Editor’s Note: This conversation with Travis Lyles was recorded in October 2021, and I’ve been sitting on this gold mine ever since. Life happened—cross-country moves, career pivots, launching a business—and yes, that voice in my head kept saying, “you dropped the ball.” But here’s what I’ve learned: Sometimes your greatest contributions need time to marinate. I’m back, I’m better, and I’m opening the vault to share these transformative conversations with you. Because your next breakthrough might be hiding in someone else’s story.
Meet the Mastermind Who Turned The Washington Post’s Social Media Into a Powerhouse
When Travis Lyles walked into The Washington Post as a 23-year-old social editor, he stepped into a legacy institution on the brink of change.
The Longwood University alum joined our exlusive interview with an unassuming presence that belies his outsized impact. Donning his signature glasses and effortless intelligence, he went on to detail how he and his team led the transformation of The Post’s Instagram from 600,000 followers to nearly 7 million today. How? By challenging the very foundation of what everyone assumed worked.
“When I took over the account in August of 2017, I knew that we needed to change,” said Lyles during our conversation. “We were behind a lot of our competitors in both following and in engagement. And I really thought that we just needed to shift our strategy.”
“We were posting all beautiful photography. And although some of them would get a decent amount of likes, they weren’t really getting the amount of shares or comments that we really needed to spur the growth in the account,” Lyles recalled. Seeing the state of affairs, he advocated for the shift.
“We really need to lean into what we do best, and that’s news.”
That decision—to abandon an overreliance on photojournalism for text-based news graphics—wasn’t just a tactical shift. It was a foundational pivot that speaks directly to any leader who has ever had to choose between doing what’s been done and doing what could prove to be more effective. Posting images with text is commonplace on instagram today, but it was far from the norm at the time he advocated for this change. Fortunately, for Lyles, it paid off in a major way.
“We grew by, I believe, over a million followers for three straight years,” he recounted, without a hint of bragging—just the quiet confidence of someone whose results speak for themselves.
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Growth Hacks and Viral Strategies
In our hustle culture, we’re bombarded with growth hacks and viral strategies. Lyles cut through the noise with a counterintuitive approach. He refused the notion to compromise substance for clicks.
On preserving trust with the Post’s brand, Lyles noted, “We don’t want to get cheap engagement.” He expounded by stating, “We want to be storytellers because that’s what we do. And we believe that being authentic as The Washington Post and really owning that brand. And establishing that brand on Instagram was something that played directly into why we grew so fast.”
Ask yourself: Where in your career or business are you sacrificing substance for short-term wins? What would happen if you doubled down on your authentic strengths instead?
How Travis Lyles Bridges the Gap Between Skeptics and Subscribers
In today’s fractured media landscape, The Washington Post faces the ultimate customer relations challenge: millions of Americans who literally believe they’re the enemy of the people.
Lyles’ response? “I think what I try to do is really just, number one, have empathy with everyone.”
He contends there are people who will say things like “you guys are fake news” and “you guys have an agenda,” but those are the individuals he likes to engage. “I feel like I can talk to and have a conversation with, or at least try to” in an effort to show them what he and the publication are all about.
This isn’t just feel-good philosophy—it’s driven tangible business results.
“People have bought subscriptions because of conversations we’ve had,” said Lyles. In his estimation, it’s “because I think people just want to be seen.” From his vantage point, “they just want to feel heard.”
For more hostile audiences with keyboard courage, he employs a different approach: “I don’t interact with them at all.” Those that fall within the category of people who comment racist or sexist remarks, Lyles opts to not engage because, in his words, that behavior is “over the line.”
But not all harmful or misleading comments in his view get a pass.
With his team posting 10–14 times daily from a deluge of breaking news, Lyles champions deciding what to post from a team consensus of what is actually useful, not just noise. And when that coverage is the subject of misleading commentary, Lyles is sure to chime in to offer context and background to the publication’s off-platform readership.
How Travis Lyles Prevents Burnout
Behind Lyles’ professional success lies a personal cautionary tale. Amid a cycle of sleep-deprived days, he had a realization.
“If I work another day, I’m not gonna wake up…I’m gonna sleep in for like 12 hours.” The experience forced him to develop a self-care ethos he intends to carry on for years to come:
- Physical recovery: Regular massages and workouts
- Digital boundaries: Intentional phone-free periods
- Comfort rituals: Simple pleasures during high-stress cycles
- Nonnegotiable breaks: “I took my first two-week vacation in August. I’m going to do that every year now. It was a game-changer.”
For the high-achievers reading this: Your ambition is your greatest asset—until it becomes your biggest liability. What boundaries are you willing to set today to sustain your ascent?
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On Leadership and Legacy
Many emerging leaders feel trapped between respecting tradition and driving innovation. Lyles demonstrates you can choose to do both. Rather than choosing a compromise, leaders can synthesize. Honoring the foundational legacy of longstanding institutions while boldly building something new is what separates transformational leaders from mere disruptors.
When I asked what he hopes people will remember about his work at The Post, he replied, “Hopefully they’ll say that any success I had or will have, I did the right way, that I didn’t cut any corners. I didn’t do anything the cheap way.”
Beyond metrics and achievements, his ultimate goal transcends numbers.
One of the highlights about his work with The Post is the testimonials of people impacted by their work on social. Some have shared with him that they search for the publication on their Instagram in the morning to catch up on news, to see what they missed. “That’s the thing that gives me chills.”
He closed out by sharing, “I hope that people see me as someone, or they remember me as someone who was always a resource for them.”
Your Challenge, Should You Accept
As you navigate your own leadership journey, ask yourself: Are you growing with integrity, or simply chasing external validation? The leaders who leave lasting legacies don’t just drive numbers—they transform how people experience the world around them. My challenge for you is to identify one area where you’ve been prioritizing appearance over substance. Now, imagine what would it look like to flip that script?
To learn more about Travis Lyles, click the following links to visit his Instagram or LinkedIn.
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