In this episode of the Redefining Society Podcast, Marco Ciappelli speaks with Vladimer Botsvadze about the crucial role of personal branding in our increasingly tech-driven world.
Guest: ✨ Vladimer Botsvadze, Global Marketing Thought Leader
On Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimerbotsvadze/
On Twitter | https://twitter.com/VladoBotsvadze
Website | https://www.vladimerbotsvadze.com/
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Host: Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli
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Episode Introduction
Understanding Personal Branding with Vladimer Botsvadze
Hello, everybody. This is Marco Ciappelli, Redefining Society podcast on ITSB magazine podcast network. As you know, here we talk about technology and society and how each one affects the other.
In today's episode, we're diving deep into a topic close to my heart and essential in the digital age—personal branding. I'm thrilled to welcome Vladimer Botsvadze, a globally renowned digital transformation marketing influencer, to share his insights on this critical subject.
The Importance of Personal Branding
Personal branding has never been more significant than it is today. Vlad kicks off the discussion by highlighting his extensive experience, spanning over 15 years, in guiding executives and entrepreneurs to achieve market leadership. Recognized for his expertise and featured in major media outlets like Forbes and Bloomberg, Vlad underscores that being known is a competitive advantage in the digital age.
Vlad explains, "Marketing is no longer about just pushing messages. It's about creating an emotional connection with your audience." He cites examples from companies like Amazon, Harley Davidson, and Starbucks, emphasizing that building a strong community around your brand is key to long-term success.
Technology's Role in Personal Branding
With the advent of AI, many fear that jobs and even personal brands could be at risk. Marco raises an essential point about the fear surrounding AI's impact on personal branding. Vlad responds by stating that while AI will undoubtedly reshape industries, those who effectively build their personal brands will remain in high demand. "Emotional connection is what sets you apart," says Vlad.
He clarifies that the true power of brands like Tesla and Nike lies in their ability to humanize and build strong emotional bonds with their audience. By leveraging social media, individuals and companies can maintain these connections on a large scale.
AI: Friend or Foe?
Are we heading towards a future where AI-created virtual influencers dominate social media? Vlad shares his belief that AI is the most revolutionary technology today. It allows brands to personalize their messaging and engage with consumers on an unprecedented level. Companies leveraging AI for better consumer insights and strategic decisions are more likely to stay competitive.
"We need to become long-term thinkers," Vlad advises. This principle applies not only to large corporations but also to individuals striving to build their personal brands. By continually adapting, being experimental, and focusing on consumer-centric strategies, both brands and influencers can thrive.
Practical Tips for Building Your Personal Brand
Wrapping up the episode, Marco asks Vlad for actionable advice for those just starting on their personal branding journey. Vlad emphasizes three key points:
Conclusion
As we navigate the digital age, personal branding becomes an essential tool for standing out in a crowded marketplace. Through thoughtful engagement, creating meaningful content, and leveraging the power of technologies like AI, anyone can build a compelling personal brand.
By following Vlad's insights and strategies, individuals and brands alike can harness the transformative power of personal branding in today's tech-driven world. For more enlightening discussions, be sure to tune in to future episodes of Redefining Society.
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The Power of Personal Branding in the Age of AI and Social Media | A Conversation with Vladimer Botsvadze | Redefining Society with Marco Ciappelli
Please note that this transcript was created using AI technology and may contain inaccuracies or deviations from the original audio file. The transcript is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the original recording, as errors may exist. At this time, we provide it “as it is,” and we hope it can be helpful for our audience.
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[00:00:00] Marco Ciappelli: Hello, everybody. This is Marco Ciappelli, Redefining Society podcast on ITSB magazine podcast network. As you know, here we talk about on the show about technology and society and how each one affect the other. And there is not a single episode lately on this channel that we don't talk about artificial intelligence And today we're actually connected with something that is really dear to my heart I come from the world of advertising and branding And personal branding.
It's something that is really really really important nowadays, and i'm so glad to have Vlad on the show. I'm not going to attempt his last name. I don't want to chop it. He's going to say it himself. And, uh, he, he's an expert. He's very well known, um, on social media. He's worked really hard to create a following and he's going to share some tips with all of us that are trying to, to be relevant and, uh, with our expertise, because you can be an expert, but if nobody knows that you are, we're going to have a problem.
