Part of any digital marketing mix should include proof, physical evidence, that your business can achieve what you promise. A video case study can help you do this but is that all it is for? Can’t what just write something?
What does a video case study do?
Any case study acts as proof of what you, or your business can achieve. A video case study undoubtedly accomplishes this but why is worth the extra time and money to put together? What is the extra value it brings that makes it worth these resources?
In this age of ‘fake news’ (one of my least favourite expressions), rapid online posting and consumer reviews, people are increasingly sceptical of what they read. Video is a powerful medium to overcome this. If you can see and hear a customer talking about a company that you are thinking about working with it feels more genuine.
- You know that the company has given up time to take part in the case study
- The company feels strongly enough that they are prepared to associate their face and logo with the project
A good video case study does something different from one that is written. It conveys a feeling of authenticity… and that is the point. When you read something you know it has been carefully edited and written by the company putting it out. Although video is edited when you see a customer saying that ‘a product or service has had a genuinely positive impact for them’… you believe it at a different level. You can see, hear and experience their feelings over the situation.
The human element
Whatever form of marketing you do, your content changes to match the medium. You don’t try to publish a white paper through twitter and we all know your company website is not the place for your holiday pictures.
A written case study conveys facts, figures and quotes well but what it cannot achieve is to display the human emotion involved with the success of a product or service.
When you put together any video case study you should focus on the human element. How have the changes made your customer feel? How have the changes to their business effected their customers on a human level? I am not saying you should ignore the facts and figures entirely (if you have helped your customer increase profits make sure to include it prominently). All I am saying is that connecting with your customers and future customers on an emotional level will have a much greater impact.
Best of both worlds
Filming for a case study involves sitting your client/customers down and interviewing them – which you need to do if you are going to create a written case study anyway. Creating a video allows you to get both types of case study to use in different contexts and to target different types of potential customers in the future. Make sure you incorporate questions and information so you can create both properly. It’ll save you money and resources and give you a much better end product.
Example
For more information about Smarter Video take a look here.
Please get in touch and let me know what you would like to learn or read about.
David Cooper has worked in video production and marketing for over 10 years. His clients have included organisations of all sizes including LEGO and Amazon.