Pairing Thumbnail and Title for Small Faceless Channels

The worst thing that can happen to a good YouTube video is that no one will watch it. The script might be awesome, the edit might be pristine, and the topic might be something that a lot of people will want to see, but if the title and thumbnail aren't compelling, then all that can't help but be ignored.

This is particularly crucial for small faceless channels. If there's no identifiable personality and no dedicated viewers, the packaging needs to convey the value of the video message pretty quickly.

The error is to consider the thumbnail and the title as two independent jobs. They operate in pairs. The title contextualises and the thumbnail raises a visual question. One can describe the situation and the other leaves something to be desired.

The best mix provides viewers with sufficient information to grasp the video but leaves them with a sense of something they still haven't learned.

In the world of digital content, images say more than words alone can.

Images can reveal more than words in the digital world.

Compare the title to the thumbnail and consider this as two parts of the same pitch.

The subject of an essay typically includes the topic, context, promise, or main question. The thumbnail can then confirm the title concept, emphasize the most interesting aspect, or provide a piece of information that isn't in the title.

Consider this:

Title:

The reasons why this mission failed.

Thumbnail:

MISSION FAILED

Both of them convey the same message. Nothing new is added by the thumbnail.

Now think the title is:

The story behind this mission's failure, despite all going well.

The thumbnail may depict a scene that looks successful – and one of the elements that was unexpected, and directly related to the story: an empty seat, damaged equipment, a broken radio, anything.

The viewer now has something to think about more.

The title sets the dichotomy. It is visually manifested by the thumbnail.

That connection provides a greater motive to click.

Curiosity vs. Clarity

There is a balance between extremes that is good packaging.

Excess clarity will take away the need to click.

For example:

Make better YouTube thumbnails, with these 10 tips.

The viewer can grasp the subject and likely the whole promise right away. What little remained to be wondered is little.

On the other side of the coin, you may cause so much curiosity that the viewer doesn't know what the video is all about.

You won't believe what happened next…

This leaves one bewildered, but lacking of the context.

The middle is more useful, however, as specific.

Provide enough information to the viewer so that they know what the video is about, but withhold the answer, explanation, outcome or unusual detail that makes the story unique.

So, let's think of it like this:

Clarity provides the reader with an understanding of the content. They have a reason to click: curiosity.

You need both.

Have the Title and Thumbnail Divide the Information

One of the easiest ways to make packaging better is to not have the title and thumbnail be the same thing.

Rather, share the information among them.

For example:

Title:

Pilots had one job, then the radio went silent.

Thumbnail:

A pilot in the cockpit, radio indicator is off.

The title sets up the situation and introduces a problem.

The image helps to support the problem, rather than just restate the words.

The viewer can grasp the basic story, but a question remains:

So what is going on in the radio?

This is the information gap.

This strategy is effective in various niche markets with faces. The title of a historical video can set up an unexplainable event and the thumbnail can bring the viewer's attention to the object or location that is related to it. In a business story, the title can establish the success of a business, and the thumbnail can highlight the fact that something was amiss.

The space must be purposeful. Confusion = NOT curiosity.

Create Thumbnail Around One Dominant Idea

Small sized channels tend to inflate their thumbnails by adding more.

More text. More objects. More arrows. More faces. More effects.

Usually the outcome is what they don't want.

A thumbnail should be visually organized. The main subject or event of the image should be apparent to the viewer without having to look at every corner of the image.

Begin with a main concept.

That could be:

• one person;

• one object;

• one surprising event;

• one strong contrast;

• one visual clue.

Then throw away anything that doesn't support that idea.

The title can accommodate more context. The thumbnail doesn't have to summarize the entire story.

Give the Context to the Title

While thumbnail text can help support the concept, it can become an issue if the creator attempts to use the thumbnail as a second title.

For example:

After the last warning, the pilot lost contact with the base.

There's too much information to cram into a picture.

A better strategy would be to employ a short phrase, like:

RADIO SILENT

The title covers the entire situation, while the rest is up to the viewer.

This establishes a more straight-forward separation of duties.

The subject of the title is the set-up.

The emotional or informational pull is the result of the visual.

The text at the thumbnail, if included, only enhances the best.

You can design around the strongest moment in the video in many ways.

Don't begin a story with a random picture and make up the narrative.

Find the most compelling moment, object, discovery, conflict, or consequence in the actual video.

Then ask:

• What would you see in the picture that would make this moment immediately clear?

• What if the mission was a success, but one thing came out of the blue?

While a generic military thumbnail may be pretty, it doesn't tell that particular story.

It would be more helpful to visualize the mission context with the unusual discovery or consequence.

The more the packaging matches what the click was hinting at, the more it is going to be easy for you to deliver the actual video's value.

Mistakes that are common with pairing titles and thumbnails

1. “Receiving the same message again.”

When the same message is received again.

The title reads “The Mission Failed”, the thumbnail reads “MISSION FAILED.” The second element should add to something else.

2. Too Much Thumbnail Text

It can be hard to process a thumbnail that's full of sentences. Use short, succinct phrases that relate more easily to the visual.

3. Clickbait With No Payoff:

It's okay to make up a mystery. If you give the viewer something that is not actually in the video, it will harm their relationship with you.

4. Avoid having an unclear title and/or thumbnail.

Don't use ambiguous titles and/or thumbnails.

When there is no clear message from either of the elements, curiosity cannot help us make up the missing message.

5. Too Many Visual Elements

Many faces, arrows, objects, labels and background elements may vied for the attention and distract from the main idea.

6. Designing before understanding the hook

The main idea of the video should be the subject of the thumbnail. Otherwise it can be dramatic with little to no relationship to the actual story.

A Simple Packaging Framework

One of the good ways to create a pair of title-thumbnail is:

Context + Curiosity + Visual Contrast

Context: What is the video about?

Curiosity: What is something that doesn't have a clear answer?

Visual Contrast: What can the thumbnail show that the title does not?

For example:

Title:

They discovered the ship 40 years later, but there was a missing piece!

Thumbnail:

A ship that is abandoned with one of its parts empty or missing, clearly shown.

The title gives a clue to the discovery and sets up a mystery.

The thumbnail becomes visible in the missing element.

Both don't have to be "the complete story".

They make a full promise together.

In this section, you will learn how to conduct an audit of your packaging before publishing.

When approaching a video for upload, consider the title, thumbnail and ask a few basic questions.

• Am I able to grasp the subject by its title?

• Do the thumbnails provide information beyond the title?

• Are there any clear questions or unanswered elements?

• Are there elements of the image that I can see immediately that are more prominent than others?

• Is packaging intuitive without any additional cues?

Most importantly:

Is the real video like the packaging said it would be?

That last check is important because an avid click that's followed by a disappointment isn't the answer to the content issue.

Final Thoughts

Pay attention to a thumbnail. A title provides that direction for attention.

Both are necessary for a little faceless channel to gain the viewer's trust before it's even seen. The title should be understandable, the thumbnail should give visual information, emotion, contrast or a clue to keep the story a little unresolved.

It's not essential to have the loudest thumbnail on the home page.

You need a package that gets the viewer to think:

“There's no doubt in my mind about what this is but I just want to know what's going on.”