Milena Traikovich, a seasoned expert in demand generation and brand strategy, understands the delicate balance between staying relevant and maintaining a healthy bottom line. With an extensive background in lead generation, performance optimization, and deep-dive analytics, she has watched the digital landscape shift from polished corporate messaging to the chaotic energy of short-form video. Today, she helps businesses move beyond the “noise” of social media to find the high-quality leads that actually drive growth. This conversation explores the growing tension between viral visibility and genuine purchasing power, the risks of manufacturing authenticity, and why the most important consumers are often the ones who aren’t making any noise at all.
With platforms like YouTube Shorts and Instagram dominating brand communications, how should marketers reconcile the massive visibility of younger cohorts with the fact that older generations still hold the majority of purchasing power?
The marketing methodology has shifted quite radically as short-form digital content moves to the absolute center of how we communicate. While it is true that Gen Z dominates the visibility on these platforms, we have to recognize that visibility is not the same as purchasing power. Millennials and Gen Xers may not be as loud on social media, but they remain a very, very important cohort that still accounts for a massive share of actual spending. The challenge for a modern brand is not choosing one generation over another, but ensuring that the pursuit of a viral moment does not come at the expense of long-term brand building. We cannot allow the race to stay relevant on social media to dictate a strategy that forgets the consumers who are actually driving the revenue.
There is a massive push for “imperfection” and raw content to appeal to Gen Z, but where does this drive for authenticity cross the line into looking forced or artificial?
Authenticity is highly valued by younger audiences who prefer a little bit of imperfection over something that is picture-perfect, but this cannot be manufactured through a knee-jerk reaction to a trend. If a very serious banking product suddenly starts using memes and “wacko” humor just to fit in, it immediately looks artificial and can damage the brand’s credibility. To be successful, any fun or unconventional creative must flow naturally from the established personality of the brand rather than feeling like a desperate attempt to be “cool.” Marketers need to realize that you can’t simply bolt on a new persona; true authenticity is about being original and innovative within the context of who you already are to your customers.
Many industry experts argue that we are measuring the wrong things by focusing on likes and shares. How can brands refocus on metrics that indicate long-term trust rather than fleeting engagement?
The horse has already bolted when it comes to how many organizations assess campaign success, with “views, likes, shares, and superlikes” becoming the default metrics for decision-making. While shares are good indicators of reach, they are not the only metric that matters, and many of these signals can be easily engineered to look better than they actually are. We need to return to the older, longer-term measures of success, particularly brand recall, brand trust, and brand salience, which tell us if a brand is actually staying in a consumer’s memory. Lasting brands are built through stories that create emotional connections, not just fleeting moments that disappear as soon as the user scrolls to the next video.
In markets like India, you have mentioned that the most silent audience is often the largest. How do brands reach these “quiet” consumers without alienating the louder ones?
Taking any generation for granted is a dangerous mistake, especially in a market where purchasing decisions are often split between decision-makers and actual buyers within a single household. You certainly need to cater to the loudest voices on social media to stay current, but you cannot afford to alienate the silent ones who are actually making the final call on a purchase. Simplistic generational targeting often fails because it ignores these complex family dynamics and the fact that a “silent” consumer is still watching and evaluating. The goal is to remain relevant and innovative across all segments, ensuring that your core message resonates with the person holding the purse strings just as much as it does with the person clicking the “like” button.
What is your forecast for the future of brand loyalty as the gap between social media visibility and consumer behavior continues to widen?
I believe we are heading toward a significant correction where brands will stop chasing every viral trend and return to high-level segmentation based on actual consumer behavior rather than just digital noise. As the novelty of short-form virality begins to plateau, the focus will inevitably shift back to which audiences are actually moving the needle on sales and long-term loyalty. We will see more sophisticated analytics that prioritize “brand salience” over “viral reach,” allowing companies to identify the quiet, high-value consumers who have been ignored during this Gen Z-first era. Ultimately, the brands that survive will be those that can master the art of being visible on new platforms while maintaining the deep, emotional trust that older, wealthier cohorts demand.
