Social Media Examiner

AI educator, strategist, and social media content creator helping marketers embrace the next wave of technology.

Senior AI Marketing Strategist

AI-Driven Marketer

Helping marketers master AI and lead the future of marketing.

Show Host

Danchez

Need help turning your marketing department into a system-driven machine? Send me a DM and I'll show you how you can turn the chaos into systematic results.

AI Marketing Consultant & Creator

Element451

Led all inbound marketing efforts to drive revenue.

Director of Inbound Marketing

Sweet Fish

Led a team of producers to manage 40+ clients' podcasts and content marketing. I led strategic sessions with clients to help them create industry-leading shows.

Executive Producer

Served as head of marketing for Sweet Fish and consulted B2B tech companies across industries on marketing strategy, audience growth, and content marketing. Helped Sweet Fish hit the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list two years in a row and hosted over 200 episodes on the B2B Growth show.

• Generated over one million in revenue through my evangelism on LinkedIn. 
• Helped the B2B Growth podcast rank #1 in the Apple Podcast marketing category.

Director of Audience Growth

Bethany International

Served as the head of marketing and lead a teams in marketing, media, and digital technology initiatives. Daily responsibilities included marketing strategy development, coaching staff, mentoring students, producing content, writing copy, managing processes, and directing design work.

• Tripled the enrollment of BGU & won an award for fastest enrollment growth.
• Grew lead generation from 450 to 4,000+ leads annually. 
• Grew revenue from 6 to 12 million.
• Grew a new website from zero to 500k monthly pageviews from SEO.

Director of Marketing

Bethany Global University

Developed curriculum for and taught ENT211: Marketing Your Small Business for BGU's Transformational Entrepreneurship program where I coached students on how to start and market micro businesses.

Administrative Faculty

Shoptology

Worked with a talented team to build Facebook applications, manage client digital marketing, and provide social media training. My responsibilities ranged from product development, UI design, email marketing, WordPress theme development, Google Adwords, Facebook ad campaigns, and conducting market research for multinational corporations.

Marketing Engagement Specialist

International House of Prayer

I managed social networks consisting of 200,000+ followers as well as their PPC campaigns on Adwords and Facebook.
• Increased website traffic from social media by over 120%.

Social Media Manager

Teen Mania Ministries

Led a team of eight interns in email, social media, SMS text, Google Adwords, and direct mail marketing for one of the largest Christian youth organizations in the world. Managed 23 websites and blogs that exceeded 1.8 million annual visits each year.

• Website optimization for extremecamps.com increased lead generation by over 500%.
• Rebuilt all of their major websites which cut costs by 90% and increased overall performance.
• Successfully automated SMS text and email campaigns to save hours of work each week.
• Developed a marketing department training website for new hires and interns.

Digital Marketing Manager

Just a marketer trying to master AI in 2024 🦾 | Host of AiDrivenMarketer.com

Hi, I’m Dan Sanchez. My friends call me Danchez. 😉

I freaking love ai & marketing  ❤️ 🧑🏽‍💻

I also love:
• Yerba Mate  🧉
• Christmas 🎄 
• The great outdoors 🏕 
• V-neck t-shirts
• & Ultra learning (ask ChatGPT some time) 🤓

I post my most actionable advice to help you leverage AI to: 
 
👉  automate the busy work

👉  amplify your creativity

👉  and clarify your message

every... single...  day...  to help you LEVEL UP 🦾 your marketing game. 

So... connect with me on LinkedIn, 

become a friend, 

and call me Danchez. 🤓 👊

Dan Sanchez

"Let’s clarify your intent" 😍

ChatGPT is getting better.

I've been waiting for this moment. I know it would come but this is one of the first times I've seen it.

AI is slowing down and asking for clarity from my vague instructions just like a human would.

I've seen indicators of this before. If you would have asked it to write a marketing plan a year ago, it wouldn't have stopped to ask about the business you wanted to write it for. Eight months ago it started asking that.

Today, I gave it something that it would have normally moved forward with, but today it stopped and asked for clarity. 

It was the right thing to do.

These models are improving in small ways all the time.

#Danchez

Marketer mastering AI. Join me & 5k others on the journey at AIDrivenMarketer.com

Gemini will overtake ChatGPT when they:

1. Add a collaborate project feature

2. Allow Gemini to access most of the most common Google apps (YouTube, Analytics, etc)

3. Add memory 

3. They expand Google Opal to integrate with other apps outside of the Google ecosystem

4. They consolidate more of their AI features into their core Gemini app

I think it’s likely that these will all get done in 2026.

