The first image seen by your potential audience, the thumbnail of your video on YouTube is the visual that will make them want to watch your video. Follow our advice to make it attractive and powerful.
YouTube: 5 tips to create a thumbnail of your video
You often fill in this visual in a hurry before publishing your video or use the automatic preview offered by the platform. Error !
Like a call-to-action advertisement, it’s a call to action that’s critical to the success of your video.
It must therefore be healed.
What is the thumbnail of a video?
Some details on this small format so important.
The thumbnail of your video is the preview of your movie when the video is not played.
Just like a supermarket facing, this is your hangout among the large gallery of videos on YouTube.
Clickable, it must both attract the eye and encourage the reading of the video. It is all the more important because it helps to highlight your brand universe.
Your YouTube channel is like a feed on Instagram, it must reflect in the blink of an eye your chart and your branding.
1) Respect the dimensions of a miniature
Respect these dimensions to make sure you are visible , not smaller!
- 1280 x 720 pixels (minimum width of 640 pixels);
- The aspect ratio will be 16: 9;
- Save a classic photo format: .jpg, .gif, .png;
- Maximum size of 2MB (without cutting on the quality)
- Always leave a photo of good quality to reduce it , but not the opposite to not have a
- pixelated effect on your thumbnail that would hinder playback.
2) Choose an attractive background photo
You will have a few seconds to catch the eye of your user, so select an impacting photo, inspiring or original and humorous .
The latter must obviously be related to the subject of your video.
You can also create a visual without an image, but in an attractive format. For example, a colored illustration or background with opposite colored text on top can create an easily recognizable contrast and emerge from the dense stream of YouTube videos.
3) Treat your text and its font
Certainly, a YouTube video is underlined by a title.
However, a text on your thumbnail image will be much more visible , if properly highlighted.
Find the right ratio between photo and text. Add only a maximum of ten words or a big title. It must include your keywords, be synthetic, but percutan t.
For a tutorial: how to achieve, xx tips …
For a web-series : recall the title of the theme and the number of the sequence;
For a travel blog or a photographer: indicate the country with a stylized font;
In E-commerce: put forward the name of the product;
In your catch, challenge, pique the curiosity of the user, but also show honesty. No need to make a promise, because you would lose a potential follower that you could have retained.
Look after the font you use. Follow your graphic charter or create a specific adaptation for your YouTube channel.
The motto is readability. Capitalize preferably to symbolize the action and in bold to emphasize your text.
The image will catch the eye of the user, the text must now convince him of the benefits to watch your video.
4) Create your template and stick to it
A template is essential to have a coherence and a red thread on your YouTube channel.
You also help to spread your branding and arouse the curiosity of your audience to watch other videos:
- With web-series;
- With thematic appointments of several episodes in a row. This is the format that works
- best to create recurrence and retain your subscribers.
- By being recognizable, you will have more chances to create a habit and an appointment with your followers.
Respecting your template is a great way to familiarize your audience with your content and branding . So keep an identical handwriting, a reminder of the title of the series, and use numbers to create a red thread.
5) Place your logotype effectively
In line with the template, remember to place your brand name or logo to remember your site and your user recognizes you. Place it in the center or top left of your thumbnail for it to be the most seen.
The thumbnail of your YouTube video has a bad name. Although its size is small, it’s the visual and the most important text for generating video views.