Boost Your YouTube Engagement Rates With This One Simple Element

YouTube, in the last decade, has managed to become one of the internet’s most awe-inspiring success stories. It has more than a billion users, the world’s second-largest search engine, and five billion videos being viewed every day. Because of its established reputation as the world’s foremost resource for videos on any type of niche, more users have been relying on the platform to enjoy various content, learn more about videos, and interact with other users. 

While it may not have the same level of awareness as Facebook or Twitter in terms of social media strategies, YouTube holds its ground as one of the most effective social network platforms for engagement today. 

What makes YouTube so effective for social media?

The main elements that allow YouTube to bear a high level of effectivity for any social media strategy lie within three factors:

• The number of users on the platform
• An abundance of opportunities to interact with users and convert them into loyal followers
• The ease of cross-promotion between the platform and other social networking sites 

Based on these three factors alone, YouTube has allowed thousands of businesses, digital marketers, and online personalities to gain bigger market shares in their respective niches on social media.

How can you boost your YouTube channel’s engagement rates?

There is a wide range of factors to consider when improving your YouTube channel’s engagement rates, from the quality of video content to effective engagement strategies. One of the different factors that you must be work on is thumbnails, which are the most commonly overlooked.

Why thumbnails are important—and how you can optimize your own

YouTube video thumbnails are an important factor to consider when fine-tuning your content for success because they act as the first impression that your content uses to draw the attention of potential viewers and subscribers. 

According to a study on the various elements of a YouTube video and its effects on user engagement, researchers discovered that effectively designed thumbnails could increase engagement by 154 percent. In the same way that enticing headline works for articles and high-quality product photos for e-commerce stores, an attractive thumbnail can pique the interest of any YouTube users well enough to convince them to watch a video. 

Here are a few tips that you can start applying to make effective video thumbnails right away: 

1. Use high-quality images

As a rule of thumb for effective display resolution, your YouTube video thumbnails should be at least 1280 x 780 pixels to remain consistently high-quality across any type of screen.

2. Add captivating text to your image

Add captivating text to the image that will catch any potential viewer’s attention with the use of shock value. For example, you can insert a sentence such as “new reveal—WE DIDN’T EXPECT THIS!” or “OMG!” to draw more attention.

3. Maintain consistent branding

A greater number of videos means that you’ll have more opportunities to latch into the minds of your average consumer, especially when it comes to branding. By applying key elements that will make your video thumbnails stand out and look more consistent, you’ll be able to help your potential subscribers easily recognize any of your future uploads at first glance.  

Regardless of what type of content you make or why you’re on YouTube in the first place, creating effective YouTube thumbnails can significantly improve the impact of your videos and their ability to engage with viewers. Taking the tips in this article in mind, and you’ll be able to boost the engagement rates on any video that you put out!

If you’re looking to get free subscribers on YouTube, get in touch with us today to see how we can help.