Check out Refinery29 ’s YouTube thumbnail for their video titled, “The Truth About Where Hair Extensions Come From.” Your thumbnail should have a super-attractive background to catch viewers attention. Pick a Great Picture as Your Thumbnail Background So, keep the size as close to the recommended size as possible. Bear in mind that the same thumbnail will appear when you embed the video in your emails and social posts. Scaling up a picture often distorts its resolution. If you have a number of picture options lined up, opt for one that is not too small. Get the Thumbnail Size RightĪccording to YouTube guidelines, the ideal dimensions for thumbnails is 1280 x 720 pixels, with an aspect ratio of 16:9. Follow these best practices if you want to design click-worthy thumbnails. However, you shouldn’t need to do that if you follow the best practices recommended below.īest Practices for Creating Custom YouTube ThumbnailsĬreating custom thumbnails is not as easy as taking a picture and uploading it to YouTube. The good news is that YouTube allows you to change thumbnails, even after you publish your videos. But you can use photo-editing tools like Canva or stock photos to design your own thumbnails. Regrettably, YouTube does not have a built-in tool for designing video thumbnails. If you want to upload a custom thumbnail, you will be asked to verify your account through email or registered phone number. You can create a thumbnail for your video while uploading it on YouTube. How Can You Create Great YouTube Thumbnails? That’s how important YouTube thumbnails are. Even a viewer who is not familiar with Komo will be tempted to click on his videos and a big part of that is due to his eye-catching thumbnails. The pictures not only give a glimpse of the stunning locales Matt covers in each video but also establishes his personal brand. Note the consistent styling, bold typography, and earthy palettes he has used in all of his thumbnails. Check out the thumbnails created by celebrated photographer, Matthew Komorus aka Matt Komo. By creating repeated impressions through thumbnails, you can improve your brand’s recall value. If you use a signature style in your thumbnails, viewers can start associating your brand with it. Thumbnails, though a small component of your entire video marketing strategy, can boost your branding in a big way. They also give a hint about the context of a video. There are several other reasons why YouTube thumbnails are important.Īn attention-grabbing thumbnail can get many eyes on your content and get it initial traction. They can either compel viewers to click on a video or simply ignore it. Your YouTube thumbnails give viewers the first impression of your videos. It is the first thing that people see when they are browsing through the platform.Ī good first impression lasts a long time. Are You Ready to Create the Best YouTube Thumbnails?Ī YouTube thumbnail is the small clickable picture that displays next to a video.Best Practices for Creating Custom YouTube Thumbnails.How Can You Create Great YouTube Thumbnails?.Often, your thumbnails decide the fate of your videos. The thumbnails will decide if a viewer decides to click on your video or scroll past it. For your videos to stand out and shine in this ocean of content, you need to create eye-catching thumbnails for them. The number is only poised to increase in coming times.įor all of these reasons, the competition on YouTube is fierce. 500+ hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube every minute, as of May 2019. 50% of respondents said that videos shaped their final purchase decisions. Think With Google surveyed YouTubers and found that 90% of people discovered new brands and products on YouTube. You can boost your brand awareness and sales through video marketing on YouTube. For marketers and influencers, YouTube offers a wealth of opportunities. The world’s second-most popular website, YouTube, is visited by 1.9 billion people monthly. And, YouTube is their choice of platform for its sheer simplicity and huge user base. Since videos are so effective, 81% of brands leverage video marketing. That’s why videos have a better retention and recall rate than plain text or static images. Videos provide a multi-dimensional experience which has a lasting impact on the human mind. The reasons for the popularity of videos are clear. By 2022, videos will constitute 82% of the global internet traffic, Cisco predicts.