You already know the first few seconds of your TikTok video are critical for capturing users’ attention.
But what if they’re scrolling through your profile, browsing their Explore page, or using search? They’ll see a gallery of thumbnails rather than auto-played videos. How will you get their attention?
In this post we’ll discuss the art of TikTok thumbnails and how you can use them to get more views, followers, and engagement.
TikTok thumbnails are the cover image that represents your video. They are the first image users’ see when encountering on the Explore page, in Search, and in your TikTok profile grid. They can make the difference between someone clicking on your video and someone skipping over it.
Thumbnails don’t appear in the For You or the Following scroll experience, as those videos are set to autoplay.
Originally, TikTok thumbnail options were limited. You could only pick a frame from your video to use as its cover. Now you can upload a custom thumbnail, which opens up tons of opportunities to engage and inform your audience.
Selecting a video frame is still the most popular approach, so let's cover how to make a TikTok thumbnail using this and the custom method:
This is the original and easiest way to create a thumbnail — simply pick a frame from your video. You can choose a frame with no text or a frame that includes a title or caption that adds context to your video. You also have the option off adding text in the thumbnail editing process.
Here’s how:
Since many people design their video with a thoughtful opening hook and on-screen caption, they default to using the first frame of their video as the thumbnail. In this case, you don't need to change anything — the first frame will be auto-selected.
This method allows you to tailor your thumbnail. You can go all out on design by adding titles, captions, icons, and choosing a background image that doesn’t appear in your video. This is a great option if you want to add additional context to help people know what your video is about, or if you want to add stylistic elements that make your videos stand out, and if you want to create a cohesive aesthetic or visual branding to your videos so your profile looks the same.
If you want a polished design, use a design app like Canva or Adobe Spark. Or, an easy hack is to use TikTok’s photo upload feature to select an image from your camera roll, add text and effects as needed, and save it back to your camera roll.
TikTok thumbnail size is the same as a TikTok video: That means the TikTok should
Using smaller 9:16 dimensions might impact the image quality.
Thumbnails can play a huge role in your video’s reception, depending on the platform you post on. YouTube thumbnails can make or break your video — in fact, the app has releases A/B testing on thumbnails to allow creators to optimize for the highest performing cover images. And on Instagram, where many users still strive for an aesthetic and cohesive grid, thumbnails are a big part of your overall look.
But if Instagram is the aesthetic app, TikTok is its younger, messier cousin. It has always felt highly individualized and sometimes chaotic, so users have come to expect a certain raw and authentic look to videos. Super polished images might actually hurt your video because they don’t match users' expectations for the app.
But there’s a difference between an intentionally designed thumbnail and a highly stylized visual. Deliberate choices like imagery, text, and colors, can play a positive role without making your video feel inauthentic. These design choices can help you:
If you’re scrolling through an Explore page or many popular brands’ profile pages, however, you’ll notice that most do not use custom uploads for their thumbnails. Instead, they likely select a strong frame or even start their video on a strong frame for seamless auto-playing.
A good rule of thumb(nails) for TikTok is to match it to your SEO strategy. If you have a video that could perform well in search — i.e. it offers educational content that people might search for — then an intetional thumbnail could help. If you’re already keywording your caption and on-screen captions, then consider creating a thumbnail that matches those keywords as well.
The right TikTok thumbnails can help you get more user attention and engagement, so they do matter. Let’s look at three strong tactics (and examples!) to help you get more results.
If you’re going to use custom thumbnails, there’s one strategy you should test right away, and that’s using the thumbnail to tell users what your video is about.
Loomly uses custom thumbnails to add short titles on each video:.
Here’s the thumbnail for one video, where we discuss remote marketing jobs, with the “Remote marketing jobs now hiring” tag front and center:
And here’s what the video looks like when it’s actually played:
This strategy helps capture user interest and helps them find relevant content quickly when they’re browsing the feed.
You don’t need a custom thumbnail to attract attention, but you do want to consider how your video looks as a static image.
In the example below from Peloton’s profile, the video all the way to the left is blurry. This makes sense, because the subject is actively running, but you can see that it isn’t quite as attention-grabbing as the other three videos.
You can either choose a strong in-video thumbnail, or choose to start your video on a strong frame that will more effectively capture user attention.
One of the oldest and best tricks for making your thumbnails grab attention is to include real human faces. Research shows that social media posts with faces tend to do way better than those without.
A study from Georgia Tech found that Instagram photos with faces get 38% more likes and 32% more comments compared to photos without faces. The researchers think it's because faces have this emotional impact - they make viewers feel a sense of connection and relatability.
The same thing applies to TikTok thumbnails. When people are quickly scrolling through their feed or the Explore page, a thumbnail with a friendly, familiar face is way more likely to make them stop and click.
It's possible the best thumbnail strategy on TikTok is no strategy at all. The platform thrives on authenticity, and overly polished or designed thumbnails may not always resonate.
But that doesn't mean you should completely ignore your thumbnails. Used strategically, they can still be a valuable part of your TikTok toolkit. Custom thumbnails can help you:
The most successful TikTok creators understand that every element of their videos — from the first frame to the final hashtag — is an opportunity to connect with their audience. So as you're building out your TikTok strategy, don't overlook the potential of your thumbnails.
Learn more in our ultimate guide to TikTok marketing.