What really drives clicks, retention and algorithmic recommendations on YouTube and other digital platforms? We know how important thumbnails, titles and trailers are, but doing them well is an art and science.
It was explored at the TellyCast Digital Content Forum today by a panel including StoryGrain’s Anthony Smith; The Curve Media’s Cam Mensah and Blue Door Productions’ Molly McDonald. Grow’s Seb Losardo handled moderation duties.
Mensah talked about the importance of setting clear objectives on YouTube. “What are you on the platform for?… That then directs where you go with your titles, thumbnails and your overall strategy,” he said, noting that the competition isn’t just your peers as a producer – it’s the creators in their bedrooms who know the platform inside out.
McDonald noted that creators “know their audience intimately” which can guide this process, including “creating a curiosity gap” with thumbnails that ensures people want to click through and watch a video.
Sometimes, that means the title comes before the video concept – one example being ‘I Caught a Cloud in a Bag and Sold it as Art’ by creator Zac Alsop, which required some inventive thinking about how to deliver on the promise.
Smith addressed the debate about whether the granular nature of analytics on YouTube and similar platforms is a block for creativity.
“I don’t agree with it. I am someone who follows my gut, who loves storytelling… but the one thing data has allowed me to do is hone those skills even further,” he said. “I do think when it comes to this debate, you have to lean in to the data now. That’s how you grow and how you grow quickly.”
“A lot of people shy away from it or have a more negative feeling of it, because it’s such an uncomfortable process. No one likes being told they’re wrong, especially when it’s being done by data and hard facts and proof!”
The panel’s discussion turned to packaging, and thumbnails, starting with the fundamentals. “Starting with the psychology of it is important,” said Mensah. “One of the core, core things I think about when it comes to thumbnails is tension. How do you create that tension in someone where they’re scrolling through the homepage or looking through the recommended section of YouTube?”
It’s about triggering emotions among people seeing the thumbnail through the use of colour, scale, the creator’s facial expression and more, he added.
Smith talked about his work on the Diary of a CEO podcast, including the rigorous testing that went into titles, thumbnails and trailers. “We would test hundreds of thumbnails before the episode would be released,” he remembered. “And then the thumbnails would inform the hook for the trailer, and what goes in to the trailer.”
YouTube is introducing A/B testing within its platform, and Smith encouraged producers and creators to also test video intros side-by-side – in other words, not to just focus on comparisons between thumbnails.
“In our world, we start with packaging before we pick up a camera,” noted McDonald. “That’s your first point of call… And the title is the ‘what’ – what are you doing? The thumbnail is the ‘how’… and then the hook is the ‘why’.”
She also raised the issue of production value versus entertainment value, warning producers not to confuse the two. “Simplify the idea: is it still really interesting without all the accessorising?” she advised.
Intros are critical to success on YouTube. Mensah outlined the necessities. “You have to first confirm what’s in the packaging. If you’re over-promising in your title and thumbnail, you want to make sure that’s actually in the video,” he said.
Smith said that his key principle for intros has always been that “story is king… taking an audience on an emotive journey in that first 90 seconds”.
Moments of value were also important for Diary of a CEO: a valuable takeaway for the audience in the intro inspires them to watch the full show. “We wanted to offer that promise: if you watch this, your time will not be wasted,” he added.
