SMC of SLC

by Erin McBride, SMC of SLC member

A few weeks ago my younger brother called me for help. He was stuck on the side of I-15 with a flat on his new Jetta GLI, and he didn’t know how to change the tire using the complicated repair kit.

After enjoying the thrill that only an older sister can feel when her little brother asks for help with something car related, I turned to the Internet. I searched the obvious terms for his make and model car and “flat tire.” I found a few discussion forums, but ignored them. I tried the manufacturer’s website but found nothing about flat tires.

Next, I turned to YouTube, and typed in the make and model and was immediately greeted with “how to change a tire.” Bingo! We were in luck. I realized he could be watching this same video on his phone, and quickly texted him the link. He watched it, but couldn’t see which tool they were using to remove the hubcap on his tiny phone screen.

I returned to the discussion forums I had noticed earlier. I was amazed at what I found! Just a few days before, another person asked the group for help with this same problem, and online contributors rapidly replied with instructions on how to remove the tricky hubcap (this was a painfully unintuitive repair kit).

The responses on the discussion forum told me we weren’t going to be able to change the tire without help, a conclusion I likely would’ve taken hours to come to on my own.

In just a few quick keystrokes I had located my brother’s insurance company and their toll-free number, and a few minutes later, a tow truck was at his side free of charge.

Later that night, I thought about how quickly and easily we handled the situation using social media. I wondered how many people had learned to change a flat tire on the side of the road by using their media equipped phones. Or what we would have done if I hadn’t found that discussion forum.

Let’s take it a step further: How convenient it be if you could just tweet to your insurance provider, “Need a tow truck! Send help!” and attach your GPS location? (Comcast Cares does a great job doing something similar.) There are so many ways companies and people can go the extra mile using social media. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone did?

Thank you, social media, for saving my day.

Erin McBride is a freelance social media and engagement-marketing consultant. She expounds upon social media and engagement marketing at http://mcbridemarketing.wordpress.com and as @erinmarketing.