In this episode, Dan connects with serial learner, social media trainer, speaker, and founder and owner of Beyond Engagement, Valentina Escobar-Gonzalez. Dan and Valentina sit down to chat about community, the ins and outs of social media, the importance of putting yourself out there and just “showing up,” the keys to authentically connecting with people through social media, and the pros and cons of Web3’s development and advancement.  Valentina Escobar-Gonzalez is a serial learner and expert social media marketer with an unquenchable desire to speak with and engage with people. As a well-known speaker and social media educator, she understands how to combine social media marketing principles with authentic relationship-building to develop true connections and create a purposeful community online. Her years of expertise help her cater to business owners who do not understand how to put humanity in their marketing. In This Episode (4:29) How Valentina became dedicated to selfless learning  (13:14) Is there a difference between marketing and PR?  (17:28) The importance of putting yourself out there and staying determined (28:58) Quantifying the ROI of putting yourself out there (31:46) How Valentina built and evolved her social media business  (34:40) Social media is a tool to help you truly connect with people (44:29) Organically collecting connections and building a community as a result (50:50) Web3’s development is fascinating and terrifying (1:03:15) What keeps Valentina up at night?  (1:13:34) Final message from Valentina  Notable Quotes “I started taking notes on everyone and really understanding people because I think you have to be prepared. You have to do research. You [have to] have the tools. There’s no excuse to bond with someone if they have a profile; there is a way to really identify and create a relationship with someone if you take the time to research who they are and what they stand for.” - Valentina (5:35) “I went up to have him [I met his wife and him] and had him sign my book, and I’m like, “I don’t know who he is. Let’s talk about golf because he’s from Florida, so maybe he’s a golfer.” He was not a golfer, but somehow [we] we took a picture, we stayed in touch, I followed him on Twitter, and I found his address on his website. At one point, I either sent him a thank you card or a Christmas card…You keep in contact with folks…It’s all about putting yourself out there. If I had not taken that step to go get the book signed by Mark and just talk about golf [you know, being an ex-Floridian] and just putting myself out there and just taking the initiative to write him a little hand-written card…You know, that sort of stuff. - Valentina (17:48) “The idea of going up to somebody who I’ve admired from afar or I’m familiar with their books…you know, you have this kind of image or this feeling that they’re too busy or they’re too famous or whatever to spend any time with you. It took me far [far] too long in my life to get to the point where I was like, “why should I care?” Right? If they don’t wanna talk to me, they’ll just turn around, and they’ll go someplace else, and then, you know, that just means they’re a dick.” - Dan (21:47) “When I started my business, I only knew one other person who was getting paid in the area to do social media. At the time, not even the agencies had social media. I said to myself, “it’s a way to communicate with your customers. How are you gonna know how to sell to them, how to approach them, how to market to them, if you don’t know what they’re saying?” - Valentina (33:41) “You don’t really know what you’re gonna get out of a relationship when you first meet someone. You don’t know the ripple effect…how much it’s gonna impact you, your family, [and] your contacts. And I think it’s just the desire to be a connector. I might not be able to help you, but I might direct you to the right person.” - Valentina (46:58) About Valentina Valentina Gonzalez i