So Vlad. Welcome to the show. I'm so happy to have you on.
[00:01:13] Vladimer Botsvadze: Hi, Marco. It is a pleasure to be on your podcast and many thanks for inviting me.
[00:01:17] Marco Ciappelli: Uh, it's an honor. And I, I think for those that knows who you are, uh, they, you know, they'll be happy to hear some, some of your stories and perspective on the, on the topic.
And for those that don't know who you are, give us a little background , Who is Vlad?
[00:01:31] Vladimer Botsvadze: Yeah, I have more than 15 years of international experience with the proven track record of guiding executives and entrepreneurs worldwide to initiate, change, drive growth and position brands as market leaders in their industries.
I am regarded as one of the world's leading digital transformation marketing influencers, thought leaders, keynote speakers, startup advisors, and Internet personalities. I'm recognized as one of the brightest minds in digital information and I continue to play a pivotal role in maximizing top brand success.
My expertise has made me a popular choice as a keynote speaker for corporate events and based on my strong performance I am currently ranked as number one social media marketing and the retail thought leader by Syncios 360. I sit on the advisory. Board of the United States AI Institute, United States Cyber Security Institute, and United States Data Science Institute, you know.
Uh, I also serve on the advisory council of Harvard Business Review, and I'm also a, uh, uh, mentor at UCLA, Anderson School of Management, Abu Dhabi SME Hub. Uh, and, uh, um, many, many, uh, accelerators throughout the world, uh, and, uh, uh, well, uh, I'm very delighted to travel all over the world to deliver my keynote speeches.
I work with, uh, uh, so many speakers bureaus throughout the world, uh, from Los Angeles to Sydney. And, uh, I have been featured in Forbes, uh, Bloomberg, uh, Business Insider, MarketWatch. Uh, Yahoo Finance, um, Irish Tech News, Wellbees Magazine, many renowned media outlets. And, uh, last year I spoke at the Global Marketing Summit where, uh, uh, I'm listed as a speaker alongside Professor Philip Kotler.
And I'm also a judge. at the Webby Awards and, and I'm an associate member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences in New York City. Uh, I also, I'm also a judge at Gartner Marketing Communication Awards. And, uh, I also mentor startups at Plug and Play Tech Center, EMEA. And, uh, takeoff Istanbul, uh, startup summit, you know?
[00:03:44] Marco Ciappelli: Wow. Do you have time to eat? To sleep? No.
[00:03:48] Vladimer Botsvadze: Well, we are so many heads, you know, we are so many heads. I'm also a career mentor at the university of Westminster. I have been recognized among top hundred marketing speakers by. And I won like more than a hundred global awards. Uh, I'm invited to many summits to speak, uh, to mentor startups, to, uh, judge awards, you know, so I'm very proud, uh, to be at the forefront of marketing excellence because, uh, I, I enjoy connecting with my audiences, building relationships.
An emotional connection has been the driving force behind my growth because I have a strong bond with my community, you know, because I was, uh, uh, from 2014 to 2020, I was just, uh, uh, active on Twitter, building my community. I knew that if I was going to put in the work, this, uh, building my community on Twitter would open so many doors, you know?
So nowadays the market is a decision maker. The market decides who is, what is good and bad. So market decided that I'm a world renowned marketing software. I'm a practitioner. I constantly reinvent myself. I'm very consumer centric, audience centric. And, uh, I build a great experience with my audiences, with my followers, with my consumers, you know?
So as Amazon, uh, built a, built a great experience with its consumers. Amazon has been consumer centric. Amazon has always reinvented itself. Um, Amazon has always been experimental and Jeff Bezos has always been actually patient. Uh, so I think these ingredients, uh, have also, uh, So have also been applied to my business because, uh, I have always been inspired by Amazon's growth at, uh, how, to what extent they listen to their consumers and, uh, social media, uh, many brands and many people and executives think that.
Uh, social media is a talking platform, you know, it's about listening platform, you know, you have to listen to your consumers, you have to humanize your brand, you know, so what does it mean that before the internet, uh, uh, brands, we are not in communication with their consumers, you know, everyone was pushing their message on TV, on billboards, in magazines.