So, my prediction: Gemini will surpass ChatGPT by this time next year unless ChatGPT has an insane Hail Mary up their sleeve. 

Will you move?

#Danchez

I was 67 episodes in, then I got traction.

It takes time. We have to stop pivoting.

I had started and stopped a dozen blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels. 

I finally stuck with one.

It took a long time to grow.

But it did grow. 

Now it reaches 1,200-2,000 people an episode. 

It’s not huge, but it’s enough to keep it in the top 50 marketing podcasts. 

If you are just starting, just realized that it takes time. 

If you want to give up, keep going.

If you want to speed it up, publish more AND do improve the quality a little every time. 

Also, 67 wasn’t the magic number, it’s just when I noticed that things began to grow at a slightly faster rate. 

I was also not starting from zero. I had 25k LinkedIn followers and 10k monthly page views on my site and it still took a long time.

#Danchez

PS - Want me to take a look at your pod? Drop a link below and I’ll send a quick video with some rapid fire feedback.

OpenAI’s gearing up for war with Google.

But here’s the problem…

Google owns the map, the email, the docs, the OS… OpenAI owns ChatGPT and Sora. That’s it.

They’ll burn billions chasing compute, so building their own “Google Suite” from scratch? Impossible.

If I were Sam Altman, I’d go all in on acquisitions that scare Google:

👉 Notion: where real people actually work.
👉 Proton Mail: where privacy isn’t an afterthought.

Imagine a future where “OpenAI Suite” means private, fast, AI-powered everything.

Google would finally have a rival worth sweating over.

What company would you buy if you were OpenAI?

#Danchez
I help marketers use AI to move faster, build better, and think smarter.

PS – I built a free tool to make posting on LinkedIn easier. Try it (Link in profile).

Can you write a book with AI?

Would it be any good? We'll find out.

Naturally, there are dozens of programs that will spit out a book with a single prompt and all of them will be garbage. 

But, what if AI was just the ghost writer? 

What if you fed it your:

👉 Ideas
👉 Stories
👉 Style
👉 Structure
👉 Instructions

What if you let it interview you for more details?

That's what Ken Freire and I are attempting to do one podcast episode at a time. We've outlined the book using our existing ideas, broke down each chapter, and are recording an episode nearly every day this month that Gemini is turning into a chapter with the transcript.

We will still have to edit, but getting to v1 of the written draft was always the hard part (for me anyway). 

Will it work? 

The first drafts I'm getting out of Gemini tell me, yes.

You get to be the judge when it's published.

#Danchez
Marketer, mastering AI. 
Connect with me (Dan Sanchez) to join me on the journey.

PS - Today's episode (ch. 5) just dropped. 

Apple: https://lnkd.in/eSfvJqM8

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e9dQqyYH

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ekNcZKPM

Your biggest competitor isn’t another firm. It’s your invisibility. If your target buyers don’t see you as a trusted authority early, you’ll never even get considered.WHAT I DO: I help owners and executives at small B2B services providers, resellers and technology firms build their visibility and authority on LinkedIn. Because the more you're seen and the more credibility you develop, the more you'll attract ideal clients who already trust you and by extension, your company.I spend a lot of time studying what works on LinkedIn and how the algorithm (or 360Brew) works - how posts gain traction, how comments build audience, how ideas spread. And I apply that to help you spread your ideas and attract clients.WHY IT MATTERS: Here’s why visibility and trust is so important: 90% of buyers build their shortlist before they even begin a formal buying process. If you’re not already on that list, getting added later is nearly impossible. And even if you do get added, most of the deals still go to the firms who influenced the buying vision from the very beginning. That’s the painful reality many companies don’t see until it’s too late.So you have to influence buyers BEFORE they’re ready to buy.WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU: If your firm is invisible to buyers before buyers start their process, you won’t even be considered. The leaders who show up early—sharing insights, shaping conversations, and establishing themselves as credible authorities—they're the ones who make the list.That’s why your individual executive voices matter. And that's why your presence on LinkedIn matters.A faceless brand can’t build the same visibility or trust. People want to follow people, not just a logo.The executives who understand this are seeing powerful results.Gal Aga’s LinkedIn presence now drives 65% of his company’s leads.Alina Vandenberghe says 50% of Chili Piper’s open opportunities are influenced by her posts—millions in revenue every quarter.Even leaders with modest followings are landing enterprise conversations, shortening sales cycles, and giving their teams the air cover they need to close bigger deals faster.That’s the outcome I help leaders create. Not by turning you into an influencer, but by helping you become the trusted authority buyers recognize before they ever talk to sales.Because when your leadership team is visible to your target audience, the whole company wins.If you’d like to explore how visibility could change the game for your business, let’s connect.

