Your YouTube thumbnails are the first thing potential viewers see when there are millions of videos competing for their attention. These small images have a significant impact on attracting views and clicks.
YouTube thumbnails are a quick snapshot of the video and set expectations about what your viewers can expect. A well-crafted video thumbnail is not only attractive but also captures the essence of your video.
This article will cover everything you need about YouTube thumbnails. I’ll also share tips on how to create them and lessons I learned running my YouTube channel.
What is a YouTube thumbnail?
YouTube thumbnails are a quick visual summary of the video. The thumbnail appears next to the video title on YouTube’s results page, in the related videos section, or in the recommended videos section.
This image is crucial in attracting viewers and encouraging clicks on the video. This thumbnail’s design and content can influence a viewer’s decision to watch or not. It is, therefore, of great importance to the creation of YouTube video content.
YouTube thumbnail size
The ideal YouTube thumbnail size for a video is 1280×720 pixels. This aspect ratio is 16:9. Minimum width is 640 pixels.
Aim for a file size of under 2MB. YouTube thumbnails are available as JPGs or GIFs.
YouTube thumbnails
The thumbnail is the first image that your viewers will see when they visit YouTube. This small but crucial element is your first gateway to your viewers.
“If people don’t click, they won’t watch.” You want to give people something to click on,” said MrBeast, a YouTube star.
Engage them
Consider your thumbnail’s digital hooks that will grab your audience’s interest. Make sure they are visually appealing, vibrant, and engaging.
Consistency is key
Consistency in thumbnail design is the first step to building a brand that’s recognizable on YouTube. Unifying your style will help viewers identify your content. Consistency in thumbnail design is important, but also keeping an eye on other professionals in your field who share your target audience.
You can get useful information about the number of people who click on your competitors’ stuff by checking out. You can see how your content, colors, and titles compare to others.
MrBeast maintains a consistent style in his thumbnails. This makes them instantly recognizable to viewers and helps build a strong brand presence on YouTube. His thumbnails are always the same style, which makes them immediately identifiable to his viewers. This allows him to build a strong YouTube brand presence.
Represent your video accurately.
Your thumbnail should be an accurate representation of your video. The wrong thumbnails may cause viewers to become frustrated and angry.
Create an emotional impact.
Emotions are contagious, as we all know. It’s well known that emotions are contagious.
It’s a simple trick to get people to click on your YouTube videos. Humans are able to detect the emotion of a face. It’s common for people to open their mouths when they are surprised. This surprised reaction makes people curious to find out what’s so shocking.
Learn to adapt
Analyze your analytics continuously to adjust your strategy and content based on feedback from your audience and changing trends.
The thumbnail below is my first successful video (in comparison to other videos). The thumbnail’s simple title, the upward-pointing arrow, chatGPT’s popularity in society, the length of the tape, and my wearing something that matched the color scheme were all factors. I noted these things as possible drivers of success in future thumbnails and videos.
Free YouTube thumbnail creator
You can try a few YouTube tools for creating thumbnails, including mine.
Photo
To create thumbnails, I use an application called Photor. Fotor’s all-in-one platform makes creating thumbnails a breeze. It is a simple-to-use graphic design and photo editing tool available on desktop, web, and mobile. It offers a complete set of tools to cover all image editing requirements, including face retouching.
Photos include advanced AI tools, such as the background remover and image enlarger. These make even complex edits easy.
Canva
Canva, a design tool that is available for free, can help you to create YouTube thumbnails. Navigate to the website, select YouTube thumbnails as your design choice, and choose an existing template or create your own.
You can edit colors, add images, and brand your YouTube thumbnails with your logo using Canva.
Visme
Visme allows you to create YouTube thumbnails easily easily. Visme, like Canva, has templates you can customize to fit your brand.