Videos were always so attractive, and in recent years they literally took the place of long texts, books, and even physical classes. There is no shame in it; humans are evolving, we live in an era of speed, and many of us prefer watching videos to learn or understand something instead of reading tons of books or long texts.
Humans learn much better by watching instead of reading. Just if they knew it back when we were at school. But in a world where different videos daily bombard its residents, how are we to encourage people with our visual content? How to change the thumbnail on LinkedIn video? Why videos are important on LinkedIn, how to create a custom thumbnail, etc.
To change the thumbnail on a LinkedIn video, go to the "Manage" tab on your LinkedIn profile and select "Videos." Find the video you want to change the thumbnail for, click the pencil icon, and then click "Edit video." From there, you can choose a new thumbnail by clicking "Change image" and selecting the image you want to use. Finally, click "Save" to save your changes.
Video content is getting more popular by the day. We have some huge video-based social platforms now, like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc.; a lot of online learning platforms are based on videos now.
In a world where the shared video footages in 30 days are more than 30 years of TV broadcasting of a channel like NHK international, going viral is very hard if not impossible.
So does it mean we are better to go back to text-based marketing? Absolutely not. There is still a very high demand for video content, which means you need engaging content and exciting thumbnails.
Who cares if that video never gets viral, if your target population clicks and watches the video? LinkedIn is a B2B platform in which you can connect to professionals, do some very good brandings, etc., and post videos with good thumbnails is a perfect way for self-branding.
Let me tell you that there are thousands of ways you can use a video on LinkedIn; let’s have a look at three more popular options out there.
Telling a story: you can always tell your stories (especially of how you got to the position you are in now) on platforms like LinkedIn. People are always curious about these things, and what is better than good and attractive videos to narrate these stories? Let me assure you that even the most eager person will spend some of his/her time taking a look at your video. And you know that video contents are considered higher in LinkedIn algorithms, right? That’s the reason that LinkedIn experts believe videos have better chances of getting viewed in your connections feeds.
Promote your products: let’s be honest; there is no use in spending time and energy on content that has no high ROI on LinkedIn. This social media is just like a large market, so why not use videos that are presenting your products, providing users with the user instructions, and/or talking about upcoming launches and updates? Believe me when I say you can excite viewers with these videos.
Blogging: we said that videos are an excellent way to brand on LinkedIn, but is it only about company branding? No, you can always try self-branding with videos as well. The influencers usually use blogging. They share some of the best parts of their lives to make their connections believe that they can be a perfect port to solve some problems they might have. And those blogging videos have a much better chance to get viral than other types of content.
How to change the thumbnail on the LinkedIn video?
Once the video is posted, you cannot change its thumbnail. Maybe you should spend some more time on the video you are going to post since you know what a lousy thumbnail can do to good media content, right? Don’t you? First, let me tell you what a thumbnail is.
A thumbnail is the cover image of a video. It is usually the element that encourages people to spend their time watching your videos.
They are just like a book cover, the poster of a movie, and a magazine’s front page. They always say things like don’t judge a book by its cover (in the literal sense), right? Well, let’s face the truth, people do that.
I confess that I am one of those people who choose to click on a video based on how attractive its thumbnail is. Maybe because I learned that people who do not even choose a good thumbnail for their video, or do not spend time to design an attractive poster for the movie they made, probably did not produce a good video or movie as well. Maybe I’m wrong, but accept this bitter truth and start working on your thumbnails.
So, let’s talk about changing the thumbnail on the LinkedIn video, shall we? So you decided to post a video.
Now log into your LinkedIn account, click on ‘video’ under the part it says ‘start a post.’ A window pops up to let you select the folder you like to share, select the video and click on ‘open.’ Once the video is uploaded, you can see that the LinkedIn platform chooses the first frame of your video as the thumbnail.
This frame is not usually the best cover; I mean, which one do you prefer to click on? A video with a well-designed and exciting thumbnail or a file that shows a man who looks like he wants to strangle someone with his hand?
The obvious choice is the first one, and believe it or not, videos with good thumbnails stick around for more time. So you can either design a thumbnail using some applications like Adobe Photoshop or use some websites like Canva to create your thumbnail in prepared templates. Just remember that the format of the picture is to be JPG/GIF/PNG.
Ok, now that you have a thumbnail, scroll down in the opened box of the video to see the two options of ‘select thumbnail’ and ‘select caption.’ Click on the thumbnail option, select the cover you’ve designed, and tab on ‘done.’
Then you need to write about the thing you’d like people to understand by watching this video and then post it.
