Hey, creators! Let's talk about titles and thumbnails.
The first things your audience sees when deciding what to watch.
Think of them as your content billboard.
You want to tell a story. Spark curiosity. Share a sneak peek.
And attract more viewers to your videos.
We'll cover things to keep in mind when designing thumbnails
tips for writing titles
and how to use analytics to see how these elements are performing.
Let's dive in.
First, let's talk about thumbnails.
Before you design, consider who your target audience is.
If you're catering to your subscribers, you may want to feature familiar elements
like a picture of you or your pets.
Or, if you want to appeal to a broader audience
you can use universally recognizable elements
and ask yourself, what value is your video offering the viewer
and how can the thumbnail help communicate that
and encourage viewers to watch?
Be accurate.
It's also very important that thumbnails accurately reflect your content
which can lead to better watch time.
On the flip side, a misleading thumbnail can lead to decreased watch time
as viewers might click off as soon as they realize
it didn't accurately represent the content itself.
Go for the emotional impact.
Think about how you can express a story or an emotion in your thumbnail.
For example, include a moment of peak discovery, conflict, or excitement
to hook your viewers.
Take pictures during your shoot of faces or relevant props
so you have several options to include when creating your thumbnail.
And finally, familiarize yourself with our thumbnails policy
in the Help Center, to make sure yours doesn't violate our Community Guidelines.
Now that you're done planning, here are some design tips
to help you bring your idea to life.
Make the design pop, even on small screens.
A lot of viewers are on mobile devices, so make sure the thumbnail
still looks good and readable shrunk down.
We recommend 1280 by 720 pixels, which is a 16:9 ratio
and saving it as a JPG, GIF, BPM, or PNG.
Use the rule of thirds.
The rule of thirds is a guideline used in visual design.
It states that if you divide your image into thirds
both horizontally and vertically
the main subject or element should be where these lines intersect.
This helps create interest in the composition of your thumbnail.
And don't make the design too busy.
Dynamic use of color and composition can help catch the eye
but too much can be overwhelming.
Strike a balance when using lots of color or elements.
And remember, tastes change over time.
Don't be afraid to experiment with new thumbnail designs
and even update old ones that haven't performed well
to increase your video's appeal to new viewers.
Next up, let's talk about titles.
Just like with your thumbnail, your title can help a viewer decide
if they want to watch your video.
You can think of titles in two categories: searchable and intriguing.
Searchable titles are more straightforward, like "How to tie a tie."
These cater toward viewers' pre-existing interests
and appeal to those who are searching for specific topics.
On the other hand, intriguing titles focus less on searchable keywords
but instead create a strong curiosity in the viewer.
And they often have a more creative relationship
with their accompanying thumbnails.
An example of an intriguing title could be something like "This is not yellow."
These types of titles often appeal to viewers
who may not be looking for topic-specific content.
But both types of titles can be successful with viewers.
It's up to you to decide which works best for the content you're creating.
No matter which you choose, keep these three tips in mind as you're writing.
Number one: Be accurate.
Your title should represent your video accurately
or else viewers may stop watching, which can affect your discoverability.
Number two: Keep it short.
Viewers may only see part of your title
so put the most important words at the beginning.
Save things like branding and episode numbers for the end.
And number three: Limit the use of all caps and emojis.
These can be really great elements, but use them sparingly
to highlight important parts of your title.
OK, now that you know the general best practices for thumbnails and titles
let's walk through how you can use analytics to see how yours are performing
and to find inspiration.
When evaluating the effectiveness of your titles and thumbnails
click-through rate and watch time in the first 24 hours after uploading
can help give you an indication of how a video's doing.
Click-through rate represents how often viewers watched a video
after seeing a thumbnail.
And watch time can tell you how long they stuck around.
To check engagement with your subscribers, it helps to look at click-through rate
in the Subscriptions feed.
For general audiences, it can be helpful to look at
the click-through rates on Home, Suggested, and Search
since this where viewers often discover new videos and channels.
Also, keep in mind that as reach increases
it's possible that click-through rate will decrease
since a more casual audience
is potentially less likely to click on your video
relative to your core fanbase.
What's most important, though
is to look at the overall performance of your video.
So not just click-through rate
but also things like audience retention and overall watch time.
If you have a high click-through rate, but low watch time and retention
it can mean your titles and thumbnails initially attract viewers
but that attraction isn't kept up with the actual video content.
Or, it can mean viewers felt like your title and thumbnail wasn't accurate.
It's important to not only attract viewers
but also make sure they stick around to watch your content.
And finally, if you're looking for inspiration
check out the Audience tab in Studio analytics.
Here, you can find other videos your audience watched
to spark ideas for your thumbnails and titles.
And use the Research tab to explore
what your audience and viewers are searching on YouTube.
We hope these tips will help you create strong thumbnails and titles
for your content.
Be sure to check out the links in the description for more info.
Thank you for watching.