In 2025, marketing is no longer about polished ad campaigns or big budgets. It’s about speed, authenticity, and cultural fluency. At the center of this change is Gen Z, a generation that doesn’t just consume content but dictates how it’s created, shared, and remembered.
To explore how businesses can adapt, we spoke with Uliana Korolova, a marketing strategist recognized for her expertise in organic growth and audience behavior. Her career, which has spanned Europe and the United States, combines experimentation with a data-driven approach. Known on LinkedIn for her insights on Gen Z content strategy, she has led campaigns that reached millions of users organically across tech and consumer sectors.
In this conversation, Uliana discusses how Gen Z is changing the rules of marketing, why organic credibility matters more than ever, and what trends are shaping the next era of brand growth.
What’s the most important marketing trend businesses need to understand right now?
The biggest trend is the rise of authentic, platform-native storytelling – especially in short-form video. Gen Z has a filter sharper than any algorithm. They decide within two seconds whether something is worth watching. Anything that feels like an ad gets dismissed immediately.
For businesses, that means the opening hook is everything. It’s no longer enough to say “here are our features” or “download our app.” You need to dramatize the user’s reality. For example, when we launched ReBrain, we didn’t open with “track your screen time.” Instead, we used scenarios like “POV: you can scroll only if you do your tasks and habits…” or “Imagine if you could trade productivity for scrolling.” That instantly resonated because people saw themselves in it.
This mirrors a larger truth I’ve seen across projects. For Focus Keeper, a productivity app, we used the same principle – short, relatable study tips framed in student language rather than productivity jargon. Instead of “maximize your focus,” we’d say, “POV: you’re cramming for finals at 2 AM.” That approach created instant connection and helped the app reach millions of views.
The takeaway is: if you don’t speak the audience’s language, you won’t even get their attention.
Does this mean paid advertising is less relevant?
Paid is still important, but it works best when organic credibility comes first. I’ve seen ads underperform simply because people didn’t trust the brand yet. But when they’ve already seen authentic, organic content that entertains or educates them, the ads reinforce something familiar rather than feeling like an interruption.
One case I often use to explain this is ChatPDF. Before running any ads, we built a series of videos showing funny, real-life use cases: “POV: your professor assigns 200 pages and ChatPDF summarizes it in seconds.” These clips went viral among students and knowledge workers. Later, when paid ads ran, users had already seen the product in action organically, and conversion rates were much higher.
Another example is YomuAI, a reading app. Instead of pushing “AI reading assistant” as a technical feature, we used relatable scenarios like “POV: you want to read more books but never have time.” Those organic campaigns created the trust baseline that made further paid promotion efficient.
So the sequence is clear: build trust with organic first, then amplify with paid.
Many startups chase viral moments. What mistakes do you see in that approach?
The most common mistake is treating virality as the goal instead of the entry point. A viral video can bring millions of views, but if there’s no system to capture and nurture that attention, the growth disappears quickly.
A good contrast comes from employer branding work I did with LeverX Group. Instead of banking on one viral video, we built a repeatable storytelling series: behind-the-scenes content, employee spotlights, and day-in-the-life clips. Developers started tagging friends, commenting on open positions, and sharing the videos in tech communities. This not only built visibility but directly drove job applications.
Compare that to startups I’ve seen who hit 1M views on a single video but had no follow-up content strategy. The spike vanished in days, and they were back to square one.
Sustainable growth comes from systems and repeatable formats – not accidents.
How should businesses think about engagement beyond just views? Does it really matter how the brand interacts with the audience?
Engagement is the real measure of connection. Algorithms may reward comments, shares, and interactions, but the deeper value lies in what engagement represents – attention that turns into participation. When people feel inspired to respond, share, or add their perspective, it means the content has moved beyond being watched; it has started a conversation.
For brands, that shift from passive viewing to active involvement is where real growth happens. Engagement builds community, and community drives retention. Instead of focusing only on reach, businesses should think about how their content invites interaction – by sparking curiosity, encouraging reflection, or offering something genuinely useful.
True engagement isn’t about chasing metrics; it’s about creating a space where audiences feel seen, included, and eager to return.
What other trends should businesses prepare for in the next few years?
Two stand out.
First, community-first marketing. The days of purely top-down messaging are fading. Brands that succeed will be those that create spaces where audiences feel like participants – whether through TikTok replies, Discord groups, or even co-creation challenges.
Second, AI-assisted creativity and personalization. AI is helping us test 50 hooks at once, analyze retention curves, or predict which opening lines keep Gen Z watching. In one recent campaign, we used AI tools to identify which intros led to longer watch times across multiple test videos. The insights let us double down on what worked, saving weeks of guesswork. But I always stress: AI can optimize, but it can’t replace the cultural nuance that makes content truly resonate.
Looking ahead, how do you see marketing evolving?
I think we’ll see a shift toward ethical, psychology-informed marketing. Gen Z and even younger millennials are skeptical of manipulative tactics. They value transparency and cultural alignment. Brands that fake authenticity or overuse trends without context usually get exposed quickly.
What will endure are strategies that combine behavioral science with creativity. For example, ReBrain’s launch worked because it wasn’t about pushing features – it was about dramatizing a universal habit (doomscrolling) and then presenting a playful solution. That’s psychology-driven storytelling that feels authentic.
In the long term, businesses that adopt this approach – value-first, community-driven, ethically sound – will not only win attention but keep it.
If you had one piece of advice for business owners in 2025, what would it be?
Start with consistency and cultural fluency. Don’t chase perfection or one viral moment. Build a repeatable content style your audience can recognize and anticipate. Deliver small, meaningful value – whether entertainment, education, or relatability – in every piece.
To me, the formula is simple: strong hooks, native storytelling, consistent series, engagement-driven design, and value-first content. I’ve seen it work across cases in different fields. The context changes, but the pattern doesn’t.
If you master that formula, you don’t need a massive budget. You can create sustainable growth with authenticity, creativity, and systems.