So consumers did not have a voice, you know, so, uh, it is the first time in the history of marketing and communication. We are consumers have a voice, you know, consumers have a reaction on the Internet. So
[00:06:23] Marco Ciappelli: it's so true. It's a it's I'm going to stop you for a second. There is this it's it's it's a two way street nowadays, right?
So it's interactive. You can't really lie anymore as you know, you used to be like because it was just a message of a big corporation of a brand to to other people. Now, as you say, you are. More transparent. And also you need to get back. It's almost like in a constant relationship and conversation with your with your consumers.
So how is technology? I mean, you mentioned on Amazon, which is always at the forefront of, you know, You know, creating algorithms and, and promoting human and technical ways. So today we were going to talk about AI and how it can help personal brand. Many people are scared of it. They're scared that they're going to take their persona away.
I don't see it that way. What's your, what's your take on that? Can you leverage it?
[00:07:23] Vladimer Botsvadze: You know, it is, it is clear that, uh, AI has started taking so many people's jobs, you know, uh, so 85 million jobs will be replaced by AI by 2025 85 million jobs. And, uh, 375 million people will switch to other carriers by 2030.
You know, uh, AI AI's, um, contribution to global GDP will be in the region of $15.7 trillion by 2030. Just imagine, you know, it is a forced industrial revolution. Most, the most trailblazing technology, the most trailblazing technology, you know.
[00:08:03] Marco Ciappelli: And how is this effective that our brand, our persona, are we going to also be substituted by, by, just imagine that, uh,
[00:08:14] Vladimer Botsvadze: uh, no, nobody will need copywriters in the future.
Because AI will, will be doing what copyright copywriters are doing, you know, so, uh, if marketers have built their personal brands. They will not be disrupted by AI because marketers who have strong personal brands will be, uh, will be in a high demand sought after by the world because marketers have emotional connection with the world, you know, emotional connection.
Is, uh, what sets you apart nowadays, Marco, you know, emotional connection, but for example, a Starbucks has emotional connection with its consumers. Nike has a most emotional connection with its consumers. Harley Davidson has emotional connection with its consumers. With its consumers, because Harley Davidson has this amazing community.
Harley Owners Group, H O G, you know, so 700, 000 riders go to Sturgis in South Dakota annually, where they attend festivals together. So Harley Davidson brings community together, community together, you know. Um, Starbucks brings community together. Nike brings community together. Airbnb, uh, shares, uh, consumers, uh, stories on social media because they put, uh, consumers together, you know?
So if, uh, if, uh, brands, uh, don't build strong communities. They will not be, they should not be in business, you know, because I believe that, uh, building emotional connection with your consumers is what sets you apart, even Even, uh, uh, AI, of course, nobody know. It's not about, uh, it's, it's all about being known versus not big known, you know, so if you are known, it is your ultimate competitive advantage is a digital age, you know, in the age of AI and automation.
[00:10:22] Marco Ciappelli: So you leverage social media to, to be known. I mean, and, and a lot of brands are doing that. Some for some is more natural because they do have already a community even before. Social media, but, but with social media, you can really keep the community together, but you, you need to be honest and interact with them.
So have you seen other company that maybe, you know, without, without naming them, that's okay. Some example of what could. Bring a failure to a good brand that didn't jump on the social media didn't jump on the on this community built online
[00:11:02] Vladimer Botsvadze: well, uh Marco, you know, we are I believe that we are in web web 2.
5 experience nowadays because I don't see that I don't see that such every social media network is is built in blockchain No, I mean but in uh, we are in web 2. 5 experience, you know, so what is happening nowadays? It's so many brands a struggle with storytelling, struggle with connecting with their consumers, a struggle with solving consumers problems online.
Because I'm a, I'm a, I'm an award judge at top marketing award ceremonies throughout the world, you know, and I can see to what extent Brands connect with their consumers in the digital age nowadays, you know, majority of brands are selfish, you know, they, they share content that is in their best interest.
