# b2b+social media=p2p

by Joe Morris & Matt Patulski, Capgemini

We would be interested in discussing web video strategies for 2008 and beyond and our own experience of applying Web 2.0 to the B2Bworld.

As a business-to-business systems integrator, social media is an essential tool to enable Capgemini to break down the barriers between our people and our audience. We do not sell products per se; yes we have proprietary tools and methodologies, but really what our clients are buying is our people and our collective expertise, experience and passion.

Building effective relationships is crucial to our business—our buyers are not corporations, they’re people – so any tool that enables us to communicate person-to-person, rather than business-to-business, is critical.

At Capgemini, social media is an enabler of our Collaborative Business Experience—intimacy with our clients driven by innovation within industrialization. For technology companies web based video can provide a real sense of the human impact of very complex and abstract work. The documentary style is conversational and creates intimacy between our clients and our consultants i.e. they know where we are coming from and we know how to help them realize the potential of their organization.

Web video is clearly a simple way to showcase the strength of our people. It enables us to:

- Put a human face to our thought leadership

- Communicate sometimes complex, abstract concepts in simple, easy-to-digest terms

- Short circuit production time scales by capturing, editing and publishing content in-house in the time it would normally take to litho print (and at half the cost)

- Publish our content beyond the boundaries of our own website via sites such as YouTube and BrightCove

For 2007 the goal has been to embed digital media, in particular video, in the mainstream of our culture and a central piece of our marketing efforts. This has meant sourcing innovative individuals, organizations, tools and processes to help our team (and by extension all of Capgemini) improve the efficiency of developing and delivering traditional and emedia content, and the perception of Capgemini in the marketplace as a forward thinking organization.