The two banner ad-sized VideoAds shown below are exactly the same except, in the second ad, text displays in the thumbnail.
The image by itself – that blue, blue water with a single drop hitting its surface – is pretty compelling. Some visitors might play the VideoAd just to see what the image is all about. But, without text, the image doesn’t give potential viewers enough to go on.
Text on a VideoAd thumbnail plays a key role by:
- Motivating potential viewers to click the VideoAd play button.
- Setting expectations about the subject matter of the VideoAd (in this case, legal representation).
- Providing advertisers with an opportunity to distinguish themselves from the competition (in this case, proactive personal injury representation).
Fortunately, it’s easy to add text that displays on your VideoAd thumbnails.
- In the Studio, add a plain text overlay.
- Drag it to the far left end of the Timeline.
- Make it as small as possible (that is, give a duration of 2 seconds).
- On the Overlays tab, set the styling and interactivity options you want.
- Add another overlay, if necessary, and repeat steps 2 to 4.
- Save and publish.