You've probably heard the proverb "Don't judge a book by its cover." Whether you choose to or not is entirely up to you, but on YouTube, everyone evaluates a video based on its thumbnail.

The three examples offered by YouTube don't always cut it; if you want your material to be clicked, you need custom video thumbnails. This post will serve as a budget-friendly guide for creating YouTube video thumbnail by giving you best practises and instructions on how to put them into practise.

Here is your video thumbnail check list to help you increase views, likes, and shares without further ado. 

A video thumbnail is what?

According to definition, a video thumbnail is a still image that perfectly sums up and portrays your video. It will appear on many different platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube, and will always be the first result people see when looking for a video to watch. Viewers may decide whether or not to watch your video based on its thumbnail. 

Even when conducting a topic search, video thumbnails may be what leads users from a straightforward Google search to your video and then to your website. 

Why thumbnails for videos are crucial

Every video streaming service, including Netflix and YouTube, depends on thumbnails to draw viewers in. The same should apply to your videos. Before viewers opt to watch, they give a sneak peek of what your video will be about and can be used to promote your business. It only takes a captivating video thumbnail to get users to stop scrolling and see what you've produced. 

Instead of utilising a generic image as your thumbnail, using brand aspects, little language, and an interesting photo to generate personalised thumbnails can be more effective. Making a unique thumbnail for each of your movies offers a level of customization that can improve engagement with viewers. We'll discuss how having the ideal video thumbnail can increase your views, shares, and likes in the following section.

How to use YouTube video thumbnail to increase views, shares, and likes

1. Show your video's content accurately in the thumbnail

Use a thumbnail that accurately depicts the substance of your video instead than misleading your audience.

If you're making a product review video for the newest GoPro camera, for instance, avoid using a thumbnail of a bikini-clad model in a tropical setting. Your viewers will become irritated by this and be less likely to watch your content in the future. Furthermore, using these dubious methods may result in the removal of your YouTube account or a penalty for your video in search results.

How to execute: 

Take a distinct photo that is relevant to the subject rather than attempting to screenshot a specific scene in your film. This will assist you in avoiding accepting a screenshot that is blurry. Take an excellent photo of yourself and utilise it if you are in the film. If not, take a photo of your topic in front of a simple background so that it will be simple to replace with a more vivid digital background. 

2. When appropriate, put a face in the thumbnail of your video.

If for no other reason than that it is more difficult to say no to a person's face than it is without, having a close-up of their face in your thumbnail has been shown to increase click-through rates. Your viewers who are browsing through thumbnails will feel more connected if you make eye contact and display an emotion-filled facial expression. It humanises the information and gives a sneak peek at how the viewer will feel after watching the film. 

While we do advise doing so, there are some videos where doing so would be in opposition with step #1 (representing video material accurately). You're better off including the subject in the thumbnail, such as the finished meal or a close-up of the video game character, if your movie is a tutorial on how to cook or play a game. 

How to execute: 

Use the camera on your smartphone to record a facial expression to use as the video thumbnail. Given that the photo should be a close-up, a straightforward selfie will do the trick if you don't have access to a professional photographer. 

3. Make the background of your movie thumbnail bright.

Use vivid colours to stand out in your thumbnail and set your material apart from the competitors. Yellow-green is the colour that the human eye is most sensitive to because it requires two cones to comprehend, exciting our vision more than other colours. So, whenever you can, think about incorporating them.However, you should exercise caution when using vivid colours, since your thumbnail could end up looking cheap and cheesy. If adding a bright background to your thumbnail isn't possible without being garish, think about adding a bright outline around your subject(s). 

How to apply: As opposed to snapping a photo in front of a vibrant wall, the majority of YouTube thumbnails with bright backgrounds are made in post-production. They are made by erasing the surrounding background and adding a vivid background layer behind the subject. 

Adobe Photoshop is the ideal tool for this. But since not everyone can afford that, the free alternative is to utilise a free background remover.

Another choice is to export the image after removing the background colour using WeVideo's chroma key capability. You can post your image to the free graphic design website Canva after using our video editor to remove the backdrop. 

4. Adding text to the thumbnail of your movie

Text in your video thumbnail can frequently be useful for driving clicks, but if done improperly, it will have the opposite effect.

To begin with, you must be aware of the space you have available for text. Stay away from placing text over the thumbnail's face. Second, check that your font is large and bold enough to be read comfortably on a mobile device.

You can frequently condense your title and exclude extraneous words to reduce the amount of space your text takes up. For instance, we condensed the wording in the thumbnail to "Boost social engagement" in our blog post, "5 Ways to boost your video engagement on social media." 

How to execute:

Text may be easily added to your thumbnail using programmes like Canva, Photoshop, Paintbrush, or even Microsoft Paint. 

5. Create the YuTube video thumbnail layout.

It's time to exhibit your excellent movie thumbnail in a style that will appeal to your potential visitors once you have assembled all of the necessary components. When creating your thumbnail layout, keep in mind that the bottom and top right-hand corners will be hidden. When you mouse over a YouTube thumbnail, buttons to see later or add to the queue will appear in the top right corner and the bottom right corner will display the video's duration.

The rule of thirds is a useful technique that is well-liked by graphic artists. At this point, split your canvas into thirds on both the horizontal and vertical axes. The viewer's eyes will be pulled to the crossings (see image) since they are there. 

How to execute:

The official YouTube guidelines for custom video thumbnail requirements are as follows:

• Resolution: 1280 x 720 (with a 640 pixel minimum width)

• Picture types:.JPG,.GIF,.BMP, or.PNG

• File size: less than 2MB

• a 16:9 aspect ratio

6. Add branding to the thumbnail of your video

Your movie thumbnail can be improved greatly by adding a logo or small watermark. When the video is shared on social media, it rapidly identifies your brand as one that viewers can trust and directs them to more of your content.

Not every well-known YouTube channel will have a logo on the thumbnail, but they frequently have a recognisable style that serves as their own form of branding. This can be as easy as sticking to a particular colour palette and design layout, or even just using the same face every time.

In each thumbnail, Justin Brown from Primal Video, for instance, will utilise a variety of various colours, but he always adds a headshot. Dee Nimmin, on the other hand, brands his films using the same font and colour scheme. Last but not least, Home Depot chooses to maintain consistency by including their logo somewhere in each thumbnail for a video. 

How to execute:

Try out different logo placements, designs, and colour schemes until you discover one that works for your channel. After then, it's critical to maintain consistency. 

How to extract a video's thumbnail

The most skilled artists are not the only ones who can produce a personalised thumbnail. It only takes a few easy steps to generate your movie thumbnail with WeVideo. Our Tuesday Tips & Tricks team walks you through the process of making your very own personalised video thumbnail in the video tutorial down below.

Size and aspect ratio of YouTube video thumbnails

Design the layout of your movie thumbnail We touched on this topic above, but we think it merits its own section. Every social media platform, including YouTube, has certain requirements for the dimensions and aspect ratios of photographs and videos. These are YouTube's requirements for video thumbnails.

• Resolution: 1280 x 720 (with a 640 pixel minimum width)

• Picture types:.JPG,.GIF,.BMP, or.PNG

• File size: less than 2MB

• a 16:9 aspect ratio

Following these guidelines will make it simpler to build additional thumbnails in addition to improving the appearance of your movie thumbnail. When you make your own thumbnails, there won't be any guesswork involved, so you'll spend less time on them and more time watching the movie.

Wrap-up

If you follow these instructions, your YouTube video thumbnail will be excellent. But that's only a portion of the struggle. The title and substance of your video are equally important in determining how many views and shares it receives.