From the September issue of UCD
By John Dismukes
What happens when you mix a small-town West Virginia dealer, a sharp wit and a fearless approach to social media? You get Shea Phillips of Number One Auto Sales, who was part of one of the most talked-about panels at this year’s NIADA Convention.
His panel session, “Making Social Media and Video Work at Your Dealership,” left the room buzzing. I caught up with Shea to dig into the ideas, humor and strategy behind his online success.
John Dismukes (JD): What inspired you to focus on social media and video for your dealership? Was there a specific moment or turning point?
Shea Phillips (SP): I wouldn’t say there was a specific moment, but definitely a turning point. For the first 20 years we were in business, we did almost zero advertising. We did a small ad on the front page of the local newspaper once a week. That was it. Then, around 2015, we got into local radio because it was very affordable. We figured out pretty quickly that if our radio commercials were different from the typical car dealer ads, we would stand out. We write all of our own commercials, showcasing our fun, laid-back and corny personalities. People seem to love it because we also make fun of ourselves. It doubled our business. While we’ve always had a social media presence, we have really ramped it up over the last 2 to 3 years. I’ve taken the lead on that because I have always handled our online images. I knew that learning the video and video editing side was very important. It’s been a fun process and journey!
JD: How would you describe your dealership’s social media voice or personality in one sentence?
SP: We take a look around at what other dealers are doing, and we attempt to do the opposite, because doing the same thing everyone else is doing is very lame!
JD: What platforms are currently delivering the best ROI for your dealership — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or YouTube? Why?
SP: Facebook and YouTube for sure. You can actually research how to gain more followers and get more eyeballs on your content. TikTok is fun, but unless you are posting 2 to 3 videos per day consistently, it’s very hard to figure out their algorithm and gain any traction or a large following. I’m trying to run a business, so I don’t have time to do that. There are dealers who have had success with it, and maybe we will crack the code someday, too, but it’s not a focal point I have at this time.
JD: How do you decide what type of content to post — inventory walkarounds, staff highlights, community events or customer testimonials?
SP: I will post our inventory on Facebook at times, but generally, I try to keep the content on there lighter and more fun. People are scrolling on Facebook and TikTok to kill time, relax, get lost after a long day, or be entertained. They don’t want to be sold something while they are surfing, so why should I try to sell them something?
We try to give a little peek behind the curtain and highlight our employees from time to time. We always do thank you posts to our customers, because they love seeing their pictures on social media after they buy their new ride, and we want to show our gratitude to them. We also do short, goofy fun videos that are sometimes related to what we do and sometimes they are way off the beaten path. Anything entertaining and engaging. Our social media philosophy is that we want to be on your mind when you’re ready for that better vehicle. What better way to do that than by being different and standing out from every other dealer around?
JD: How do you strike the balance between selling cars and building community through your content?
SP: When I post my organic content, I’m not focused on selling a car. I’m more focused on continuing to build our brand. We have branded ourselves as “Sid and Shea, the Dealer for YOU! at Number One Auto – Drive On Down!” People know us as the goofy father and son dealership that’s been around for 30 years, selling better vehicles. By building our brand, we hope to be top of mind when people are ready for a new ride.
As far as the community goes, we have a program called JAM the VAN! We take this old 2008 E250 Cargo van and park it at the front of our lot and encourage the community to help us jam it full of toys and clothes for kids at Christmas. We then let the folks who donate items spray paint the van. We run the program from October through mid-December and the feedback and support from the community have been amazing. We post photos and videos of the van and graffiti on social media to help spread the word. We then donate all the items to the local Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program.
JD: What’s your secret sauce for making videos that actually engage viewers instead of getting scrolled past?
SP: The key is grabbing their attention in the first 2 to 4 seconds of the video. If you start out boring, they will scroll past. But if you start with a bang, you might get them to hang longer. Saying things like “check this out!” or “hey, did you know?” are great phrases to start with. If you can create videos that get people to comment or share, that is a huge key to getting more eyeballs on your content.
JD: Do you follow a content calendar or just go with the flow? What’s worked better for you?
