Social media as a marketing tool is often overlooked, despite their potential, they are frequently underutilised. Nevertheless, a strong social strategy and a brand-oriented focus are the keys to success on social media platforms.

Social media extends way beyond performance and direct conversion. It's about building brands, building relationships with the target group and strategically distributing content on relevant platforms. Success requires belief in the power of social media and investment in knowledge building and daring to experiment.

It is sometimes difficult to estimate which content is valuable and which is not because of the influence of subjectivity and different opinions in your marketing team. Fortunately, that responsibility lies entirely with the consumer. All you have to do is create a lot of content that is in line with your organisation’s values.

Sometimes content marketers suffer from a content burnout: they don't know what to post or how to come up with creative content. The drip model offers a solution: take a look at the 'low-hanging fruit' within your organisation, sector and above all: your target group environment. With social posts that you write from the perspective of your target group, you always deliver engaging content.

Many young people are on Snapchat and TikTok today. In spite of that, Facebook, with 70% active users, remains the largest social network in Flanders. Do you want to reach your audience? Then consider using Reels. Facebook can also deliver strong results for B2B marketing, especially in combination with LinkedIn.

TikTok offers unprecedented potential for organic reach, but also brings challenges: privacy issues, diverse content and users; and a powerful algorithm. Post multiple times a day and focus on native content instead of your own campaign materials.

Since TikTok boosted vertical videos, they have dominated all platforms. Using reels strengthens the bond with your video first users and gives you more organic reach and improves your marketing results.

Conversation management is a shift from webcare to webdare. Where in the past, brands mainly responded to negative experiences and complaints on their own channels, now you join conversations with your consumers on your own and other channels. This increases your visibility and positions you in the market.

Content strategist Sam talks to Vanessa Loose, marketing manager at Dewaele. For Belgium's largest independent estate agent, social media are incredibly important. With a healthy mix of trends and evergreen topics, they always stay on the radar as a life partner in living and business through social media.