Don't miss interesting news
Everyone wants to “show results,” but instead they show themselves with perfect lighting, retouched numbers, and no hint of fakery. Such texts resemble not the work of marketers, but a LinkedIn post about “successful success.” And while it sounds nice, it doesn’t add to credibility.
A good case study is not a press release with pathos and clichéd phrases. It’s a documentary with characters, mistakes, changes in plans, and figures that you’re not ashamed to share. It should contain life, not corporate glitter.
The problem is that brands are often afraid to look imperfect. And this is how they ruin themselves. Because trust is not born of perfection, it is born of honesty. A case that does not inspire trust is more damaging than its absence.
Let’s see what five common mistakes in case study content turn a success story into a clumsy self-promotion.
This is a classic of the genre. The case begins with the pompous “We are market leaders”, followed by “innovative solutions”, “impressive results”, “effective strategy” and no specifics. Only beautiful foam instead of substance.
Such texts resemble a self-presentation at an interview, where the candidate repeats “I am responsible and purposeful” but cannot name any real achievements. And the reader (or potential client) feels it. Because where there should be numbers, there are only descriptions. Where there should have been a process, there are phrases like “we creatively approached the task.”
Cases written in the style of “everything was great” do not inspire confidence. They give the impression that the author either hides details or does not understand what exactly worked. After all, if you really got great results, why not show us exactly howhow?
For example, instead of the abstract “We increased sales by 200%”, say: “In three weeks, we tested 14 variants of creative, reduced CPL from $9 to $3, and increased conversion from 1.2% to 3.4%.” This is a story that can be verified, quoted, and remembered.
In a world where everyone is “efficient” and “creative,” the only currency of trust is specifics. Numbers, dates, hypotheses, mistakes. Even if your result is not perfect, honesty always sounds more convincing than glossy fiction.
Write case studies as if you were explaining the result to a colleague, not a marketing awards jury. Without the phrases “best solution” and “revolutionary approach”. Instead, the process, data, conclusions. Better short and honest than long and empty.
When a case study starts with the words “We launched a campaign” and you don’t understand why, for whom, and for what. Without a starting point, even the brightest results are up in the air. It’s like starting a movie with the final scene, which is beautiful but incomprehensible.
Many teams make this mistake because they want to “get to the wins” as quickly as possible. They immediately throw out numbers without explaining what was behind them. And instead of analytics, it turns out to be a riddle: “it was bad – it became good”. But without context, it is unclear how good it is and at what cost.
The audience cannot appreciate the scale if they don’t see the starting point. Saying “we tripled the number of leads” sounds impressive only until you find out that there were three at first. Without the background, any indicator looks like manipulation.
Start with the situation. Tell us what happened before you: what were the goals, conditions, market, weaknesses, limitations. Briefly but honestly. Don’t be afraid to show the problems – they create the drama, without which the case does not catch.
Instead of “We launched an advertising campaign for the client’s e-commerce,” write: “The client had 80% of sales through offline stores, and online generated less than 10% of turnover. We had three months to change the ratio.”
Now the numbers make sense. Because there is a starting point, a goal, and a reality in which you worked.
By adding context, you do not stretch the text, but give the reader the opportunity to believe. And this is what makes a case study convincing.
In many cases, everything is too good to be true. All decisions are brilliant, all stages are successful, the client is delighted, the team is heroes. No “oops”, “it didn’t work”, “it needs to be redone”. Such a text reads smoothly, but does not evoke any emotions. Because people don’t believe in perfection – they believe in process.
A case without mistakes is like a movie without conflict. You see the characters winning all the time, but you forget why you should empathize with them. The audience is not looking for perfection, it is looking for the truth. And when a company honestly shows that the first version of a campaign didn’t take off and the third version finally worked, it inspires more respect than any “everything was perfect the first time”.
Many marketers are afraid to show their weaknesses because they think it will lower their status. In fact, it’s the opposite. When a brand admits that not everything went smoothly, it sounds mature and human. It’s not a sign of insecurity, it’s a sign of experience.
Add facts, doubts, and failed hypotheses to your cases. Tell us what didn’t work and why. It doesn’t make you less professional – it shows that you know how to analyze, draw conclusions, and aren’t afraid to make mistakes.
Instead of the dry “We tested several creatives and chose the most effective one”, be honest: “The first version of the campaign failed – we received only 12 applications instead of the expected 100. But it helped us realize that the audience responds to benefits, not emotions. The next wave brought 8 times more results.”
An ideal case is not a story about success, but a story about the way to it. People trust those who are not afraid to show how they got there.
Sometimes you open a case study with good results, and in the second paragraph, you catch yourself thinking that you are reading a technical report. As if the text was written not by a marketer but by an auditor. The numbers are there, the process is described, everything is logical, but you want to yawn.
The problem is not in the data, but in the presentation. A case without a story is just a chronology of actions. “We analyzed, we launched, we optimized,” and then twenty more points, after which even the best CTR seems like something mundane. Even a victory looks boring if there is no emotion in it.
The point is that a case study is a story, not a table. People want to see not just numbers, but a path: how it all started, what the risks were, what didn’t work, how the team reacted. This is where the dynamics that keep their attention are born.
Write case studies as a story, not as an instruction manual. Use storytelling: problem → solution search → conflict → breakthrough → conclusion.
This is a classic scheme, but it always works. Add characters – team, client, users. Even one short episode of “how we argued about whether humor or usefulness is better” will make the text come alive.
Instead of “We launched 7 Facebook campaigns” write: “We tested everything from laziness memes to expert guides. And only one format collected 80% of the results. The rest went to the archive.”
Don’t forget: a dry case is a loss of even a good result. Because in digital, the winner is not the one who has more data, but the one who knows how to tell it.
There is a category of cases that leave you with only one question: “What happened?” The author enthusiastically describes the process of analysis, strategy, creativity, tests, but simply puts an end to it. Not a single figure, not a single result, not a single “was – became”.
Such a case is not a proof, but a diary of processes. It may be interesting to see how you work, but it does not inspire confidence. Without facts, everything said sounds like a self-report: “we did a lot of work”. And what it gave the client is a mystery.
The problem is that the audience does not believe in words. They believe in data, in graphs, in numbers, in real quotes from people who have been helped. And when a case study lacks this, it immediately loses weight. Even the most sincere text is no substitute for evidence.
Show the result. Not just “the campaign was successful,” but how successful. Add measurable metrics such as CTR, ROI, CPA, conversions, leads, and customer retention. Show a graph, dynamics, screenshot from Meta Ads Manager or Google Analytics. Add a short comment from a client – even one sentence “after this campaign, we doubled our budget” sounds stronger than any paragraph.
Instead of “The results exceeded expectations,” write: “In the first two weeks, we received 327 leads at a CPA of $2.5, keeping the quality above 80%. The client increased the budget for the next quarter.” A case without results is like a joke without an ending: it seems like there was a story, but it makes zero sense. In the digital age, it’s the numbers and facts that are your best PR tools.”Tip
A case is not a way to brag, but an opportunity to show how you think and work. This is a document that should convince, not embellish. And that is why it should be honest, structured and human.
Most mistakes in case studies are born out of a fear of looking “imperfect”. But the audience has long since learned to distinguish between gloss and reality. They don’t need your polished image, they need trust. And trust doesn’t come from phrases like “we are market leaders”, it comes when you show the process, numbers, solutions, even those that didn’t work.
A good case study has everything that keeps your attention: the problem, people, risks, results, and reflection. You want to read it because it is alive. And most importantly, it makes you want to work with you.
So before you click “publish,” ask yourself: is this a success story or a story that can be believed? Because the second option always wins.</span