Well. Technically, this headline should be "death to ficus" or "death to ficuses." There is no such thing as a "ficii."
But it's eye-catching, right? Because you've probably never seen the word before.
And that's a good segue into the rest of this blog.
People like what they haven't seen before.
Content marketing and content strategy is about telling stories and appealing to an audience; it's about entertainment, novelty, human interest, and thoughtfulness. Consumer brands get this (see: @Wendys), but nearly every tech company I see is doing it wrong.
There is this sort of "video strategy" out there; some call it thought leadership; sometimes it goes by other names -- such as the "talking head" style. But its formulaic.
- Find smart person who knows about technology.
- Sit them in front of a ficus plant. Sometimes two ficus plants.
- Make them talk for four-five minutes while you hit "record."
- Cut. Publish with minimal editing.
Ultimately this is the safe space most tech companies fall into when plotting their over arcing video strategy. Every single one of them -- big, small, in-between -- are guilty of creating videos like this. Videos upon videos just like this.
That no one watches.
(Disclaimer: if your talking head person is John Cohn, Linus Torvalds or Elon Musk, proceed. Otherwise, do not pass go, do not collect $200.00.)
What can be done?
If you're a marketer -- fie!! Shame! You know better. There are other ways.
On the other hand, if you're an executive at a tech company and you want to help "fight the ficus pandemic" -- it's upon you -- nae -- incumbent on you -- to rise up.
Barring a major media or philanthropy-driven interview, if you find yourself in a chair, with a ficus nearby, lights overhead, and a lavalier mic in your lapel, rest-assured you are about to be in one of "those" talking head videos. Eventually what you film in this moment will wind up somewhere, somehow, online -- and there will be a four to five minute cut of you effectively talking to an audience of zero.
So rise-up. Unpin that lavalier mic. Perhaps throw it to the ground, if you so deign. And ask whoever put you in that situation to call you back when they've got a new approach.