I never got the belt like my older brother did (when he was 7, for stealing Pokemon Cards from his friend) but I was spanked for a lot longer of a time period. My mom broke coat-hangers on me up until I was maybe 13 years old. Pops whipped me a few times as well; his were much more rare, but his spankings were never really "light" to say the least. My parents both grew up in rural Kosovo, so many of their initial parenting techniques that they used for me and my older brother might seem a bit harsh in retrospect. Im pretty sure my dad was beat with a 2x4 from his dad- evidently a different world from 90s/00s Canada.
My little brother is 8 years younger than me- my parents have raised him much differently (they moved to Canada in 1995). He has probably been lightly tapped on the bum a total of three times in his entire life. Behaviour-wise, he's at least as well-behaved as me, if not more. I've been pretty well-behaved all of my life though- did spanking have much to do with this? Hard to say.
Personally, I think I'll follow the route that my parents took with my younger brother. Emphasize speaking, re-iterating statements, and maybe the odd-spanking if the message isn't getting across.