SP: I do it pretty much all based on feel. I pay attention to what’s going on in the world both locally and nationally. These past few weeks, there’s been a lot of talk about the American Eagle ad campaign, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans”. It hit me one day: We have a Sidney too! So, we did some funny videos of Pop’s in his blue jeans with the caption “Sidney has great jeans, but even better vehicles!” People have loved it! We simply took something that was already out there and put our spin on it and made it ours. We do that kind of stuff all the time. If you can do that, you will have a lot of success.
JD: How has video impacted your lead generation or customer trust? Got any success stories?
SP: Tracking leads from organic social media content is next to impossible, but doing so with paid ads is very effective and insightful. Since we are discussing organic posts, our focus is being top of mind. We had a recent story where a customer got up to go to work, with no plans to trade vehicles until his ride overheated and nearly left him stranded. He got fed up, drove straight to “see Sid and Shea,” and by 11 a.m., he was on his way in a better vehicle from Number One Auto. It doesn’t get any better than being there for someone in need and helping them get back on the road.
JD: Who creates your content? Is it a one-person show, a marketing team, or are salespeople involved?
SP: I create all of our content. I film it all and edit it all, mainly because I still enjoy doing it. The ideas for the content are a complete team effort from anyone and everyone in the business. I love it when one of my employees comes in and says, “I’ve got a great idea for a video!” Creativity breeds creativity, and it spreads like wildfire when you let it!
JD: Are you using any tools or platforms (like Canva, CapCut, Hootsuite, etc.) to streamline your social media and video efforts?
SP: For video editing, I use CapCut. For photo graphics and editing, I use GoDaddy Studio.
JD: What’s been the biggest learning curve in making social media work for your dealership?
SP: Thinking you know something you don’t know. I’ve done posts and videos that I was for sure would be a huge hit, only for them to turn out getting only a handful of likes (one of which was my mom!) Then I will post something that I am sure is just a “throwaway post,” and it takes off with tons of likes and shares.
Sometimes what you find likable or engaging is not what others will find the same. My advice is don’t be reluctant to post something that you don’t find engaging… oh, and avoid politics and giving your opinion about something serious.
JD: Have you had any social media missteps or “oops” moments that you learned from?
SP: We are pretty careful making sure that what we are about to post doesn’t cross any lines. We like to be edgy sometimes, but never cross that line. If it’s a post we might think is going too far, we always get feedback from others to make sure we aren’t being naive. We’ve had so many funny ideas that never made the cut because if who or what it might trigger in a negative way.
JD: For dealers who feel overwhelmed by social media, what’s the one thing they should start doing today?
SP: It can be very overwhelming if you let it. If I were going to start using social media today and I had never used it before, I would probably download ChatGPT and ask it for advice on when and where to post. Embrace AI, because it’s here and it’s not going anywhere. While I wouldn’t suggest using AI to do all of your creativity for you, you can use it for ideas if you feel stuck. I’ve used it to create graphics and help develop an idea into something better. Remember, like anything else, you will get out of it what you put into it. Start small, don’t reinvent the wheel, and see where it takes you!
JD: What’s the most underrated type of content a dealership can post that more dealers should be doing?
SP: Most dealers’ content is about their product, but one of the things they aren’t posting about much is their business culture. We focus a lot on showcasing our culture.
JD: If you had to pick one KPI to measure your social media success, what would it be and why?
SP: We don’t look at KPI when it comes to our social media content, because we are focused on building a brand, not directly selling a car. Having said that, we do pay attention to how many views a video gets, or how many new followers we have gained over the last 30 days and how we can gain more. At the end of the day, we are here to help people get into a better vehicle from our dealership. But directly tracking that from our social media content is not something we can do directly. If we can be on their minds when they are ready, we stand a great chance of helping them out.
JD: What does the future of dealership marketing look like to you—especially as new platforms and trends emerge?
SP: If I had to sum up the theme of the NIADA Convention this year, it was AI, AI, AI. AI is here, and it ain’t going anywhere! I think the dealers that embrace it to make their business more efficient will be the ones who will be leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. That includes marketing for their dealership. I certainly don’t plan to use AI to replace my creative side, because I enjoy being creative and coming up with crazy ideas. But if I can use it to help me gain an edge and make my idea even better, I will definitely use it to my advantage.