Video marketing and its benefits
As mentioned, you might know the world of marketing tends to use visual content such as videos photos and other things. Videos always had a lot of fans, and they got even more popular when everyone started using social networks. Hence video-based digital marketing is now very famous.
It’s probably for the feedback that marketing experts took from this type of content. Right now, more than 80% of the B2B marketers are using videos and a great majority of them are increasing the video marketing budget of their companies every day.
There are many benefits to video marketing and we are going to talk about some of them here.
- Get information to the prospects. Videos can be a perfect way to educate your clients about your services and products.
- Reach your target audience. LinkedIn video marketing lets you find your target population much easier, convert the leads to prospects and maximize your return on investment (ROI)
- Communicate your message in a professional way. LinkedIn is a business-oriented platform, which makes branding easier since the users usually have a professional mindset when using this platform.
- Higher engagement. Audiences who watch videos on a LinkedIn company page are usually five times more likely to engage in a conversation than other types of marketing content.
- The income. According to statistics, the companies that use video marketing on LinkedIn is 49% faster in growing their revenue.
- The audiences. LinkedIn videos are a huge deal in creating impressions. It is said that the impressions they generated in one year (2017-2018) reached more than 300 million impressions. It means that it is a perfect way to reach a large audience.
The golden tips
You should know that audiences won’t spend their time watching the video you’ve uploaded if they feel you did not take your time to make them exciting or impressive, and why should they? So always consider the four golden tips while you are making some videos for LinkedIn.
1. Consider mobile viewing
People are using their phones even when they are in the bathroom these days, so it’s totally logical also to consider optimizing the videos for mobile broadcasting since the stats show that more than 57% of the users work with a LinkedIn mobile app these days.
2. Keep it short
Just like the long texts, users do not usually keep watching long videos as well. That might seem odd since people watch a lot of long videos on YouTube; why not LinkedIn? As we mentioned above, people are usually on their professional minds on LinkedIn, which means they would not dedicate their time to a long video if they feel it’s that informative. Just keep the videos as short as possible.
3. The golden backlinks
The “build it, and they will come” strategy is not working as perfectly as it used to. Maybe that is because we are surrounded by tons of visual content every day. So you have to promote your videos on other platforms and your website as well; how to do it? Make backlinks.
4. Be professionals
The third time’s the charm; it is the third time that we are saying that people have a professional view on LinkedIn. So it’s only natural if they do not even consider watching a low-quality video. This content is presenting your brand; it’s like the ambassador of a country. A dirty and worn-out cloth on your ambassador’s body is low quality. Be professional and spend some time on the content.
Conclusion
Thumbnails are the cover of your video content. It can work for or against you, so it is essential to know how to change thumbnails on LinkedIn videos. Pick a perfect and preferably designed thumbnail for your videos on LinkedIn. Believe it or not, a lot of people judge books by their cover.
Related questions & answers
LinkedIn change video thumbnail after posting
To change the thumbnail of a LinkedIn video after posting it, go to the post containing the video and click on the three dots in the upper-right corner. From the drop-down menu, select “Edit post” and then click on the video thumbnail. You will then be prompted to upload a new image or select a frame from the video to use as the thumbnail. Once you have made your selection, click “Save” and your new thumbnail will be applied to the video.
LinkedIn video thumbnail size
LinkedIn video thumbnail size should be at least 400 x 400 pixels, with a maximum file size of 5 MB. The recommended file format for video thumbnails is JPG or PNG. It’s important to note that the thumbnail should be clear and relevant to the video content, as it will help attract viewers to click on the video and watch it. Additionally, LinkedIn may automatically select a frame from the video to use as the thumbnail, but users can also choose a custom thumbnail by uploading an image.
It’s also worth mentioning that LinkedIn video thumbnail size requirements may change over time, so it’s always best to check for the latest guidelines from LinkedIn to ensure that your video thumbnail meets the recommended size and format.
How to change thumbnail on LinkedIn link?
To change the thumbnail on a LinkedIn link, follow these steps:
- Open your LinkedIn post and locate the link you want to change the thumbnail for.
- Click the three dots at the top right corner of the post and select “Edit post”.
- Once in edit mode, you will see a thumbnail of the link at the bottom left corner of the post. Hover over the thumbnail and click “Change image”.
- You can then select a new image from your computer or use the existing image provided by the link.
- Click “Save” to save your changes.
Note that the ability to change the thumbnail of a LinkedIn link may not be available for all links, as LinkedIn may restrict some links from being edited in this way.