The healthcare industry as a whole has been slow to adopt the value of content marketing.

Until recently, that is. Healthcare marketers now recognize the need for a clear content marketing strategy that includes various types of content including blogs, white papers, infographics and of course, case studies.

In fact, according to the Content Marketing Institute’s report B2B Content Marketing: 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends-North America, 82 percent of organizations use case studies in their arsenal of marketing tactics.

When they’re effective, case studies:

  • Establish your credibility
  • Educate in a compelling way
  • Drive home what makes you different than your competitors
  • Create brand awareness
  • Demonstrate and validate results
  • Build trusted relationships with clients
  • Boost consumer confidence
  • Increase sales
  • Shorten the sales cycle
  • Sell more to current customers—upsell and cross-sell.
  • Answer questions
  • Foster engagement
  • Get media placement

Yet without a few key elements, your case studies will not only fail to convert your prospects, but they can also cost your organization a significant amount of time and money.

Here, read on for 5 of the most important pieces you should make sure all of your case studies include.

1.  The story

Sounds pretty obvious, right? Yet so many healthcare organizations fail to think about their case studies as stories, despite the fact that they’re one of the most interesting ways to close deals with your potential clients.

When brainstorming and planning your case studies, think like a journalist and know what the story will be even if it’s not fully fleshed out yet.

Ask yourself:

  • What were my client’s pain points?
  • Why did they choose us and not our competitors?
  • How exactly did we help them lower costs, attract more members, fill in the blank.

Before you even conduct the interview, get super-clear on what the story will be. Then when you write, make sure the story flows seamlessly with a clear beginning, middle and end. Be sure to add a headline, descriptive subheads and pull quotes too.

2. Data

Features and benefits are important but backing up your case studies with data will make them even stronger and compelling to your prospect.

If you’re a health insurance plan for example, you’ll want to add specific data on how much you were able to lower costs or improve HEDIS scores. You might also add charts, graphs or infographics to demonstrate how you achieved those results.

3. Quotes

Remember that all of your case studies should be written as though they were stories for a magazine or a news outlet.

Every case study must include quotes from your clients but statements like, “their service was so valuable,” or “the experience was great,” tell your prospects absolutely nothing.

Instead, dig deep on interviews and your quotes will read like sound bites: concise and powerful.

4. Social share buttons

Although you’ll probably use your case studies for direct mail campaigns, sales meetings and events, they should also live on your website, be published on LinkedIN Pulse and re-purposed as blog posts. You can also include them in your e-books, email marketing campaigns, online programs, press releases and pitches.

Although you’ll be sharing your case studies, make sure you make it easy for prospects to share it as well by adding social media buttons and tweeatable quotes.

5. CTA’s

Tell your prospects what to do next with one or more clear call to actions. Include complete contact information including the name of your sales representative, and make it even easier with a form or landing page.