Overview
Set a custom thumbnail (cover image) for your video posts on Instagram and YouTube. Instead of a random frame from your video, you can pick any image from your media library as the cover — giving you full control over how your content looks in the feed.
Supported Platforms
- Instagram Reels — The thumbnail appears as the cover image in your profile grid and Reels tab
- YouTube — The thumbnail is used as the video preview across YouTube
How to Set a Thumbnail
- Create a post and add a video to your media
- Hover over the video in the post editor and click the three-dot menu
- Select Add video thumbnail
- Choose an image from your media library — this will be used as the cover
- The thumbnail badge will appear on the video confirming it's set
Changing or Removing a Thumbnail
- To change the thumbnail, click the three-dot menu again and select Change video thumbnail, then pick a new image
- To remove the thumbnail, click the three-dot menu and select View video thumbnail, then click Remove in the preview
Tips
- Use a clear, eye-catching image that represents your video content
- For Instagram Reels, vertical images (9:16) work best as they match the Reels grid
- For YouTube, horizontal images (16:9) are recommended — at least 1280×720 pixels
- You can upload a dedicated thumbnail image to your media library, or reuse any existing image