You know, the only tiny minority of companies and organizations. Publish content that is in their followers best interest, you know, it's all about humanizing your brand. It's all about connecting with your consumers. It's all about, uh, uh, building relationship with their consumers, you know, so how, how Elon Musk built, uh, Tesla, right?
Because Tesla has never depended on advertising, you know, Tesla does not even have an advertising department, Tesla, you know. Because Elon Musk directly communicates with millions of consumers. On Twitter, directly communicates, you know, consumer connection is of paramount importance, Marco, you know?
[00:12:47] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah.
[00:12:47] Vladimer Botsvadze: So, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs need to put a human face on their brands, you know?
[00:12:55] Marco Ciappelli: So, do you need that ambassador, as they like to call it nowadays?
[00:13:00] Vladimer Botsvadze: As you can see, every, every owner of Tesla is a brand advocate, brand ambassador on Twitter. Because they share their car pics on Twitter. It is, uh, it spreads like wildfire and everyone knows that, uh, Tesla is dominant.
And we, we know, we don't remember anybody from the traditional automakers where their executives directly.
[00:13:27] Marco Ciappelli: We don't even, we didn't even know who is the CEO.
[00:13:30] Vladimer Botsvadze: Yes. Yes. We, we don't know anybody from Ford, General Motors. BMW, because their executives depend on traditional advertising, you know.
[00:13:44] Marco Ciappelli: And do you, do you feel like this is, uh, this is something that, and I don't know, I'm just a guess probably that Elon Musk did it intentionally because it kind of like a marketing forward thinker or It just came natural to him because who he is Because some people may not be good in communicating.
That's where I want to go
[00:14:07] Vladimer Botsvadze: Marco Elon is a visionary leader, you know, so it resulted in a tesla transformation and success because he Tesla does not waste billions of dollars on advertising, you know, instead instead it costs zero dollars Elon Musk to tell his story through Twitter, you know, got it, because Elon, Elon has more than 100 and 120 million followers on Twitter.
It costs 0 to build your brand nowadays is a digital age because tweeting is free. Downloading Twitter application is free. Distributing content is free. And what is a, like a brand excuse that they don't want to connect with their consumers in a digital age because consumers no longer trust Edward advertisements, you know, one out of three consumer has.
Ad blocker on their devices. More than 700 million consumers have ad blockers on mobile devices. More than 700 million consumers. Just imagine that brands Are wasting billions of dollars on advertising where consumers no longer trust ads, you know, and no longer believe ads, you know.
[00:15:27] Marco Ciappelli: So it needs to be a spontaneous choice, like a choice of the consumer to follow somebody that is relevant, somebody that has a personal brand.
Then in this case. It reflect to the value of their company. So it kind of goes the other way around, right?
[00:15:46] Vladimer Botsvadze: So, so Marco, we are no longer in B2B or B2C. It is H2H where human beings want to do business with human beings, not companies, you know, but majority, majority of executives, majority of brands are in their ivory towers.
And they market like it is 1995, 2005. They disregard consumers. They disregard communication. They disregard social media. And they go out of business like a blockbuster, you know?
[00:16:17] Marco Ciappelli: Right. Is that, is that like a Okay, so let's say that you're not the most communicative person. It doesn't come spontaneous. I mean, you're, you're a great speaker.
You're a great talker. I'm sure you do a great job in staying in touch and being human with your followers. If someone has It doesn't come easy. Let's say, uh, what, what are your tips and advice to develop your personal brand when it may not be coming?
[00:16:47] Vladimer Botsvadze: There are some, there are some elements that can truly drive your success forward.
First of all, is to what kind of mindset do we have? You know, what kind of mindset are we curious? Are we open minded? Do we have exponential mindset? You know, exponential minds. We need to become more curious, more open minded, you know? And, but unfortunately, uh, still many executives, uh, put their MBA degrees on a pedestal, and they think that their MBA degrees will bring, uh, consumers to their brands.
You know, it is false. It is. It does not work, you know, because a degree gives you nothing in the global marketplace, you know, so nowadays in 2023, the web is your CV, you know, the web is your CV, you know, so, uh, education was the only benchmark set years ago, set years ago, but, but everything has changed.
