What the heck is a B-Roll?

And do I need it?

For many of us school holidays mean the juggle between entertaining kids, delegating tasks, and keeping work flowing.

When life gets busy, there are certain things that get pushed to the side. For many it is content creation and management (unless they are in the position to outsource it). Whilst it can sound great to have a month of content planned, created, and scheduled, that isn't the reality for a lot of people. On top of that, video content is still a 'favourite' of many of the social media algorithms.

I know that we often find it hard to get in front of the camera, especially for video content, know what they want to say, in a way that sounds professional and engaging.

An easier and (more convenient way) to do this, is to have video content of yourself 'on the go'. This is known as your B-roll. It is video content of you just doing your thing! You can capture it by propping your phone up or using a tripod and recording a time-lapse or hyper-lapse video.

You could be working at your desk, having a networking catch up, a coffee with a client, going for a walk, time in nature, cleaning up your kids toys, selecting an outfit to wear, the sky is the limit. Whilst the video component is important, what you SAY or WRITE to accompany it is important.

The video of you working at your computer could accompany a message about

🟨 maintaining contact with your clients by having a regular newsletter
🟦 updating the content on your website
🟩 creating blogs and resources for your clients and future clients

That video of your daily coffee could be about

🟨 getting out and networking with local businesses
🟦 supporting coffee roasters who source a large portion of their coffee directly from women coffee growers (such as 23 Degrees Coffee Roasters)
🟩 networking with like-minded businesses

A video of you cleaning up your kids toys could really be about

🟨 taking time to play, have a break from the hustle and bustle, and enjoying the small moments
🟦 building relationships in business
🟩 storytelling and connecting with your audience

I encourage you to get your phone out, prop it up somewhere, hit video mode and record some B-roll. Pop some messages over the top and then schedule them to be posted to your social media, especially if you know you have some busy times ahead.

I’ve included a sped up version of me content creation process - if you haven’t tried Canva then you need to!