Capture your audience's attention with compelling thumbnails and titles, and use the first 3 seconds of your video to hook viewers and keep them watching
When someone sees a video, they make a split-second decision on whether to watch it or scroll past. It’s your job to make sure they don’t scroll past. Here’s how:
Thumbnails and Titles
Your thumbnail and title have everything to do with whether someone clicks on your video. Here’s how to make them effective:
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Thumbnails: Choose a frame from your video that highlights something exciting. If you’re feeling creative, export that frame as an image, add some bold, colorful text, and you have the beginnings of a great thumbnail. Faces resonate well, so include a frame or photo of someone's face with the text for a powerful combination. Even on platforms that autoplay videos, like LinkedIn and YouTube, having an enticing thumbnail is good practice.
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Titles: Your title needs to push people to want to view your video. Avoid making it too cryptic or clickbait-y. Use adjectives to make it feel worth watching. For example, “Our Biggest Month Ever” sounds much more enticing than “July Market Update.” Keep titles short and in theme with your thumbnail text, but don’t make them identical.
Whilst this is more important for externally shared video on social media, it can still help engagement with internally shared videos too.
Hook Your Audience
The first 3 seconds of your video are arguably the most important. They often determine whether your audience stays and watches or scrolls past. Here’s how to hook your audience:
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Grab Attention: Use something beautiful, crazy, a bold question, or big colorful text to make your video seem worth watching. Avoid starting with your company logo or an intro slide.
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Establish Quickly: In the next 10 seconds, establish what your video is about and what viewers will gain from it. The length of your introduction will vary depending on the length of your video, but a good rule of thumb is to keep it under 30 seconds. People are waiting to hear what you have to say, so don’t keep them waiting too long.
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