What is a Video thumbnail and how it helps to boost views?

In the contemporary age, everyone loves to watch video content. It’s engaging, entertaining, and creates an enduring impression on viewers’ minds. But to be a triumph, a video must look captivating from the very beginning, and that is where thumbnails come into play. An attractive video thumbnail image speaks to viewers before they click play.

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“ The first impression is the last impression”‍

This perfectly applies when we talk about thumbnails. There are numerous things in life that one can do at various times, but making a first impression isn’t one of them. Similarly, a video thumbnail is the first impression of your video that promptly decides whether your video will get thousands of views or just a handful.

It feels very disheartening when one puts so much effort in creating one’s video content, yet no one clicks them. The most likely possibility regarding why users aren’t clicking on your content is because the thumbnail image you’ve chosen is dull, not related to the topic or not catchy enough to attract them

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So, in this blog you’ll learn:

• What is a video thumbnail?
• What is the purpose of a thumbnail?
• How it helps to boost views?
  

What is a Video thumbnail?‍

A video thumbnail is a static image that works as a sneak peek for your video. This is the first thing that your viewers see on various platforms like Facebook, Youtube and based on it they decide whether to click on your video or not. In simple words, it’s a pre-selected image taken from the content of the video, or a separately customized image that’s uploaded and displayed as the “title” frame of the video.

Here’s an example:

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A good thumbnail signifies the contents of a video or an article that draws the viewers in. Things move fast in today’s world, viewers don’t have enough time to click on each and every video and check its contents they just decide in a couple of seconds whether to watch a video or not.

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What is the purpose of a thumbnail?‍

Thumbnails are used for various purposes. One of the greatest advantages of thumbnails is their reduced file size compared to the original file. A website has a remarkably faster loading time if its range of image and video content is initially advertised in the form of thumbnails and thus, visitors decide for themselves which content they want to watch.It is due to the small size of the thumbnail, website-designers get the advantage to show more content to the visitors without increasing the loading time of the page.

Many video hosting platforms automatically select a thumbnail in a random fashion when you upload your content, but aimless selection always gives unsatisfactory results. That’s why a customized thumbnail is always the better option. According to YouTube, 95% of their most watched videos have a custom thumbnail. A custom thumbnail can be made using software like Photoshop, and Canva and include text and graphics that attract viewers to watch your video.   ‍

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How thumbnail helps you to boost views?‍

Since thumbnail is like a book cover that would entice someone to buy that book, you would surely want to design nothing but the best. Thumbnail must provide an aesthetically strong reason to your viewers for watching your video. It’s important here to understand that it becomes more significant if your video is based on a common subject.

Sounds tricky, doesn’t it?, don’t worry we are here to take you to the step by step journey of creating a rational yet eye catchy thumbnail.

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Video Title:‍

Video title is one of the key factors to get attention on your video. The title you choose should clearly convey the content of the video. As thumbnails are small images, so you don’t have much space to add every text. To make the most use of this space, it’s important for you to write some power words (words with strong meanings) that inspire users to click, and those power words should also help you arouse emotions along with a little curiosity in the viewers to get those mighty clicks on your video.

The right size of the title is vital too. You should always choose the right size of the text of the title that is legible to your audience so that anyone seeing your video doesn’t need to hunt for the title.‍

Brand Logo:‍

Brand logo creates an enduring impression on the viewer’s mind. Most of the creators use the logo to pull the viewers in. It helps you make your video stand out in the competition. Try to place the logo in the left or right upper corner of the thumbnail or you can also put it throughout the video to remind viewers of your brand’s identity. Once you have gained credibility as a creator, people will surely come back to consume more of your content.This Makes it easy for viewers!

Choose an image related to the content:‍

In order to gain the trust and interest of the viewers you must select an image that aligns with the concept of the video and must make sense to the viewers. Please make sure you don’t select the image randomly and you ought to give it a thought that it must not offend your viewers in any sense.‍

Avoid Clickbait:‍

Clickbait is a deceptive advertising strategy used by content creators to encourage users to click a link to an article, an image, or a video to get as many clicks as possible. The biggest problem with clickbait is that it often leads to content that is undesirable. Clickbait is like one’s filter dipped in on tinder that allures many to click on one’s profile but when one goes to meet that person s/he loses the credibility. Clickbaits make loud claims so the viewers click the link very fast but those claims may come out to be Utopian.

If you adopt this kind of unfair practice, your viewers simply lose trust in your content and experience the betrayed feeling by you that ultimately creates the wrong impact on their minds. After sometime your genuine audience will simply avoid watching your video.  

Now, to cut a long story short- Thumbnail is an essential and powerful tool for your video content which if used wisely with that added pinch of creativity can surely get good traffic on your content. You just need to think from the perspective of the potential viewers along with a rational approach dipped in the artistry and there you go.

Now that you've read this blog post, you have the thumbs up from our side to get started creating your own video thumbnails and we hope you get all those views you need to make it to the top.

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Good Luck!!