing plan. An effective case study will demonstrate how your client has helped other customers to achieve their goals. Further, a compelling case study featuring a recognizable customer can be a valuable asset to securing media coverage on your client’s behalf.

The most important factor to consider in writing a case study is including the specifics. The more details and metrics that a case study can include, the more it will influence potential new clients and customers. 

Although numbers are important in substantiating a case study’s claims, it is equally vital to create an interesting narrative. This is especially true if your case study will be leveraged in press outreach. Tell your client’s story and illustrate their impact. Storytelling is what naturally captivates human beings. 

If you can write an engaging narrative supported by measurable results, you’ll maximize the impact of your case study.

The Structure of an Impactful Case Study

While every client’s story is different, there are some basic structural elements that can strengthen the impact of their case studies. As much as possible, try to include these components to demonstrate why your client is a changemaker in their industry:

• Outline the strategic goal. What was the customer’s broader business goal in engaging your client? 
• Explain the challenge or problem. What was the challenge or problem that your client was trying to solve for their customers?
• Illustrate how you provided a solution. How did your client’s product or solution address or resolve the problem? Use metrics and examples to prove your point.

Remember to weave in their key messaging. Consider the audience for the case study and what your client intends to communicate to that audience. Will the audience be used primarily for sales collateral? Will it be pitched as a story to trade publications? Will it live on the company website? Ensure the narrative you’re writing captures the key points your client would like to communicate to that audience.  

Now that you have the basic framework, let’s dive into the specifics that make a strong case study. 

Clear Problem/Solution Narrative

Identify the challenge that your client solved at the beginning of the narrative and provide useful context about how that issue impacts the industry at large. Then, go on to outline the specifics of how their product or service helps to overcome it. 

Remember to specifically state who the problem impacted. Was it business executives? Frontline workers? Consumers? Restaurant customers? Use specific details to illustrate the scope of the issue. 

Next, outline how the problem was affecting your client’s customer before they started working together. Note key details, such as how the issue impacted efficiency, profits or customer satisfaction. Then, outline the solutions and strategy that your client identified, developed and implemented to manage those pain points. How did your client address these issues on behalf of their customer? 

Next, you need to provide some quantitative and qualitative points that substantiate your claims. How was the client’s solution effective in solving the customer’s problem? Use as many statistics, metrics and facts as possible to strengthen the solution narrative. A concise summary of the impact and success of the solution should follow. 

Metrics

As a digital PR agency, it’s crucial to demonstrate the impact of your client’s work through metrics. For case studies, this means including data that proves the ROI your client’s product or service delivers. Some examples of effective metrics to include are efficiency improvements, customer satisfaction statistics, and money or time saved. By providing these numbers, you’ll be able to show the true value of your client’s work and complement their content marketing strategy in a meaningful way.

For PR and marketing practitioners, it’s important to outline the need for measurable success metrics early in the partnership. Some clients maintain a robust amount of customer data and success metrics, while other companies might require strategic guidance to understand which types of metrics are most newsworthy—and sales-worthy. 

If the case study will be used to support broader PTR efforts, understand which types of metrics are important to the top publications in your client’s industry. Then, work with your client to include similar data in their case studies and other content marketing projects. 

Key Services

Finally, your case study should showcase the key services that your client provided. Did your client’s technology reduce workplace safety incidents for its customers? Did their software save customers time filing taxes? Reduce on-the-job errors? Make consumers happier with the health of their hair? Be sure to highlight the specific ways your client achieved successful results for their target market.

By following these tips, you can create an impactful case study that will add value to your client’s new business process, showcase their key messaging, and even help you to secure press interest on their behalf.

Interested in what a strong case study can do for your brand? Reach out! As a digital marketing and PR agency our team of expert copywriters is here to help with your next content creation project.