Publish, Promote, and Repurpose: How to Get the Most Mileage Out of Your Client Success Stories
Congratulations—you’ve created your first client success story! That is an incredible milestone, and you deserve a pat on the back.
But your work is not yet done. At Success Story Studio, we often get asked, “What do I do with my case study now that it’s written?” Great question! And the answer is: the possibilities are virtually limitless.
In this post, we’ll walk you through several ways to maximize the reach and impact of your success stories through three stages: publish, promote, and repurpose.
Step 1: Publish
First, you’re going to want to publish your brand-new success story in an attractive, clean, and bright format that is easy to download and read. At Success Story Studio, we recommend using a good graphic design program to create your case study template. Use bright colors that match your firm’s branding scheme, and choose a font type that is consistent and readable.
Break up the text with visual elements, like client photos (if available), stock images, or photos of your offices. Also, include a few pull quotes from your clients, and format them in larger font size, with a contrasting background for the greatest effect.
Once the piece is designed and laid out, convert it into a PDF file for publishing. This is the most versatile format for use across a wide range of digital media and is also good for printing.
We always recommend publishing your success stories on your website and making your site the home for all of your marketing content. Maintaining a separate page called “Resources,” “Newsroom,” or “Insights” to house all your marketing content is a best practice. But you may choose to set up a page called “Client Success,” dedicated strictly to your case studies and testimonials.
Step 2: Promote
Once you’ve published your case study, it’s time to shout it to the rooftops! Today, marketers have dozens of ways to reach their target audience. Social media is a natural starting point—begin with those channels where you already have a presence, and take the time to customize your post to fit the specific platform.
Whatever social media platform you choose, remember the key is to drive engagement back to your website, so prospects can read all about your firm, the services you offer, and your philosophy and culture.
Other ways to promote your client success stories include via your monthly e-newsletter or a local media press release.
Also, don’t forget to send the finished case study to your featured client. They will be excited and proud to share it among family and friends—future potential clients, all!
Step 3: Repurpose
A case study’s life cycle doesn’t end at publication. Success stories serve as “evergreen” content assets and can continue to provide returns to your firm for years. Here are just a few ways to use your clients’ stories to generate an ongoing stream of prospect leads:
Short video stories: If you conducted the initial client interview via Zoom or another video conferencing platform, you likely already have some footage you can use to create a short video testimonial. Keep the video to 30 seconds to a minute, and focus on your client’s best quotes. Embed the video on your website, and share it via social media.
Audio: Likewise, you can use audio snippets of your conversation, and post short clips to your website to help bring the story to life.
Pull testimonials: Your client’s quotes are the “golden nuggets” of any success story. Curate the best two or three sentences, and publish them on your website with a photo of the client. You can also share these quotes on your social media channels to extend reach and impact.
Webinars: If you have a really juicy success story that highlights a new service or a particularly sticky challenge you helped solve, it might make sense to create an entire webinar around that topic. Invite your client to participate, and promote the event via your e-newsletter mail list and social channels. Make sure to record the webinar for on-demand use after the live event!
Podcasts: Scoring a guest slot on a popular podcast within your niche is a surefire way to build your audience. Depending on the topic, consider sharing your client success stories in this forum, by summarizing how you have helped your clients solve their toughest challenges.
Bylined article: Authoring a bylined article in a trade journal or general audience news outlet is another great way to build your brand and establish credibility. It’s also an ideal medium to demonstrate how you help others solve their thorniest challenges.
You’ve worked hard to create a powerful, compelling client success story. Don’t let all that hard work go to waste! Follow these three steps— Publish, Promote, and Repurpose—to maximize the mileage from your case studies and ensure they continue working for you for years to come.