Michael Epps Utley 
AI is changing everything. Inbound content marketing feels it has crested. So are case studies dead? No, but they need to change.
Case studies are a great example of inbound lead generation content marketing, but the old model is not good enough. In the past, case studies were developed by sales teams as a standard tool for prospects to vet a new product or service. Then, they became a good thing to share as gated content where there was unique insight to offer. Then, they became content shared to gain placement in search engines. But with AI reducing the value of SEO in Google for being discovered, what role do they play?
Going forward, case studies that gain leads will follow three new rules: 1) have unique data or insights to share, 2) feel very human, and 3) be used in a smart way in social media, search, cold prospecting, and lead nurture campaigns.
Key Elements of a High-Impact Case Study
Going forward, the most important element of a valuable study will be original insights and data. What data can you use or collect that will offer original insights? If you are a SaaS company, you may have insights from your products that are genuinely new in the world. If you provide patient services, you may have a large dataset available for a survey. In the age of AI, original sources will be elevated in importance for the large language models to get answers to questions. Do you have the ability to generate intelligence on outcomes for a particular treatment or population health challenge? What questions are you uniquely suited to answer?
Gathering Data and Crafting a Compelling Narrative
Another type of original information is interview content with your customers. How are they using your solutions? What data is available to show how it worked for them? While this content is handled and delivered anecdotally during sales conversations, getting it into a format for use as an original source of content gets that content into the digital space where large language models can use it and credit you as a source.
Storytelling and readability are still key for speaking to people. Once you have something to say, back all the way up to the pain points your solution exists to solve. Set the stage with a scene and characters that can experience the before and after you offer your customers. Show the benefits available with what you offer by showing user cases. Those use cases are a form of original content. Much of what salespeople discuss with prospects for a company never makes it to the website – case studies are a great format for publishing that content for prospects to discover.
Optimizing Case Studies for Maximum Reach
People absorb content online the way they read magazines, not the way they read books. Format your case studies to be skimmable. Deliver the punchline up front; if they are the right audience, they will want to dig in and learn more or “challenge” the claims by digging in to see the evidence. Use a table of contents to show what’s ahead. Offer bullet points of information that catch the eye. Use call-outs to highlight data points first, and testimonials further into your case study.
Distributing Your Case Study for Broad Impact
The inbound content marketing approach to case studies evolved from sales members sharing to gated content. These days, we are often getting the content out there in every way we can. Distribution can include these placements:
A landing page on your website introducing the case study and offering it for download. Include enough content here for search engines to index both the page and the PDF.
A promo bar on your website highlighting the case study. This type of promotion can be planned to rotate through a variety of content items you offer.
Share it on your social media channels multiple times over about six months following the initial release. Share snippets, visuals, and call-outs as posts and offer the link to your landing page to learn more.
Email newsletters give you a path to your network of influencers for your brand. Sharing a case study via email makes it easy for your customers and contacts to share your content since they merely need to forward an email.
For standout case studies that get good traction, consider creating a video version. The video can be loaded to YouTube for discovery, and you can link from there to your landing page to offer the PDF version. You can also share that video in your newsletter, on socials, and you can embed it on the page with the PDF version.
Social ads offer another avenue for gaining attention. You can run ads to share your content and gain brand, or top-of-funnel, awareness.
Examples of Successful Healthcare Case Studies
Need some inspiration? Check out these case studies that strive to present original insights.
GE Healthcare & University Hospitals (UH) – https://investor.gehealthcare.com/news-releases/news-release-details/ge-healthcare-and-university-hospitals-enter-10-year-strategic
Philips Healthcare & Mackenzie Health – https://www.philips.com/c-dam/b2bhc/master/services/success-stories/managed_services_case_study_mackenzie.pdf
Salesforce & Centura Health – https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2015/09/02/salesforce-introduces-salesforce-health-cloud-building-patient-relationships-not-records/
Epic & Mayo Clinic – https://www.mgma.com/case-studies/mayo-clinic-s-move-to-a-single-enterprise-wide-ehr
Zocdoc & Northwell Health – https://www.zocdoc.com/primary-care-doctors/northwell-direct-1661m
Case Studies Are Not Dead
While pure inbound content marketing for leads has evolved, case studies are not an outdated form of marketing. Rather, their use must be planned for broader publishing and promotion. If you have something to say and need help saying it, give us a call or book an intro call with us. We offer inbound content marketing for healthcare services and can help you plan a successful campaign.
