What is a Case Study Video (And Should You Make One?)

Case studies are powerful tools for introducing your business, showing your impact, and demonstrating your competitive advantages. Case studies allow prospective clients to see the solutions you’ve provided to others similar to them, and they’re one of the most compelling types of testimonials. Case study videos bring classic case studies to a new format, and they can be even more compelling, impactful, and even easier to make.

What is a Case Study Video?

A case study video explores a customer’s problem or challenge, and the results and solution a business provided, in a video format. Just as a traditional case study takes a more in-depth look at a business’s process and results they achieved, a video case study also uses more details than other types of promotional videos. A case study video uses a customer’s perspective to show how a business works, and show new prospective customers the competitive advantages of the business.

In general, a case study will explain:

Who the customer is, and what challenge they were facing.
How the customer found the business.
The results the customer experienced after working with the business.
What the customer enjoys about working with the business.
How the customer’s challenge or problem has changed since working with the business.

Use Boast to record, edit, and post your case study video easily
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How Are Case Study Videos Different?

A traditional case study may use a variety of information to create a compelling story, including a text-based narrative, before-and-after comparisons, quantitative results, direct customer quotes, charts, and more. A case study video may contain similar information, though it will be slightly different.

A great case study video will use footage of a customer interview to tell a story, and combine it with engaging video effects, music, transitions, and footage of the company, product, service, and staff in action. It may also use charts and numeric information to show results more clearly. Instead of using a few direct quotes from the customer, the video case study will focus heavily on the customer’s own words, allowing them to tell the story and explain the business’s benefits.

Are Case Study Videos Better Than Traditional Case Studies?

Case study videos offer a number of advantages over traditional case studies. First, customers find videos to be more authentic and reliable, since they are harder to fabricate. The customer tells the story themselves, which is much more compelling to prospective customers. Second, most people prefer to watch a video, and they are much more likely to absorb the information in a video, rather than skimming a page of text. Finally, videos get more engagement and views than text-based content, so your customer’s story is likely to reach even more potential customers.

How to Make a Case Study Video

A case study video doesn’t have to be complicated to make. With some basic tools for editing and recording, you can make a great case study video to display on your site, social media, email, and more. Go through these steps and you can create your first case study video.

Meet with your customer: talk with one of your long-standing or best customers, and ask them if they would participate in a case study video.
Provide a script: use strategic case study questions to get a strong narrative, and show your business’s best qualities. Share these questions with your customer ahead of time, so they’ll be prepared. Explain how you plan to use the case study, and get your customer’s consent, in writing, to do so.
Film the interview: you don’t need a lot of equipment to film the interview with your customer. Set up some lighting, and place a steady camera.
Lay out your case study: once you have your footage, review it, and do a bit of editing to make a cohesive narrative.
Additional video: instead of focusing completely on your customer, splice in some dynamic shots of your company, products, or staff. This will make your case study video more engaging, and it gives you a chance to show your products or people at work, too.
Add effects: when you move between shots, add in some basic transitions. You might also use music, or simply use your customer’s audio. You might also use a chart to show results or highlight specific benefits your customer experienced, such as time or costs saved.
Review: give your case study video one last run-through, and show it to a few others, too. Don’t forget to add subtitles, since lots of viewers watch videos without sound.
Post: with your case study completed, it’s time to post! Don’t be afraid to show off your case study video on social media, on your website, in your emails, or wherever you might reach new prospective clients. You can use your case study video multiple times, and it can continue to provide value for years to come.

Now that you know what a case study video is and how it’s different from a traditional case study, should you make one? Absolutely! Your case study video is likely to engage more potential leads and get more engagement than a traditional case study. Set a time to meet with one of your best customers and start a free trial of Boast to record, edit, and display your case study.