Consumer behavior has changed. Internet has democratized opportunities. Now consumers have a voice. Consumers have a reaction. You know, so consumers tell each other word of mouth is very powerful, uh, and brands need to build great, uh, brands need to build great experiences with consumers is a digital age, you know, brands need to renew themselves constantly.
Brands need to be more experimental. Brands need to be more patient, you know, so when it comes to building a personal brand, I believe that, uh, it's all about, uh, uh, publishing content nowadays, you know, because, uh, consumers no longer trust ads and the only A way to win is storytelling. Storytelling is what sells your product, you know.
Ultimately, uh, quality is, uh, quality is what people, what consumers buy. So consumers are always right. The consumers are always right. And, uh, attention, attention is in a virtual world, not in a physical world, you know. Virtual wealth. Uh, Marco, you know, you mentioned that as this device, this device is a game changer.
You know, this device is a reason why billion dollar companies have been built in the recent decade. Airbnb, Spotify, Uber, because speed and convenience win all the time, you know? So what has, what is happening nowadays is that Facebook, Instagram, Um, LinkedIn, uh, and TikTok, Twitter have become new, uh, BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, you know, it is a source of information, source of information, you know, so you, everyone needs, uh, to act like a media company, Marco, everyone needs to act like a media company.
You just need to imagine that you are Forbes of your industry and you are expected. To provide enlightening, informative, entertaining content to your audiences, to win in the long term, you know. So whether I build a personal brand or executives build their personal brand, everyone needs to become more curious.
More open minded, create content at scale to set up podcasts, you know, to invite best expertise to their consumers, you know, because our consumers expect to get informed, to get educated, to get entertained, not, but majority of brands are transactional, transactional. So consumers are tired of their sales pitches.
What is in the executives and top brands best interest, you know,
[00:20:36] Marco Ciappelli: I love, I love when you said every company and every It's, uh, it's a media company. I think that that summarize exactly the core of putting yourself out there either as an individual or as a company and create content that is relevant, that is shareable.
That people can use, maybe, and amplify it in a different way. Now, let me ask you this, because we're talking also about AI. What do you think about the use of, or the future, as you're so forward thinking, about virtual influencers made AI avatars. I know that there are virtual, uh, account on, on , , TikTok or Twitter.
They have millions and millions of followers, and they know that is AI created, but they're still engaging. They're singer in South Korea. They are telling story. They're doing photo shooting. What, what is your vision on that? How can we.
[00:21:45] Vladimer Botsvadze: Uh, uh, Marco, you know, I, I believe that everyone was talking about Metaverse last year, you know, and there are
[00:21:52] Marco Ciappelli: nobody here. No, no,
[00:21:53] Vladimer Botsvadze: there are 8. 1, 8. 1 billion people in the world, you know, 5. 6 billion mobile users, 5. 2 billion internet users and 4. 9 billion social media users nowadays, you know, And, and if a brand, if people are talking about metaverse, there are maybe seven people who are living in the metaverse nowadays.
And there are 4. 9 billion people who use social media channels actively. So it is now or never for brands to connect with their consumers in the digital age and to humanize your, their brands and to tell their stories, Marco, to tell their stories, you know? It's why Nike is Nike, why Apple is Apple, why storytelling is why Elon Musk has built his Tesla, right?
Because Elon lives in the future. Elon is a forward thinker. Elon communicates, you know? So
[00:22:57] Marco Ciappelli: can you have an Elon that is AI? That is not Elon.
[00:23:03] Vladimer Botsvadze: So, you know, uh, I believe that AI is the most revolutionary technology nowadays. It is, uh, every, anyone's, uh, ultimate competitive advantage, Marco, ultimate competitive advantage, you know?
Uh, it's, it is not about, uh, it, it is, it is not about, it is not a matter about if you use, uh, AI or not. It is your, if your competitor is, is using AI, your competitor is going to drive you out of business. You know, I still meet so many executives and they are very hesitant to use and to deploy AI, uh, in their daily operations, you know, daily operations because, uh, marketing is no longer marketing without AI in 2023, personalization, customer experience.
