I’m thrilled to share with you my recent conversation with Tyler J McCall on how visibility served as a catalyst for his business growth.
If you haven’t yet met Tyler, he’s a business and Instagram marketing strategist for online business owners and digital entrepreneurs (and an all around cool human).
We had so much fun during my interview on his show, the Online Business Show (catch that episode here), that I wanted to turn the tables and ask HIM #allthethings.
In this episode we’re talking about Instagram (of course), but also the behind the scenes of putting yourself out there with insights that others just aren’t talking about when it comes to putting yourself out there building an online business. Tyler shares insights, vulnerable admissions and key lessons he learned on his journey creating Followers to Fans Society and the Online Business Association.
Episode Show Notes
How Tyler went from working at the YMCA to becoming a go-to Instagram marketing strategist (and why he choose this platform specifically)
When he first started his business, he had come out of the YMCA and was just doing general marketing where they were doing everything for everyone. A couple of things happened overtime where of all the work they were doing they started seeing results for their clients on Instagram – having the most conversations, feedback and connection with customers. Realizing if it’s working for their clients, he should try it for himself. That’s when he started building his own presence and started creating content on Instagram and getting in front of new people.
Instagram has such a low barrier to entry for people and this is what Tyler always loves about it. It is the only platform where you can find and have direct conversations with your customer, preemptively engage with them to attract them to your brand. And from there, they can be introduced to your brand, learn about your product or service, and they can choose to work with you – not a lot of platforms allow you to do that but Instagram does!
Visibility: the key to business growth
Something a lot of people don’t realize is that the quickest way to build your presence, gain visibility, and build your platform is to get on someone else’s platform. Saying yes to all these opportunities but make sure you decide what filters you want to say yes to or no to.
Tyler knew that the key to growing his business was getting in front of more people and it was going to be a heck of a lot easier to do that by leveraging someone else’s platform than doing it on his own.
Two important mindset shifts that’s game-changer for Tyler
- Recognize and respect that there are other human beings on the other end of the screen.
You’re not speaking into the void and just putting things out there. There’s another human being on the other side of this screen and that comes with so much responsibility. Whenever someone has made the decision to follow you, they’ve made the decision to allow you to speak into their life.
- Always act in the best interest of your community online.
Sometimes the best interest of your community online is not to sell them your product or service but instead to tell them that it’s not the right fit for them. When you can act as a fiduciary for your community online, acting with their best interest in mind, you’re going to reap the benefit of that in serving your community. You’re just gonna feel a heck of a lot better about what you’re doing online and it makes it more meaningful and more valuable.
Tyler’s perspective on leveraging data in business (put on your scientist googles)
When a scientist figures out about how something happens or how to create something new, they have an idea which is called a hypothesis. They develop an experiment and observe how it plays out then they gather data from this and draw a conclusion. They either prove or disprove their hypothesis. If they prove their hypothesis, they do it again to make sure it works. If they disapprove, they will try it differently.
We can do the exact same approach in our businesses by just looking at it as an experiment. You have ideas about how it’s going to work. You’ll test this to see if it really works or not then you collect and observe the data but then you’re gonna move on from there. The key here is not to attach your personal worth to the outcome of the experiment.
Having mutual respect with the other people in your industry (even our competitors!)
All these people you’re competing against in the online business space, you all share customers so let go of animosity and jealousy towards others. Know that you have nothing to be jealous of or have nothing to compare yourself to. At the end of the day, we’re both inherently worthy of living the life we want to live and being loved and supported.
Tyler’s actionable tips that you can do right NOW to show up on Instagram and get more visible
- Start showing up now on Instagram stories and reels.
These are the two biggest places you can start showing up. They are easy and have no barriers to entry. It’s just you and your phone talking into the screen.
Prompts you can use for your stories or reels:
- Day in the life
- Q&As
- If you have a program or you do client calls, pick one of those topics that you discussed on your call that you think will be helpful to share with your audience.
- Make yourself a burner Instagram account.
Create a backup burner Instagram account that you don’t use for business. Practice going live on there. Test and figure out how to use the function of Instagram.Play around with it yourself. It’s a great way just to get over a bunch of those fumbles and stumbles as you get started.
Pursuit to “becoming one of the cool kids”
The reality is we don’t really even know who these “cool kids” are and if they’re really happy in their life or in their business. We don’t know what values they have and if it’s aligned with who we are or what we’re working to create. We just think we should have what they have or be where they are in business. Instead of trying to be the cool kids or sit with them, we can just build our own communities.
And once we get the right community of people around us, that makes entrepreneurship so much more richer. It makes the work we’re doing and the lives we’re impacting so much more valuable and worth it!
About my guest, Tyler J McCall
Tyler J. McCall is a business and Instagram marketing strategist for online business owners and digital entrepreneurs. He focuses on using Instagram and social media to tell stories, build relationships, and convert followers to fans, drawing from his 10 years of experience in non-profit marketing and community organizing.
Since 2015, Tyler has taught thousands of entrepreneurs how to start, grow, and scale their online businesses. He is the founder of the Follower to Fan Society – an online Instagram marketing training program – and of the Online Business Association – the first and only professional association for online business owners and digital entrepreneurs.
| Connect with Tyler
On Instagram
Via Website
Check out The Online Business Show podcast
Join the Online Business Association Community
Grab Tyler’s free Instagram Masterclass Training: How to Sell More Programs, Products, and Services on Instagram
Tune into the episode with the player on the top of this page, or read the full episode transcript here.
Podcast episodes mentioned:
The Hint of Hustle:
Becoming a Trusted Authority in Online Marketing with Andrea Howe – Ep #37
The Online Business Show:
