YouTube Opinion Is it just me, or do Click Bait thumbnails make everyone angry?

[The Jungle Explorer]

I am just talking about myself here, but I do remember a time when dishonesty and being deceptive were generally considered bad in normal society. But it seems to me that it has become par for the course, at least when it comes to YouTube titles and thumbnails.

I remember a case back in the 1960s or 70s about a guy that was sued for deceptive marketing. He advertized a rat killing machine in popular magazines back in those days with the words "100% guaranteed to kill rats and mice." He sold millions of his devices. If you ordered one, what you got was a block of wood and a little wooden mallet, with instructions that said, "Place rat or mouse head on the block of wood and smash head with the mallet. 100% guaranteed to kill."

In the court case, the seller claimed that he was completely accurate and honest in his ad, that he never called his device a "Trap" and never indicated that it would trap and kill mice and rats for you. He only claimed that it would kill them, and this was 100% accurate. The court did not buy his defense and he was found guilty and ordered to pay back all the money he had made and spent some time in prison. It was a historic case of that time and set a lot of precedent in "Truth in Advertising" laws.

But today, this kind of deceptive behavior not only seems to be the norm, it seems to almost be encouraged when it comes to youtube channel promotion. I am going to use an example of this that is close to home, so don't get offended. I am only using this because it is something every one of you is seeing right here on TubeBuddy right now. There is a Thumbnail on the home page with the words, "SECRET HACK". The thumbnail and the tile lead the viewer to believe that watching that video will show them some secret hack they can do themselves to get more views. However, upon watching the video, they find that it is nothing more than a promotional ad to get in their wallets to spend $39.99 a month on TubeBuddy Legend to use the AB testing feature. So, it is neither a SECRET nor a HACK. An honest thumbnail and description would read something like, "Amazing TubeBuddy Legend Feature to get more VIEWS!", or something like that.

Now, since this video is front and center on this forum, I can only assume that these forms of tactic to promote our videos is an approved method and that we should all be encouraged to use this form of thumbnail creation to get more views. I, however, find this kind of thumbnail to be reminiscent of the Rat Killing Machine, but if I am honest, I see these kinds of tactics used by the most successful channels, so, am I just unique, or does this kind of deception make everyone angry as me?

 

[WajahatShah]

I not use Thambinal on my channel. I upload more then 850 videos. Kindly suggest me what I do?

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

I will start off by saying that I am not a very successful YouTuber, and the reason may be because, I am not willing to compromise my standards to get more views. The truth is, Click Bait thumbnails work. If they did not work, people would not use them. But I am old fashion. I believe in standards, HIGH standards that I must live by, and I expect everyone else that wants to earn my respect must live by as well. But today in age, we live in a subjective morality society that believes that standards are okay, as long as they are Convenient and Self-Beneficial. If they are inconvenient and in the way of self-promotion and success, they should not be considered obstacles.

My most successful video has a thumbnail drawn from the video, BUT my most successful video is 10-years old and only has 500k views. My channel is 15 years old and only has 5-million views. I can guarantee you that if I were using Click-Bait tactics, my channel would be a different story. And this is the point of my post. Are we now living in a world where this kind of deceptive marketing is just considered, "The Way" to do things? Is everyone so desensitized to being deceived that they are now OKAY with it because "Everyone is Doing It"? Are people like me that still think it is wrong and find it offensive to use these deceptive tactics considered to be WRONG because we feel and think this way?

I would not take my advice on thumbnail creation because, you won't get far listening to me on this. Follow the example of the most popular YouTubers and put a pretty girl on your thumbnails with some sort of exaggerated expression on her face, and some sort of over-the-top text that incites an emotional response of curiosity.

 

[Damon]

Yeah, I hear you on clickbait thumbnails. I never watched the "Secret Hack" video, and won't. When I see thumbnails like that I run for the hills. My whole channel is what-you-see-is-what-you-get. I've said many times, most of the fishing channels, they just have some Barbie-babe in a bikini holding a fish, and they get 100ks of subs. Why? Those people aren't interested in fishing, they want to see soft-core pornography.

The reality is people who would click and watch a "Secret Hack" video are generally the kind of people looking for a cheap, easy, quick hack when there is no such thing.

As with most things in life, what's popular and what's wholesome are two different things. For sure the forum has changed a lot since TubeBuddy was bought out and since Andrew left. However, I never feel compelled to do anything just because someone else does it.

Two quick stories:

#1: I remember a guy a few years ago selling a secret fishing thing for $19. I bought it just because I wanted to see what it was and how deceptive the marketing was. Turns out it was just a slipcork, a homemade slipcork made from turkey feathers. It is an effective slipcork. In fact it was just an e-book on how to make the slipcorks. Go to any catfish forum, and they will show you the same method.

Man, that was cheap. I figured, man, take my dad's old fixed-cork design, modify it for slipcorking, then sell it directly to people in finished form. That's a large part of what started my YouTube channel. I also offer kits that people make them themselves if they want. The sad part is people who have gone and bought that $19 Secret Method e-book find out it was just a slipcork. Then they go to YouTube, find my videos, and realize I actually have a better design for the money. Those are the customers I want, and I don't need 500k subscribers to have a successful business.

#2: There was another guy selling a secret fishing device. He never told people what it was. He just wanted $200+, then he would mail you something that would catch tons of fish. I never bought it, but I started looking for blog and forum posts of people who had bought it. It was a fishing light. The same kind of fishing lights that crappie fishermen and catfishermen use at night to attract plankton, bait fish and big fish. The same light you can get for $33. Again someone else is selling a better product for the money and actually making a successful business out of it.

The $200 light was totally a legit proven method of catching fish, but to try an pass it off as a secret when every catfish and crappie fishing forum in the world will tell you that people have been doing this since before George Washington crossed the Delaware. Back then they had to use gas lamps or floating fires.

So, yeah, the moral being, well, while it doesn't make me angry, I just totally ignore most any marketing message that says "Secret Hack." Also, any time you see some deceptive marketing, there are bound to be people negatively affected by that system of marketing and could provide a business opportunity.

While I have not seen the video--and don't plan to--I can't comment on it. However, I will speculate that they had no intention of criminal negligent. However, if the title were, "Amazing TubeBuddy Legend Feature to get more VIEWS!," I'd probably watch the video.

As you say, "Secret Hack" doesn't help me make a buying decision. "Amazing TubeBuddy Legend Feature to get more VIEWS!" does help me make a buying decision.

1. You know right off the bat that it's a Legend feature, something that will cost more and probably be at the upper end of the price point.
2. It triggers an internal thought process that says, "Hmm, I might get more views if I had this feature? What is this feature? Is it worth the cost? Will it help me?" The answers to those question is exactly what most people go through to make a buying decision.

"Secret Hack" doesn't help me make a buying decision.

 

[Damon]

Sorry for the double post, but I got tired of hitting the edit button.

This is where I play Devil's advocate. While "Amazing TubeBuddy Legend Feature to get more VIEWS!," is a far more inciting title to me, how do you propose they fit that onto the thumbnail? How can anyone read that on a smart phone? So, practically speaking "Secret Hack" achieves the objective better than "Amazing TubeBuddy Legend Feature to get more VIEWS!"

Also, the "Amazing TubeBuddy Legend Feature to get more VIEWS!," would serve as a great title for the video, but you can't fit that onto the thumbnail. Also, "get more views with TubeBuddy," might be what people are typing in to search bar. You have to look at the bigger picture: the keywords, the title and the thumbnail all work together. In this case they use "Secret Hack" both in the title and in the thumbnail.

Okay. Let's look further.

Go to the TubeBuddy keyword search tool and type "Amazing TubeBuddy Legend Feature to get more VIEWS!" (I don't feel like copying and pasting screens. I do not need to insult your intelligence.) It returns a poor search volume.

Now type, "how to get views on YouTube in 2022." You get an enormous search volume. People are asking a question, "How the freak do I get more views in 2022?" The answer: "Well, here's a secret hack I found to get more views in 2022."

So, your assertion that it's all false advertising has been asked from a severely limited view point at best.

In TubeBuddy's defense, you reacted emotionally to the thumbnail just as others have. You said the thumbnail made you angry. By definition that was an emotional response. In other words the thumbnail itself triggered something in you. In your case something negative, in another's case something positive.

Yet, your reaction is somehow self-righteous? Where as people who watched the video, learned something they could implement and improve their channels whether they bought the legend status are somehow duped by false advertising?

 

[MattCommand1]

Good topic. First, I did see the "Secret Hack" video on the TB forum being referenced. It did get me to click into the video but I didn't stay very long but I don't think I was the intended audience.

On the broader topic of click-baity thumbnails, I admit having come from the 2010-era, there is no doubt that thumbnails have changed a lot over the years. I admit it is an adjustment for me because I am not used to putting my posed faces on my thumbnails. But the cold hard reality is that faces do attract attention. Viewers want to know who is presenting.

As a viewer, I am more drawn to thumbnails to a face in the absence of a really intense object to look at like @Stanley OrchardBuddy fish head thumbnails. They are very effective! I am not a big fan of fish heads but it got my attention. Netflix has put many more faces on thumbnails than in years past. All I can conclude is that people are drawn to faces. But not only faces but "excited" faces. So that easily explains all the crazy faces. It just works, fortunately or unfortunately.

I understand the sentiment about bikini-clad women on thumbnails to draw attention. I too am repelled by it. All I can say is that it caters to a different niche audience than myself. Just like there is certain text people use comfortably that I would not. I absolutely believe some of the differences are generational. It is very rare for me to watch content by GenZ. I am sure they could care less about my channel and videos as well because I am not talking to them. I have a mental picture of who I speak to in my videos and I am going after certain audiences. Similarly, many videos are not intended or suited for us to watch.

I think thumbnails style exists on a spectrum. There will always be people who do zero thumbnails and choose the default image for the thumbnail. And those who amp it up and push the extreme boundaries. Youtube sets those standards and guidelines and the rest of us get to choose where we want to exist on the spectrum. Despite MrBeast being the most successful YTuber today, I still have not watched a single video. I probably should at some point because I will probably learn something.

The point being is, as viewers and creators, we make choices and it is reflected in our data. As far as I am concerned, we should do what feels right for us and our individual styles. Youtube is one huge ecosystem full of diverse people of all backgrounds of life.

 

[Tito Tim]

I do not deal with clickbait. There is a button to tell YouTube "do not recommend this channel" that I am very fond of. I will use that in a heartbeat. It seems to be losing popularity with creators - or YT is more careful in what they show me.

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

I agree with all points given. I know faces are some kind of draw, but they repel me like rat poison. I see it as false self-glorification, as in "OOOH! LOOK AT ME! I AM SOMETHING". As I have said before, I am a very logical person. What does me seeing a person's face have to do with the quality of their content? Absolutely nothing! Can I really know anything about a person just because I see their face? Absolutely not! Seeing a person's face tells me nothing about a person. I want true substance, and that comes from the actual content.

This is one thing that has always irritated me about American culture in particular. That people think that because a person is famous, they are worthy of listening to. Take actors for example. Modern actors are very vocal about politics. They take every opportunity they can to spew their opinions about politics. And, Americans eat it up and see these actors as authorities and quote them and put their statements in memes that get shared millions of times. But the truth is, actors are Professional Liars. Their whole profession is about deceiving you into believing they are someone they are not. The better they are at deceiving you the more famous they are as an actor. So, you can never believe a single thing that ever comes out of their mouth, because you never can know if they are being honest or, "Acting". Logically, they are the last people you should be taking political advice from, and yet, they are seen by the general public as "Authorities" on politics, of which they generally have no expert education and studies in. This just irritates me to no end about American culture.

Down off my soapbox now. LOL!

 

[MattCommand1]

Youtube is big enough for everyone to be in the area they prefer to be. No one has to be in agreement. As long as we comply with YT rules, we can do things however we prefer as Creators and only watch videos we care about.

Like attracts like. Everyone finds their own YT tribe to hang with.

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

 

[Stanley | Team TB]

I actually really enjoy this conversation… wish we could have gone a different direction with it though. I don’t think it was quite necessary to liken TubeBuddy’s thumbnail to a rat-killing case of false-advertising. That seems like a bit of stretch.
But letΓÇÖs use this as an opportunity to look at a few things that TubeBuddy did and what went into the decisions that were made for that thumbnail.

TubeBuddy Believes in Click-Worthy Thumbnails
We want to be the premiere destination for YouTuberΓÇÖs who want to hone their SEO skills, improve their craft and make something of this YouTube journey. We can not do that if we are not practicing what we preach; and that includes making thumbnails that get clicks. But there is a big difference between ΓÇÿgetting clicksΓÇÖ and ΓÇÿclickbait.ΓÇÖ Thanks to YouTube changing their algorithm to respect watch time over views that difference can now be measured in watch time. Clickbait is when someone creates a thumbnail explicitly for the purpose of clicks, and the worse the clickbait is the less watch time that video is going to get.

Fortunately for us the Thumbnail that you are referring to has one of the highest amounts of watch time and retention that we have recently seen. This reflects that our audience is getting value out of the information that we are providing. That is the most critical element of all of this; while there may be outliers like yourself in general our audience is being very receptive to this thumbnail. We would like to mention though that the use of the word ΓÇÿhackΓÇÖ was intended more from the standpoint of this being a ΓÇÿlife-hack,ΓÇÖ productivity-improving type video rather than a ΓÇÿYouTube HackΓÇÖ video. Your connotation is not our desired intent.

Finally, I feel the need to address what you refer to as this video being nothing more than a promotional ad to get people to spend money on a Legend license. While Jessica does point out that our Legend license does have the amazing A/B testing tool we do explain that you can do your own A/B testing without a Legend license. Anyone can manually test out their thumbnails and we actually encourage that be done whether manual or utilizing our tool. All TubeBuddy tools were created to save creators time and can help with productivity, so of course we want to tell all creators about them!

Tell Us How You Really Feel
Everyone here has some pretty good thoughts on this subject, and TubeBuddy would really enjoy hearing more. Maybe a little less reference to our videos being like a 1970ΓÇÖs rat-killing commercial that cheated people out of money and more about the things that you would prefer seeing us make content about. If this was not the subject for you, then what would you like to see us make a video about? IΓÇÖll report any feedback to our content producers. We would very much enjoy making the videos that you feel you need to succeed.

 

[MattCommand1]

Stanley,

It is good that you shared how the aforementioned thumbnail & video performed regardless of individual tastes. I also really like that Clickbait chart. I never saw that before and it is a great visual tool to evaluate click-baitiness. You did a great job tying the thumbnail issue to actual video retention. That is a great point worth thinking about. If people felt betrayed by the title, they would have jumped ship. And so, I found it helpful to know this.

Most of us only have anecdotal experience based on our own YT channels but not access to other channels' performance.

I think it is good for TB to produce more videos. Personally, I would like to see at least 2-3 videos per week by the TB channel. They should obviously be about various YT topics but there is no harm in tying TB features back into the video if it is appropriate.

 

[Stanley | Team TB]

You know what; I'm going to add on to that by saying that I have some ideas I would like to see in TubeBuddy videos myself. I want to see a series of videos about the value of TubeBuddy's mobile app... maybe a guerilla, vlog-style series of 3-4 videos about the specifics of how someone who was able to grow their channel without a computer using only their mobile device was able to do so and get to a modest threshold of say 3,000 subscribers, 250,000 views, 10,000,000 impressions across multiple platforms... things like that you know?

I think that would be fun.

 

[Damon]

Yeah, real-world-balls-to-bones results that normal everyday people can relate to. I see too much of people comparing themselves to channels with 3 million sub, 250 mil views, 100 mil impressions channel when they would be far better of focusing on 3,000 subscribers like you say.

I'd also like to see content around older channels that have reached a pique, yet found a way to break through to new heights in recent months. Say, a channel stuck at 5k subs, then went in a new direction then broke through to 10k subs or something. Ongoing relevance is a real thing that doesn't seem to get talked about much. Once you've exploited, flooded a niche with content, there may not be any more subs or views there. So, how to you use TB to pivot toward a new niche?

 

[Tito Tim]

Say, a channel stuck at 5k subs

That is me! Man, my channel completely stagnated in 2021. I do not think I changed anything (not on purpose anyway). But views, subs, and especially impressions are down 50%. But view percentage is way up... ha ha

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

Stanley,
If people felt betrayed by the title, they would have jumped ship. And so, I found it helpful to know this.

I disagree 100%. It is trying to determine the ethicality of something based on statistical results and success rates. Clickbait thumbs are highly successful, that does not make them ethical to use. Making the assertion that video retention can be used to determine if a thumb is Clickbait or Click Worthy is a logical fallacy. It is mixing ethics and morality, and statistics. These two fields are not associated with one another and one cannot be used to determine the other. Clickbait thumbnails are an ethical question, not a statistical one. Likewise, whether a thumbnail is Clickbait or Click Worthy, can only be determined from a moral standpoint, not a statistical one.

Just because a thumb may lead to a video that has a higher retention rate has no power to determine that the thumb was not clickbait. Retention has to do with the actual content of the video, not the thumb that leads to it. A well-crafted video will pull people in and hold them, regardless of how they got there. Take the news media for example. At the beginning of a newscast, they will list all the topics covered in the newscast. There always be one that is especially interesting that they have predetermined is the real topic that interests people. It will be something like, "Random stranger risks life to save three children that fell through ice in a frozen lake!" This is called the "Bait". They know people want to hear this story, so they will continue to watch the newscast hoping to hear more about it. However, they will not tell the whole story until the very end of the broadcast. They will touch on it here and there and promote the story throughout the broadcast though, to keep people on the line. This is called, "Baiting along". In every newscast you have ever watched, this baiting technique has been used to some degree or another. They use it to increase audience retention and it works very well. Just because it works well, does not make it ETHICAL. The ethicality of something cannot be determined by statistical results.

My opinion is that the Secret Hack thumbnail is absolutely Clickbait. Stanely and you disagree with me on this and that is perfectly fine. As the title of my OP suggests, I know I may be unique in my perspective of this because I am a person that holds to a very high standard. But, consider this. If it takes several paragraphs to explain why a thumbnail is Click Worthy and not Clickbait, might it be possible that the line between them is so tiny that it may not even exist? Just a thought.

Again, I am just being honest about my perspective. Everyone is welcome to their own.

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

As with most things in life, what's popular and what's wholesome are two different things. For sure the forum has changed a lot since TubeBuddy was bought out and since Andrew left.

Man, I miss Andrew. I really liked him. We got along so well. I did not realize that his leaving was a result of the sellout. I knew things felt different around here. Now I know why. Thanks for the info.

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

That is me! Man, my channel completely stagnated in 2021. I do not think I changed anything (not on purpose anyway). But views, subs, and especially impressions are down 50%. But view percentage is way up... ha ha

I have a whole other thread about what happened in 2021 and I present actual statistics to enforce my theory that what happened was not organic, but was by design. I have heard countless stories from other channels, big and small that had the EAXCT same thing occur to them in 2021. I believe YT is corraling viewers and driving them towards a certain genre of content that YT wants to promote. I do not believe they are letting organics of viewer preference determine the outcome. This is my theory and I have a lot of solid statistical data to support it. It does not mean I am right, but it is more than just an unfounded assertion.

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

Yet, your reaction is somehow self-righteous? Where as people who watched the video, learned something they could implement and improve their channels whether they bought the legend status are somehow duped by false advertising?

Sorry, you feel this way. I am a person that attempts to live to a very high standard. I have never disguised myself as anything else. I believe there are life standards that do not change or evolve and cannot be altered by individual or group opinions and feelings. I do not believe they can be determined by statistics. This is what I believe. You do not have to believe this way, but it is the way I believe.

I believe deception is wrong. I read your point about how it is impossible to fit a more descriptive title on a thumbnail and that the forced confines of the thumbnail to necessitate the need for a very short title. It is a completely valid argument. Unfortunately, it in no way makes a valid excuse to use clickbait thumbs. It seems to me that you are attempting to make the argument that it has to be Clickbatish because it is too difficult to do anything else on a thumbnail. It is a very strong argument that I think a lot of people will agree with, Maybe everyone else on here will agree with it. But in my book, wrong is wrong, and there is never a valid excuse or reason to do wrong. In my book, deception is wrong.

I understand that it is very difficult to create great Click Worthy thumbs, without using clickbatish methods. That is not a good excuse to use them in my book. I agree that clickbaitish thumbs get more views. That is not a good excuse to use them in my book. I believe that doing the right thing can many times be costly. I still believe that we should choose to do the right thing over the most convenient, self-beneficial, and easy thing. I understand that this may mean that I will never be a highly successful YouTuber. I am okay with that. I believe some things in life are more valuable than fame and fortune. Does this make me self-righteous in your eyes? Only you can decide that. I hope that you would see me as a person of honor that will not compromise my standards for success.

 

[Nothin' But Gadgets]

Jungle, you sound like a person of strong values and integrity to me. Like a person, I would like to know personally and call my friend, because I know that you will be honest with me and not blow smoke up my skirt like so many people do (and demand that others do for them) these days. I hope others on here can see this as well, even if they disagree with you. The world needs more people like you that stand strong for what's right and will not compromise to get ahead.