You know, I mean, uh, you can, you can, uh, make better strategic, smarter decisions through, uh, utilizing AI technologies on a daily basis. You know, to remain competitive and to stay ahead of the car, you know, and be, be personal lives. Uber. Uber is using, Uber is using AI extensively, extensively in the, in his, in their algorithms.
Uh, in their recommendations in their personalization, you know, so, uh, we need to into capitalize on data and AI just to listen to our consumers and to make better decisions, you know,
[00:24:37] Marco Ciappelli: and it sounds to me that is reconnected with what you said at the beginning, which is you need to be one on one. Talking to your consumer, your followers, and AI allows you to do it at scale, right?
So you can personalize a message for a particular social demographic. As a Starbucks while not having to use the same message that goes to everybody because not the same message Works for you and for me and to someone else that is on another side of the world so this This is I think I don't know what you think about it, but I think this is one of the most relevant use of ai when it comes to marketing
[00:25:23] Vladimer Botsvadze: I think that uh, Twitter's advantage is that it allows you to communicate with your with your consumers on one on one level, you know You If you respond to everyone's tweet, just imagine that you are already winning.
But if brands and executives and marketing managers don't create content, their competitors are creating content. So they are losing their consumers because they, they are very negative, very inactive. And they still depend on traditional advertising and traditional marketing. That no longer provide positive ROI, you know, Got it.
[00:26:01] Marco Ciappelli: No, it makes it makes sense and that applies to the big corporation and it applies to the individual um,
[00:26:08] Vladimer Botsvadze: because because Traditional marketing, uh is very expensive nowadays. I I would not say that traditional marketing is dead, you know
It is overpriced overpriced Marco
[00:26:21] Marco Ciappelli: Okay
[00:26:23] Vladimer Botsvadze: So what is enterprise facebook ads?
You YouTube ads, you know, TikTok ads, uh, uh, Instagram ads, you know, so, uh, which, which sports has been the most dominant sport in the last. Uh, 20 years in the United States, NFL. NFL has become NFL because of capitalizing on advertising. You know, who was the biggest advertiser on Google AdWords from 2000, 2005?
Amazon. Amazon and Jeff Bezos capitalized on Google AdWords. To be the number one advertiser on Google AdWords in its first five years and Amazon became Amazon because of Google AdWords, you know? Which brands were the most, the biggest advertisers on TV in the 70s and 80s? Procter Gamble and Budweiser.
They have capitalized on TV advertising. To, uh, to help their brands big to become biggest brand in their industries. You know, which sports, which sports we are the biggest sports in the United States is a forties and fifties. When the radio was in its heyday, you know, horse racing, baseball and boxing because they distributed content on the radio, you know, Oh, we have transitioned from radio to TV, from TV to mobile, you know, mobile, uh, is, uh, everyone's competitive.
As I mentioned, 5. 6 billion mobile users, you know, 5. 6 billion people use social media. My, my tweets, My tweets used to reach 40 million people annually. I never spent millions of dollars or thousands of dollars, uh, on advertising and promoting my social media profiles, but organic growth was decisive, you know, connecting emotional connection with my community was of paramount importance, building emotional connection, you know, so I, I turned.
Uh, a strong follow, a following into a strong community on Twitter because as brands build strong communities and they depend on communities, also influencers build strong communities across social media channels. So they, um, depend on their hard work, on their persistence, on their communication. Because of traditional marketing, traditional marketing was one way communication.
Digital marketing and social media marketing is a two way communication. Marco, two way communication. So everyone, everyone needs to humanize their brands. They need to storytell. They need to, Get closer to their consumers, you know,
[00:29:08] Marco Ciappelli: so to, to wrap it up maybe for people that are listening right now and they're like, okay, you know what?
I understand what Vlad is saying. I want to get started. I don't have 10, 000 followers, 100, 000 of followers, but I believe that Vlad is right that Marco and Vlad are having a great conversation. I want to act on that. What would be your, I don't know, maybe three Maybe. Tips for somebody getting started today to start building their personal brand on on social media
[00:29:38] Vladimer Botsvadze: Well, first of all, first of all, uh, they first they need to connect with their consumers, you know Connect, communication, gratitude.
