Social Media Use by Managers From B2B Companies in the Basque Region of Northern Spain

Purpose: This study analyzes the opinion of business managers as to the usefulness of Social Media tools for their job, along with the specific tasks they were involved in.Design: Six in-depth interviews were held with six business managers working for eight companies; seven in The Basque region in Spain and one in Germany.Findings: The study shows that regardless of the particular Social Media strategy of the company where they worked, all managers had a profile on several social networking sites. The monitoring being done on SM went beyond observing what the competition was doing in relation to their specific business; it also observed the strategy that competitors, customers and suppliers implemented in the Social Media.Limitations: Most of the interviewees worked for B2B companies in the Basque region of Spain.Practical implications: Practitioners and managers can learn about what their colleagues are doing in the sphere of SM. This study provides an idea of how to integrate the SM strategy within the overall corporate strategy, making efficient use of these tools, and thus achieving their communication goals