The social media strategy needs to be better integrated into the customer journey

Social media inspires more than it sells

Social media remains a strong habit in Belgium, but its commercial role is mainly about inspiration. 51% of Belgians use social media to find ideas, while preferring to buy afterwards in-store or via a webshop. More direct actions remain less common: 27% sometimes click on ads or sponsored posts, 15% through influencer or creator links, and 11% through tagged products.

For brands, this means social media should not be viewed only as a sales channel. It is particularly effective in the upper stages of the funnel: brand discovery, inspiration and information search. Instagram and TikTok are strong discovery platforms, while Facebook is more effective at driving clicks to a website or webshop.

Platform choice is increasingly age-driven

With 73% daily use, WhatsApp is the most used social media platform in Belgium, ahead of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and YouTube. On a monthly basis, WhatsApp reaches 91% of Belgians and YouTube 86%. Yet habits differ strongly by age group.

Among 16- to 24-year-olds, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat dominate. 86% use Instagram daily, 67% TikTok and 66% Snapchat. Older audiences rely much more on Facebook, while WhatsApp is the only platform with broad adoption across generations. For marketing and communication teams, segmentation is therefore more important than ever: the same message will not automatically work on every platform or for every age group.

Influencers reach wider, but impact stays young

Influencers are no longer only a youth phenomenon. 55% of Belgian social media users aged 16 to 70 follow influencers, content creators or famous people. Even among 65- to 70-year-olds, the figure still reaches 23%.

However, real influence remains concentrated among younger consumers. Among 16- to 24-year-olds, 63% have discovered a new brand through influencers, 45% have searched for additional information, 34% have started following a brand and 31% have made a purchase. These figures decrease sharply among older audiences. Influencer marketing can therefore deliver reach across generations, but behaviour change depends strongly on age, platform and credibility.

AI becomes a new gateway to brands

Traditional search engines remain dominant: 85% of Belgians use Google, Bing or similar platforms to search for information about brands, products or services. At the same time, artificial intelligence already has a clear role in the customer journey. 29% use tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Copilot for brand or product information; among 16- to 24-year-olds, this rises to 46%.

AI is also growing in online shopping. 27% of Belgians use AI tools daily and 24% weekly. Among 16- to 24-year-olds, more than half use AI every day. For brands, visibility is no longer only about SEO or social presence. How brand and product information appears in AI-generated answers is becoming a strategic challenge too.

Podcasts build brand awareness

Nearly half of Belgians aged 16 to 70 listen to podcasts. 16% do so weekly and 14% daily. The 25- to 34-year-old group is the most active audience. For brands, the value lies mainly in visibility and interest: 68% of listeners encounter brands while listening, 32% have discovered a brand or product, and 21% have searched for more information afterwards.

Podcasts therefore seem less suited to fast conversion, but highly relevant as a credible channel for building attention and consideration. Combined with social media, influencers and AI, they reflect a broader reality: consumers discover, compare and decide through multiple touchpoints at the same time.

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