They need to show gratitude. You know, if you have two followers on Twitter, you, you should still showing. You should still be showing gratitude. You know, you should be thanksful to your followers. If you have even two followers, you know, because I remember that in 2014, I had, I had a hundred, 200, 300 followers, but I was, I was showing gratitude.
Every time they were following me, they were retweeting me, liking my posts, you know, showing support, you know? So if someone shows support that you create content, you should show gratitude, you know? So gratitude is the best attitude nowadays, you know? Second, We need to create content that is, uh, uh, in followers, best interest, you know, best into what does it mean that you should never send sales pitches.
You know that I'm selling this, I'm selling that come to our website, book us, you know, because the world is tired of the sales pitches. So everybody disregards sales people because sales people are oriented. On short term goals, short term success. We need to become brand builders. We need to become marketers instead of advertisers.
You know, we need to become the greatest publisher of information. Just imagine that you, uh, that, uh, you run, you, you, you represent Forbes or big media companies. You know, you just need to imagine that you are supposed to publish information. What is trending nowadays in marketing, innovation, ai, you know.
Because I mean, I mean, uh, if you wanted to run TV, if you want to run a commercial on TV, it is expensive. It costs money, right? If you want to buy billboards in the streets, it's expensive. It costs money. If you want to advertise something on the radio, it is expensive. It costs money. You know, if you want to buy a, like a page in the newspaper or magazine, it's expensive.
It costs money. You know, social media is free. Social media is free. You can connect with billions of people. If you create great content, you know.
[00:32:08] Marco Ciappelli: It takes time, but
[00:32:10] Vladimer Botsvadze: it takes time, but you know, Marco, we, we live in a mobile,
[00:32:13] Marco Ciappelli: you can get some, yeah, you can get something that doesn't, if it doesn't take time, it's going to cost you money.
If it's not costing you money, you're going to have to do it yourself.
[00:32:22] Vladimer Botsvadze: Elon Musk, uh, Elon Musk, uh, succeeded against all odds. And, uh, He turned all the tables because he was working like hell. 100 hour workweeks, 100 hour workweeks, 100, you know, and uh, Elon reinvested all his money into his ventures and he used to borrow money for rent in 2008.
You know, he used to borrow money in San Francisco when he was building Tesla and other brands. It's basics, you know, Because he did not have money for rent. So he used to borrow money for rent, you know?
[00:33:00] Marco Ciappelli: So I guess, uh, the lesson here, Vlad.
[00:33:03] Vladimer Botsvadze: But Marco, nowadays, many people keep up with Joneses, you know, instead of, instead of reinvesting their money into their ventures, into their business, they go on vacations, they buy cars, they buy, they buy luxury houses.
Because they are short term thinkers. We need to become long term thinkers. You know, we need to start thinking is a long term to build something meaningful. You know, if
[00:33:31] Marco Ciappelli: you want to build that comes to your personal brand too.
[00:33:34] Vladimer Botsvadze: Yes. If you want to build a personal brand, if you want to build your startup, if you want to, uh, I mean, uh, I never, uh, uh, I, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
I don't come from a rich family. I did not have millions of dollars to invest. Into, into building my personal brand. But, but, uh, social media has opened the floodgates to open minded people to build their personal brands at no cost at, at zero dollars, it cost zero dollars to build your personal brand, to build your business, it's time, it's time.
It is time to find your passion, to connect with your consumers. to tell your story, to think in the long term, to become more experimental, to build a great experience and to reinvent yourself constantly, you know?
[00:34:35] Marco Ciappelli: Well, you just finished the episode for me. That was a perfect, uh, perfect wrap and perfect dance of, uh, of this episode.
Vlad, I want to thank you so much for, for your time, for sharing your experience and your knowledge. And, uh, I want to invite. All the people that are listening to my show, they may know as many as the people that, that they follow you to, you know, to subscribe maybe to, to my podcast and of course to share it.
And I think there was a lot, a lot of interesting, uh, point and tips that lot share with us. So again, thank you very much. Stay in touch and hopefully we'll, I'll have you again soon.
[00:35:15] Vladimer Botsvadze: Thank you, Marco. Thank you. It was a pleasure. Thank you many. Thank you very much. Alright,
[00:35:18] Marco Ciappelli: take care vla. Bye everybody.