Arriving on stage as his character “Uncle Glory,” Shea Phillips created high energy that never let up throughout the most popular session of the 2025 NIADA Convention, “Making Social Media and Video Work at Your Dealership.”
Phillips, Craig Stowell and Kelly Midgett enthralled the full room with how the successful auto dealers have used their social media platforms to create a large loyal following of customers and generate thousands of leads. The session continued afterwards with the trio answering questions from the inquisitive fellow dealers.
“People saw three car dealers who put a lot of thought into their marketing, yet executed it very differently from each other,” Phillips said. “We are just regular guys trying to provide for our families and not pretend to be something we are not. You can market your dealership in many ways, tailoring the approach to your personality. Although the three of us have different deliveries, our core marketing and social media principles are the same.”
As Phillips of Number One Auto Sales in Buckhannon, West Virginia, puts it, the band is getting back together for the 2026 NIADA Convention and Expo, June 21-24, at the Gaylord Rockies in Denver. The trio will present the panel under the same name, but with fresh ideas learned in the past year, at 2 p.m. June 22.
“Over the past year, a lot has changed, and I have learned even more as well,” said Stowell, who will be presenting at the NIADA Convention for a third straight year.
Stowell of Flying Wheels, Inc., will share how social media helped make for a seamless transition as he moved his operations from New Hampshire to Palm City, Florida. His Flying Wheels Cars and Media has 500,000 subscribers on YouTube, 242,000 followers on TikTok and 43,000 followers on Facebook.
Phillips’ Number One Auto Sales has more than 9,000 followers on Facebook. Midgett’s Kelly’s Automotive in Manteo, North Carolina, has more than 3,000 followers on Facebook.
Though social media is a marketing strategy for the three dealers, each approaches it differently. They are glad to show the different approaches based on the audience and market. One commonality between the trio is their authentic approach that resonates with followers and fellow dealers when they share information about their social media efforts.
“We didn’t offer any secret recipes, and while we all three have different styles and different audience sizes on different platforms, what you see is what you get when you see us in front of the camera,” said Midgett, the owner of Kelly’s Automotive in Manteo, North Carolina. “Craig has the largest audience and has been active longer than Shea or me. Shea does elaborate skits and will run those themed ads/skits for lengthy periods. I just fire the camera phone up when I’m feeling spry and let ‘er rip.”
Though the title of the session and the panel are the same, attendees should not expect to hear the same information as last year. Social media and audiences are changing quickly and dealers must adapt.
“Social media is ever-changing, so if I were posting the exact same way today as I was a year ago, people would get bored, and we would be old news,” Phillips said. “So you must constantly keep it fresh and interesting, making the audience wonder, ‘What will they do next?’
“I’m excited to get back in that room with the fellas and share ideas with the audience to help make us all better at what we do.”
No word if Uncle Glory will be making another dramatic entrance. Be there to find out.
Early-bird registration remains open at niada.com/convention. See the full list of education at niada.com/convention/education.