Candyce. Edelen

First time I get to go to a conference where I’m just here to learn and get to attend with friends. 

We’re at B2B Forum by MarketingProfs  
We all went to dinner last night at a lovely restaurant in the north end of Boston. 

I’m here with Cheryl Salazar, Michelle Glennie, Amiee Keenan, Anya Ciecierski, Amy Spencer, Katie Freitas - so much fun to hang out with all of you!!!

Visibility builds trust—trust drives revenue. Helping CxOs develop the executive credibility on LinkedIn that attracts business and builds TRUST with your target audience. #Human2Human #NoBots | CEO | PropelGrowth

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This is going to sound insane.

(His words, not mine.)

This guy just pitched me a service that will email 1,000,000 people per month about my company.

They'll also run 50 LinkedIn accounts sending 50,000 InMails per month.

Here's the problem: My entire target market is about 12,000 people. (maybe 30,000 if I expand my niche)

So they'll alienate everyone I could ever sell to in less than 2 weeks.

Then what?
Do we just... start over with fake names?

And those 50 LinkedIn accounts? Yeah, those are fake profiles. There are firms that rent hacked profiles to spammers like this.

That's not outreach. That's identity theft at scale.

He also name-drops "reference accounts" like Nassau Street Partners and Meridian Group.

I'm betting they've never heard of this guy.

And I wonder how they'll feel when they find out he's using their names? 😤

But here's what really gets me:

This isn't just annoying for me as the recipient.

It's catastrophic for anyone desperate enough to hire them.

Your brand becomes synonymous with spam. Your market learns to ignore you...and block you. And you burn every bridge before you even know it exists.

This is #AnnoyanceAtScale and #AlienationAtScale.

And it's exactly why I built my business around the opposite: #humantohuman

Because I believe prospects are humans, not numbers.
And I believe they deserve to be treated with respect.
...unless they send me an email like this... 🤷‍♀️

~~~~~~

I post #MondayMarkups every Monday. The hashtag will help you find other posts in the series.

Want more tips? Click the link just below my name to get my newsletter.

I just got to meet one of my newest heroes! 

Christopher Penn is of the authors of the Trust Insights report on how 360Brew works (the new LinkedIn AI platform replacing the algorithms).

Thank you for the excellent research, Christopher!

Your comments are training LinkedIn’s algorithm.
And most people have no idea.

LinkedIn has quietly replaced the old algorithm with an LLM called 360Brew — a reasoning engine that studies your behavior to understand your expertise.

And guess what it’s watching most closely?

Your 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝟱–𝟭𝟬 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.

Those comments teach the system what topics you’re credible in. 

They tell the algorithm, “This person adds value in sales strategy,” or “She consistently contributes to leadership conversations.”

Every time you comment, you’re shaping what LinkedIn believes you’re an expert in.

That means your comment history has become your 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹. 

The AI scans where you add value, maps it to topic clusters, and uses that data to decide who should see your next post.

It's not a 1:1 relationship: 

This does NOT mean that if you comment on Joe’s post, then Joe will see post (if only it were that easy). 

It’s about commenting on the right topics so the LLM knows who should see your content based on their interests. 

(It's no longer about your followers or connections. It's about topics people are interested in).

So no more random acts of commenting...

If you’ve been dropping random comments across unrelated threads, it’s time to tighten your focus. 

Engage in the conversations you want to be known for.

Your comments are the breadcrumbs that guide your reach. And right now, they’re the most powerful credibility signal you’ve got.

Tomorrow, I'll share some commenting tips. 

Until then - have you noticed any changes in your feed based on your last 5-10 comments?

~~~~~

This is part of my ongoing series on LinkedIn’s 360Brew update. Follow #CandyceAlgoInsights to learn how the new algorithm thinks—and how to stay visible as it evolves.

My client went from 150 to 6,000 impressions in a week. 
2 of those posts delivered $80K of new pipeline. 
But that's still not the important part of the story. 

