Simply put, a thumbnail is the cover art to your content. Thumbnails are like ad banners for your videos.

A well designed thumbnail can capture users’ attention and encourage them to click on your content. This can result in an increased click-through rate, which is an important factor in things such as search engine optimization and social media algorithms. Not to mention, with a visual preview of the content beforehand it will enhance the user experience of your content. Thumbnails help direct the user towards content they desire and can even help them explore new ideas they have found an interest in.

So, what does a well designed thumbnail look like?

The answer is not completely black and white, but the most important parts of thumbnail design are making sure the branding stays consistent with your existing brand. We want to reinforce your brand identity, not add a new element. High quality images, especially human faces, contrasting colors of your choice and readable text are the keys to a good thumbnail. Like any marketing visual, we want to get your message across as quickly as possible and entice the viewer into watching your content. Try to find a way to use thumbnails to suggest the value or interest of your content without giving everything away. With the growing popularity of online design tools, applications such as Canva and Snappa are easy, free-to-use tools to make your own thumbnails for your content. For YouTube thumbnails, the dimensions should be 1280×720 pixels.

Outside of visuals, thumbnails can also provide a lot of help for your brand and content. Thumbnails can be indexed by search engines, which can help your content to be displayed in image search results. This can increase the visibility of your content and drive more traffic to your site or platform of choice.

Thumbnails are an important tool to your content growing. A thumbnail image that accurately represents the content of your video can lead to increased engagement and retainment, as viewers will be more likely to watch the video if they find the thumbnail appealing, ultimately growing your brand as a whole.

In many cases, thumbnails are the first interaction a user will have with your content. With the digital world rapidly innovating and changing, first impressions have never been more important. Adding another branding concept such as a thumbnail to your content kit will benefit your brand to a great extent, and I cannot wait to see what you come up with!