Around 97 million jobs will be generated by 2025, and as Bloomberg says, the global AI market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 39.4% to reach $422.37 billion by 2028.
Media 7: Could you provide an account of your professional journey, highlighting how your entrepreneurial spirit and expertise have propelled you to become a renowned digital transformation social media influencer, consultant, and thought leader in the global marketing industry?
Vladimer Botsvadze: Ranked as the No. 1 Global Marketing, Social Media, and Retail Thought Leader by Thinkers360 with 130,000 followers across my social media channels, my contributions to marketing have had a global impact, making me one of the most influential keynote speakers, advisory board members, start-up advisors, and thought leaders in the industry. My persistence has been recognized with more than 100 global awards.
My keynote speeches center on my social media career, and my marketing strategies provide a foundation for success. I help high-performers achieve their growth and prepare organizations to think with a new perspective on the future of marketing. My expertise is trusted by the American Marketing Association. I have been invited as an Executive Judge to the Gartner Marketing and Communications Awards in London. I mentor entrepreneurs at Techstars, the UCLA Anderson School of Management, UCL Innovation & Enterprise, Abu Dhabi SME Hub, Take Off Istanbul, and Plug and Play Tech Center EMEA. Able to engage and inspire a wide range of audiences, I have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, Irish Tech News, and World Biz Magazine.
I have been recognized as a Transformative Leader of the Year by Exeleon Magazine, Enterprise World Magazine listed me among the Top 5 Successful Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2022, and Insights Success Magazine named me among the Top 10 Inspiring Business Leaders Making a Difference. CIO Today Magazine has recognized me among the Luminaries: The Most Iconic Leaders You Must Follow for Inspiration. I’m among the Top 25 Digital Transformation Influencers by Sparity and the Top Global Retail Influencers by RETHINK Retail. Moreover, engage has listed me among the Top 100 Marketing Speakers, and Thinkers360 has recognized me among the Top 50 B2B Global Thought Leaders You Should Work With in 2023 (EMEA). I hold Thinkers360 badges in AI, Digital Transformation, Marketing, Startups, RPA, Retail, NFT, Metaverse, IoT, Emerging Technology, Digital Disruption, AR/VR, 5G, and sports tech.
Driven by the desire to motivate others, I promote entrepreneurship and social media worldwide. I have been serving on the Boards of the United States Artificial Intelligence Institute, the United States Data Science Institute, and the United States Cybersecurity Institute, a testament to my worldwide industry reputation. As brands look towards the future, i believe that marketing departments should leverage social media to tell their stories and build emotional connections with consumers. I have appeared at the same conference as prominent thinkers such as Professor Philip Kotler, and I have helped thousands of managers in 922 cities master decisive marketing skills.
M7: Could you provide information about your organization? What are the major obstacles that the Harvard Business Review encounters in the field of Artificial Intelligence and how does the institute tackle those challenges?
VB: The HBR has always been at the forefront of AI excellence. It has an outstanding Council and world-leading contributors. I’m honored to be part of its council.
M7: How does your organization cater to aspiring professionals, organizations, institutions, academia, or governments seeking to upgrade their skills in the ever-changing domain of Artificial Intelligence at any point in their career?
VB: The business world finds new ideas and game-changing advice on strategy and innovation from the world’s best business and technology experts. The Harvard Business Review produces podcasts, webinars, and videos and publishes books and articles when it comes to AI. Everyone can explore the Exponential View podcast and learn how AI and other exponential technologies are transforming business and society. They can also keep their fingers on the pulse of The Big Idea, HBR’s digital series on the most pressing topics facing business today.
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The current applications of AI and automation include advanced analytics, NLP, Computer Vision, speech recognition, robotics, and emotion recognition that automate the digital world and interact with humans and systems.
M7: Could you elaborate on the significance of acquiring Artificial Intelligence skills and emphasize the importance of upskilling and reskilling individuals with AI and ML talent?
VB: Upskilling focuses on improving existing skillsets, and reskilling is learning different skills that lead to capability for a new role or a total career switch. The top 5 most relevant skills for remote working include continuous learning, time management, collaboration, creativity, and resilience. Businesses expect AI to drive job growth, including jobs such as AI and ML specialists. According to the WEF, these are the top 10 skills of 2023: analytical thinking, creative thinking, resilience and agility, motivation and self-awareness, curiosity and lifelong learning, technological literacy, dependability and attention to detail, empathy and active listening, leadership and social influence, and quality control. By 2023, across 26 countries, 85 million jobs will be displaced and 97 million new jobs will be replaced.
I believe organizations should develop the right AI culture, use AI to improve employee experience, reward upskilling with growth, and embrace interactive AI learning. The current applications of AI and automation include advanced analytics, NLP, Computer Vision, speech recognition, robotics, and emotion recognition that automate the digital world and interact with humans and systems. Most AI professionals are highly critical thinkers; they like to push the envelope and love math and science. They enjoy the process, always wanting to know more and looking for ideas for inventing new ways to live. The majority of executives believe that AI and ML are having a transformational impact on workflows and tools for knowledge workers. All in all, AI is critical to productivity and performance. According to the WEF, it takes 2–3 months to start building AI skills, whereas it takes 4–5 months to build cloud computing and engineering skills.
M7: How can organizations leverage data analytics to expedite their digital transformation journey and improve operational efficiency?
VB: Organizations capitalize on data analytics to reduce organizational costs, increase workforce productivity, and drive brand loyalty. Nowadays, there are several drivers of digital transformation that incorporate new business models, data-driven decision-making, modernizing IT infrastructure, and enhancing customer experiences. Brands need to strategically craft organizational transformation, adopt an agile approach, and invest in long-term returns. Data becomes more decisive to use for decision-making.