I can't share his name. He's in a crazy competitive space where his competitors watch his every move...and also follow me. 

He doesn't want to give them this playbook. 

But I can share what changed.

For years, he's been netting 7 figures/year. 2 years ago, referrals became his biggest lead source. And he got complacent. Took his foot off the gas. 

Then referrals slowed down, and his income dropped this year. 

He'd been outsourcing his LinkedIn content to a vendor who churned out promotional posts linked to his podcast. They were generic. Faceless. Sounded nothing like him.

His average post was getting maybe 150 impressions, if he was lucky, and very little engagement.

Last week, I convinced him to try something different.

Instead of promoting podcasts, he mined his actual client conversations. The worries they shared. The objections they danced around. The problems keeping them up at night.

He turned those conversations into posts.

"My posts are getting way more impressions than ever," he messaged me yesterday. "I finally put my finger on the kind of content that makes people stop and think."

The screenshot shows his excitement. But the real win?

He booked 5 calls this week. Two came directly from his LinkedIn posts.

With his 33% close rate and $40K average deal size, that's potentially $80K from a week of posts.

"Now I have to figure out how to be patient and not post every 5 minutes because this is so exciting," he said. 

The lesson is simple: Your clients are already telling you what content to create. You just have to listen.

Every sales call, every client conversation, every question, every objection - that's your content goldmine. It's the ultimate #HumantoHuman content play.

What client conversation could you turn into your next post?

Screenshot of a LinkedIn DM conversation between Candyce Edelen and a redacted connection. The connection shares that his posts are getting far more impressions than ever, including one with over 6,000 views. He thanks Candyce. 

Candyce replies that his recent posts are significantly better and that he's finally tapping into content that makes people stop and think differently. The connection responds that her compliment is incredibly rewarding. 

Later, he adds that he booked five calls in a week, with two directly from those posts, and that one prospect booked a call because a post resonated so strongly. He says Candyce's approach works. In the final message, the connection explains he fired the company that had been posting for him because it didn’t capture his voice, and that Candyce inspired him to return to his authentic style, use the tools available, and stay current on what works on LinkedIn. 

Sorry. But I'm not rearranging my day so we can "see where our worlds overlap."

Sometimes I feel weird about refusing meetings, since my whole business is about helping people get them.

But this request shows exactly why I ignore 99% of the 50+ outreach messages I get weekly.

My calendar is packed. Just like the executives you're targeting.

And I get a lot of messages like this, probably because of my job title and status as a business owner.

Here are three problems with this message: 
🚩 There's zero research (I'm not in B-corp leadership)
🚩 Vague meeting purpose ("a call to swap ideas")
🚩 Time-waster ("let's see where our worlds overlap")

He's essentially saying: "I didn't want to take the time to do my homework, but maybe you can do it for me on a call?"

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱:  
Taking this meeting means I will have to delay something else or work late. And that's true for every executive you're approaching. 

It would mean changing my priorities for... what exactly?
...A fishing expedition?

I'm happy to have interesting conversations with new people where I'll learn something, where we can discuss something of mutual interest. 

But "saying hello and seeing where our worlds might overlap" is NOT a reason for me to rearrange my day.

This guy will probably conclude that human-to-human outreach doesn't work.

Human-to-human is not the problem. It's his approach.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀:
→ Research your prospect 
→ Find a topic that will genuinely interest them 
→ Ask a question that's easy to answer on mobile 
→ Start a real conversation 
→ Let it naturally flow to jumping on a call

