This short (see image below), currently ranks #1 on YouTube and has gotten over 75,000 views since it was published and still gets over 283 views every 48 hours.
Notice how my custom shorts thumbnail stands out from all the other shorts thumbnails. It’s also currently ranked on the first page of Google for “how to trim videos on your iPhone or iPad without an app”.
In the video below, I’ll show you how to choose a frame for your Shorts thumbnail when uploading it from your phone using the YouTube app. You’ll also learn how to add text and filters to your Shorts thumbnail after uploading it to YouTube. Later, we’ll look at the best practices of using this tool and how YouTube plans to improve it.
How to Select A Frame for Your Custoim Shorts Thumbnail
- Tap the YouTube app,
- tap the plus sign.
- Select short from the bottom menu.
- Tap add to add the shorts video from your phone.
- Select your video.
- Tap the check mark.
- Caption or title your short. “How to trim a video on your iPhone or iPad without an app.”
- Tap the pencil icon on top left hand corner to select the frame from your shorts video.
- Slide your finger along the bottom to select the frame.
- Add text, emojis and filters by tapping the icons on the thumbnail.
- Tap the text icon.
- Type your text.
- You can change the font by tapping at the top.
- You can add some background to it,
- you can also align it to the left or right.
- If you want to change the color, just tap on the colors, red, green, et cetera.
- If you want to enlarge the text, just move the slider up to enlarge it or move it down to shrink it.
- When you’ve finished adding the text, tap done.
- If you want to add a filter, tap the filter icon. You’ve got all these ones down here.
- I chose the “pop” filter so the colors pop
- When you’ve finished adding the filter, tap the check mark.
- If you want to remove the text, tap the text icon again.
- Tap on the text,
- tap the X on the keyboard
- tap done.
- When you’re happy with the thumbnail, tap the check mark.
- Select your visibility…public, unlisted, or private. I’m gonna select unlisted for now.
- Tap the back arrow,
- tap upload Short. It says, “now uploading to your videos, see video”
- Now you can see the videos uploading and being processed.
- If I tap shorts, then I can see my new shorts video with the custom shorts thumbnail.
Your custom shorts thumbnails will appear on YouTube Search, your channel pages, and even on hashtag pages.
Keep in mind, most viewers will discover YouTube shorts in the shorts feed while scrolling the YouTube app on their phones.
They won’t see your custom shorts thumbnail.
Most viewers found my shorts via external traffic source, which is mostly Google search.
My second highest traffic source was YouTube search, and my third highest traffic source was the shorts feed. Therefore, it makes sense to upload a custom shorts thumbnail so it stands out in the search engines and differentiates your thumbnail from your competitors.
If you go to your video details page and look under thumbnail, it says
“you can change the thumbnail on the YouTube mobile app”.
Currently, you can only edit your Shorts thumbnail after uploading it via the YouTube app. You can’t upload a Shorts thumbnail or customize it by selecting a frame using a desktop computer.
My recommendation is to design a Shorts thumbnail, then add it to your Shorts video during the creation process. You can then select that frame after you’ve uploaded it to YouTube.
Here’s what YouTube says about future improvements.
“Although Shorts thumbnails don’t display in the shorts feed where the majority of views come from, the goal of these features is to give creators more aesthetic control over their short across devices and shelves like home, subs and channel pages.
As a reminder, short thumbnails will only show on search, hashtag and audio pivot pages and on your channels. We’re exploring bringing additional functionality to shorts thumbnails next year, and we’re curious to better understand what you’d like. So leave us your thoughts in the comments. Specificity is appreciated.”
If you want to learn how to create clickable thumbnails that capture the attention of your viewers, watch this video right now titled “How to Create YouTube Thumbnails Viewers Can’t Ignore“
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