What Peggy Goldman taught Gregory FCA about social media

Peggy Goldman talks about good marketing the way a former Supreme Court Justice talked about obscenity, "I just know it, when I see it."

Such was the journey Gregory FCA began nearly a year ago when we took on the assignment to build a blog and social media campaign for Peggy's exotic travel business -- Friendly Planet. Peggy went into the project with no preconceived notions. Rather, like many of our clients, she was determined to use digital communications to direct her own narrative and express the emotional connection she holds for her business and its customers, as they experience the wonder of travel to locales that include India, China, Nepal, or the Galapagos.

Her personal commitment is a tough story to tell through traditional public relations. In an economy still teetering, the travel media is fighting for its own survival, fixated on travel deals as a way to connect with hard hit travelers. Peggy certainly has the deals.

Her 10-day, $999 China trip broke all kinds of booking records. And part of her public relations campaign has included an aggressive outreach to traditional media, such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic Traveler, and others who now cover her travel packages extensively. But telling a more nuanced story required tools only now available to public relations practitioners, which brings me to blog.friendlyplanet.com.

Better than any other Gregory FCA case study, Friendly Planet's blog demonstrates how companies can take control of their message and integrate real content into the online marketing of their products and services.

The personality is all Peggy -- breezy, vibrant, and fresh. In one post, she shares with her readers a phone call she just had with her on-the-ground personnel in Thailand about their thoughts of safely traveling in light of political unrest.

In another, she shares the best travel tips for students. When she can't post, Peggy turns to guest bloggers who carry her voice forward, such as the impressions of a customer who traveled the Mediterranean on one of Friendly Planet's tours. On Peggy's suggestion, we found an editorial cartoonist who now designs regular art for the blog.

Like a Friendly Planet tour, our road to building the campaign was an adventure. Gregory FCA started it when common wisdom held that the less produced the look and feel, the more authentic the presentation. Like everything on the Internet, the initial naiveté has given way to the more mature notion that the better the look, the easier the read, and the bigger the audience.

Our adventure has taught us:

1. Content is king and it is killer. Good writing and storytelling takes work. At Friendly Planet, that's been a group effort directed by Peggy and executed by Gregory FCA and its team of bloggers.

2. Personality is critical. All too often, blogs are mechanical undertakings, soulless in their execution. Like a great magazine, a great blog connects the publisher or editor with the audience through their voice and vision.

3. Every company has content. Within the four walls of every business, there are stories, know-how, and information worth sharing with customers. Social media is merely the pipeline to share much of what happens organically within a company.

4. Viral is really nothing more than hard work. The editorial cartoons that appear in Friendly Planet are now the perfect content for online sharing. But they require thought, talent, and execution to make them a worthwhile and a valuable part of the social media experience.

5. The efficiencies of the Internet let you spend more time and money on content. And to spend less time and money on printing, postage, and fulfillment. It's not necessarily an easier route. But in the end, it's the best way possible for companies to control their own narrative and share their worldview with its markets.