What's your go-to response when someone wants to 'pick your brain' or 'explore synergies'? Or do you just ignore them like I usually do? 👇


~~~~~~

I post #mondaymarkups every Monday. The hashtag will help you find other posts in the series. 

Want more tips? Click the link just below my name in this post to get my weekly LinkedIn tips newsletter. 

♻️ Sharing is caring. If you found this helpful, please repost to share it with your network.

.

10,000 hours. 
Supposedly, that's what it takes to become an expert in something. 

10,000 hours spread out across 50 hours a week means it would take about 4 years of consistent study and practice. 

I've definitely crossed the 10,000 hour threshold trying to become an expert in using LinkedIn for human-to-human social selling, executive visibility, and inbound marketing. 

I've probably invested more like 20,000 hours. 

Why do I still feel like a complete newbie with more to learn than what I've already learned? 

Every time I add new info to my knowledge, I see an even wider gap in what I don't know.

And now I'm trying to add in a deep understanding of AI.

I think that will take 10,000 DAYS instead of 10,000 hours.

This week has been a joy. I got to spend time with my favorite people from the #Dynamics channel AND see some old friends who I haven’t seen in close to a decade. 

It was so great to see you Andrew Gaffney

Joe Pulizzi - it was great to catch up, and thanks so much for the book! Can’t wait to read it. Your keynote was inspiring. 

Ann Handley - thank you and your team for organizing such a great event! 

Christopher Penn - your research is amazing, and I really enjoyed your keynote.  

And it was so great to hang out with you and share takeaways: 
Anya Ciecierski, Michelle Glennie, Cheryl Salazar, Amiee Keenan, Amy Spencer, Katie Freitas.

Most people think comments are just a courtesy.
But on LinkedIn, comments are the engine behind your visibility.

Every comment you add trains the algorithm on your expertise and who needs to see your content.

Equally important: every comment is a chance to build your visibility, credibility and authority with your target audience.

And as an added bonus - every comment adds to the original post, so you're also doing the poster a favor at the same time that you're helping yourself. 

It's a win-win-win situation!

Here's how to make every comment count.

Comment with purpose. Treat your comments like a micro-post, not a reaction.
• Add insight (e.g., stat/nuance/counterpoint/takeaway).
• Ask a follow-up question that deepens the thread.
• Loop in a peer—with a clear reason.
• Share a short story that reinforces the point.
• Name a resource (offer the link only if someone asks).

Length and timing both matter.
• 12+ words → boosts the post's reach.
• 35–120 words → also boosts your own visibility.
• First 90 minutes = golden hour for max visibility.

Topics matter. Your comments build your credibility around topics you want to be known for. 
• Be strategic in selecting posts.
• Do a search for posts related to your ideal topics.
• Comment on 3–5 related posts daily.

Stay human. 

LinkedIn's LLM can now detect automated or repetitive comments. 

More importantly, so can humans. And AI comments damage your credibility.

• Avoid AI phrases or summaries.
• Don't use templates or use the same comment.
• Mix your phrasing and approach to the comment.
• Draft with AI if you must, then edit to make it your own.

Watch your KPIs
Healthy conversations deliver impressive results. Keep an eye on notifications so you don't miss replies.
• Is your comment sparking a conversation?
• Are people reacting?
• Is your impression count climbing?
• Is your thread resurfacing over multiple days?
• Are you getting extra profile views, connection requests or DMs?

All these are signs that your content added real value.

Comments are no longer just engagement.

They're training the algorithm to see your expertise AND signaling to humans that you're worth following.

Every thoughtful comment you leave builds three things at once: algorithmic reach, visible credibility, and recognized authority in your space.

Have you ever followed or reached out to someone because they posted a particularly insightful comment?

Follow #CandyceAlgoInsights for more insight into LinkedIn's new AI model that is replacing the algorithm and tips for staying visible. 

Tomorrow, I'll give you tips on extending your own post by sparking conversations in the comments.

Commenting strategy infographic

Today’s #MondayMarkups is just…weird.
 
I’m guessing that this guy heard that he needs to start a conversation instead of leaping to a pitch.

But apparently, he’s not sure how to go about it?

Joel Leichty shared this very awkward exchange with me. 

The sender starts with “nice to connect with you…”

There’s nothing much Joel can say, so he offers a thumbs-up emoji. 

Then a few days later, the sender just says “hi there.” 
Nothing more. 

Joel clearly wasn’t sure how to respond. So he sent the cute meme. 

And days later… just a “How are you doing today?”

I’m not sure what this person thinks he’s accomplishing. 

But he’s made it weird, and it’s going to be hard to recover. 

This is why I always recommend researching your lead to find a nugget you can use to start a conversation. 

Joel is very active on LinkedIn. So if this guy took 2 minutes to look him up, he’d be able to find a topic to chat about. 

But I guess that was too much effort? 

What would you do in this situation?


~~~~~~
I publish #MondayMarkups every week. Follow the hashtag to find other posts in the series. 

And if you want more LinkedIn tips, subscribe to my newsletter. You’ll find the link right under my name at the top of this post.

taplio

The Battle

Dan Sanchez

Candyce. Edelen

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDan Sanchez's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCandyce. Edelen's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Dan Sanchez

Candyce. Edelen

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dan Sanchez's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCandyce. Edelen's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDan Sanchez's LinkedIn Performance