Executives need to improve every aspect of their business, and in this ever-changing technological world, they need to offer cutting-edge services. They should accelerate collaboration among analytics and data science teams, upskill the workforce in analytics, and expand self-service analytics for greater efficiency. In my experience, brands that adopted data analytics improved operational efficiency, met changing customer expectations, improved new product quality, reduced product development costs, and introduced new revenue streams.
M7: Can you discuss your approach to targeting and segmentation in advertising? How do you identify and reach specific customer segments with tailored messages?
VB: Targeting determines which customer group to focus your advertising efforts on, and segmentation divides the market into specific groups of customers using segmentation practices. Customer segmentation optimizes the customer journey, improves conversion metrics, boosts customer loyalty, personalizes the customer experience, and enhances product development. I create targeted content, use different channels to reach different segments, utilize messaging that resonates with each group, monitor campaigns, and optimize new tactics to ensure effectiveness. Moreover, I also gather insights into their behavior, preferences, and pain points
M7: Standing out on segmentation platforms is essential for achieving marketing goals. How do you ensure that your content grabs attention and resonates with the audience amidst the sea of information available? Are there any specific tactics or approaches you follow?
VB: Emotion truly drives my success because it builds my community, tells a story, and allows me to win in the long term. I inspire action that leads to increased brand awareness.
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230% growth in retail machine learning spending happened between 2019 and 2023. 325,000 retailers will utilize ML in 2023.
M7: What are the best practices recommended by the United States Artificial Intelligence Institute for individuals and organizations looking to upskill and reskill in the field of AL/ML?
VB: According to the WEF, around 90% of the AI workforce isn’t skilled. AI education and certifications are of paramount importance in 2023. The USAII provides powerful AI certifications to empower the extremely demanding skills of an AI professional. Around 97 million jobs will be generated by 2025, and as Bloomberg says, the global AI market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 39.4% to reach $422.37 billion by 2028. According to the USAII, the AI talent gap has increased, and the most in-demand talent shortage is in the job roles of AI developers, AI engineers, AI researchers, AI scientists, AI business leaders, etc. 64 percent of organizations are training their AI staff to accomplish the best possible results. Expand your horizons with dual certification from MIT and USAII. This two-course program from MIT helps in demystifying ML through computational engineering principles and applications. According to Payscale and Talent.com the average salary of an AI professional is $140,000, whereas a traditional IT professional earns $62,571 annually. Indeed.com listed ML engineer as #1 among the best jobs in the US; citing a 344% growth rate and a median salary of $146,085.
M7: In which industries do you feel AI and ML will show significant impact and potential for growth?
VB: Artificial Intelligence is expected to revolutionize everything in the contemporary world. The most prominent uses of AI in the business world include AI-powered chatbots, predictive behavior analysis, and hyper-personalized customer experiences. The majority of smartphone users use the built-in AI-powered voice assistant. Brands have embraced AI in everyday operations. 230% growth in retail machine learning spending happened between 2019 and 2023. 325,000 retailers will utilize ML in 2023.
M7: According to you, how does content syndication contribute to the overall content marketing strategy and goals of an organization?
VB: Organizations that effectively use content marketing raise their brand awareness, build loyalty with customers, and increase lead generation. Thought leadership is always decisive when it comes to boosting the reputation of an organization across social media channels. Organizations should build a unique voice and emotional connections with consumers. Marketing teams need to drive positive changes. They should build a relationship with storytelling, personalize interactions with consumers, and promote a sense of belonging.
M7: What challenges or obstacles have you encountered in content syndication, and how have you overcome them?
VB: I realized it was always about them, not about me. As a result, I started creating content that was in my followers’ best interest and provided value. Building emotional connections with followers is a step in the right direction. Strong communities across social media channels are the only yardstick of marketing success. My efforts have worked wonders, and I’m currently at the forefront of social media excellence. My website has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams, and I have gone from the ninth page to the first page for results for “Digital Transformation” on Google.
I have created professional connections and succeeded in the long term. I have maximized the power of my personal brand because of my curiosity, lifelong learning, and persistence. I have differentiated myself from others and created a brand experience that encourages the business world to communicate with me. Putting yourself out there is a game-changing move for entrepreneurs and influencers. I have always shared my thoughts and beliefs regularly. The actionable step that allowed me to build my personal brand included establishing an image that focused on values, goals, target audience, and online presence.
M7: How do you measure the success and impact of your partnerships, and what metrics or indicators do you use to evaluate their performance?
VB: Strategic partnerships have become an integral part of the transformation. Selecting the right partner creates competitive differentiation. It takes both sides to build a bridge and I have also discussed this in my book that partnership is a two-way street. Both sides profit from joining forces. We should always build a rewarding partnership. Strategic directions are of paramount importance to creating a win-win scenario. Focusing on SMART goals always moves us forward. The right partnership should have an immediate impact on success. It’s important to bring value to relationships by using competence to impact others. Some common ways to build strong partnerships are based on common interests and emotional support. By choosing authenticity, we sustain long-term relationships.
M7: Lastly, can you share an instance where you had to address a challenge or crisis related to advertising and how you managed it?
VB: When it comes to addressing an advertising challenge, I believe we need to be more open-minded, ask questions, embrace a teaching mindset, and listen to all parties. Everyone is here to work together to contribute properly to advertising campaigns. Active listening allows us to identify their positions. We need to listen to the perspectives of the involved individuals. As a result, we can target and optimize effectively, scale campaigns, and get a better return on ad ROI. We also need to address the attention and retention challenges, knowing how screen size can impact ad performance.