How to create amazing videos with Lumen5
Table of contents
Searching and selecting media
Searching and selecting music
Text: positioning, sizing, and colors
Using subscenes
Using scene designs
Video lengths for different social formats
Conclusion
Introduction
Lumen5 is an online video maker that enables you to create thought leadership and marketing videos quickly, easily, and with no video editing experience required. There’s many benefits that come with implementing video in your business.
Video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year than those who don’t focus on video.
93% of marketers say they’ve converted a lead into a paying customer thanks to a video posted on social media.
Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text.
This mini-guide will take you through a few handy hints and tips so that you can really hit the ground running and create impactful thought leadership and marketing videos for your business.
Searching and selecting media
Browsing the Lumen5 media library couldn’t be easier. Here’s a few pro-tips to make it faster for you to search and select media for your video.
Tip 1: Combine keywords for better search results
For example, you'll get different results for searching "business" compared to “people meeting in a business setting” because search results are based on keywords and tags.
Tip 2: Make sure "marketplace" is enabled in your search filter
If you want to expand the quality and scope of your results, make sure that marketplace is selected. Marketplace media is what we call our premium media library from suppliers such as Shutterstock.
Tip 3: Think in metaphors and analogies rather than the obvious
Think of related, less obvious keywords. For example, if your video has a scene about doing something fast, don't search for a clock (too obvious!) look for someone running instead (more interesting!)
Tip 4: Use trimming and cropping to focus the scene
Trim and crop media to focus on the key part of the visual. You can access these options by selecting "More options" next to your scene.
Tip 5: Add a media to favorite for later use
You might find a great video clip or image that doesn't work for your current video but could work for another in the future. Remember to favorite media to re-discover it easily for other videos by clicking on the star in the right-bottom corner within your search results.
Searching and selecting music
Audio can often make or break a video. The guidance outlined below will ensure that the music component of your video remains on-brand and on-point.
Tip 1: Search for music using the mood filter
Lumen5 will automatically select a track from our music library to match your video. If you want to change the music, we recommend searching by mood in the dropdown menu.
Tip 2: Choose music that matches your brand and message
When considering which music track to select, focus on staying true to your brand. Music choice is also dependent on the message you are trying to communicate. If your video is on the serious side, think about a more brooding track. If your video is happy, select an upbeat sound.
Tip 3: Click on tags to see similar music
We have partnerships with audio providers who have tagged each track with keywords like "ads", "business", or "corporate". You can click on these tags to see more tracks with the same tag.
Text: positioning, sizing, and colors
Lumen5 is powered by A.I., which makes it incredibly intuitive. But, sometimes things can look a little off. To manually adjust your text, follow these simple steps.
What to consider when positioning your text:
Tip 1: Make sure text doesn't clash with the background
When putting text on media, choose the spot that's least busy or least important part of the scene. For example, avoid putting text over people's faces.
Tip 2: Make sure the text is legible on busy backgrounds
If you’re using media that is very busy, be sure to choose a scene design that offers background bars or color filters to make the text more visible.
Tip 3: Try to keep sentences short and sweet
Try to keep text to around 20% of the scene in order to let the media shine. One or two sentences at moderate font size reads better than a big paragraph. Also try to keep font sizes consistent throughout the video.
Tip 4: Use text highlight to emphasize keywords
Use text highlights sparingly. The point is to always highlight the most important parts of the sentence. Use a title text box for titles, steps, or categories, and then the subtitle text box for any supporting text.
Tip 5: Consider using multiple colors between titles and subtitles
When combining titles and subtitles, try using different colors to create visual hierarchy and differentiation between multiple elements.
Tip 6: Choose from pre-designed colors or build your own
Each video template offers several pre-designed color palettes for you to choose from. You can also click on each color and edit them to fit your brand.
Using subscenes
If you find you have a scene that has more than a few sentences or visually appears quite text-heavy, then a subscene can be a quick and professional-looking solution.
Subscenes allow you to break up a lengthier piece of text while keeping the media background the same. So, the first half of the text will animate in first, before being replaced by the second half of the text. This allows you to have more visual continuity, without needing to constantly add new scenes.
You can use this for part of the video, or you can even create an entire video with just one piece of media and multiple subscenes.
Using scene designs
When you create a new scene, you'll have the option to choose a scene design.
You can change your scene design to other compatible designs at any time via the Swap Design button in the right-hand control bar. Use a combination of media and text-only scenes throughout your video to keep it visually interesting.
If you would like to create a special slide with point-form items, try looking for scene designs that are designed to show lists.
Video lengths for different social formats
It’s important to remember that different social channels have different lengths for video sharing. For your video to have the biggest impact, it’s really important to play by the rules here — otherwise you run the risk of creating video that’s too long and may get cut off.
| Post type | Ideal video length |
|---|---|
| Instagram post | 30 seconds |
| Instagram story | 15 seconds |
| Facebook post | 30-60 seconds |
| Facebook story | 15 seconds |
| 30-60 seconds | |
| Youtube | 60 seconds |
| 20-45 seconds |
Remember, we cap all our videos at five minutes. This is because many platforms require that your video be shorter than this. And even when longer videos are possible, it is generally recommended to err on the side of shorter videos.
Final thoughts
Remember, the Lumen5 videos that create the biggest impact online have the following attributes:
Keep it short! No more than 1-2 minutes
Create visual variety within a video through combining different scene designs
Text is short, snappy, and to the point (or use a subscene if the text is longer)
If the story is too long, consider splitting the topic up into multiple short videos
Be sure to include music with every video to set the tone
Duplicate videos into different aspect ratios to fit each social platform
Include an outro scene to conclude the video and reinforce your brand identity
Conclusion
We hope you found this guide useful! We’re always open to feedback and if you want to get in touch to chat about this guide, or anything else Lumen5, contact your dedicated Customer Success Manager or email [email protected].
Updated on: 28/05/2022
Thank you!