Having a Unique Style
The style of your series needs to directly match your brand. Adding something special for the series helps it stand out as well. My entire notecard style was because I needed a way to explain my ideas more visually and it also helped make my series stand out.
Little trinkets or objects make the videos, more so the thumbnails, more memorable so that when they see the series on explore, they’ll click and come watch another. (this again plays into the idea of content minutes: the more time someone spendings watching your series, the more likely they are to follow.)
Thumbnail theory is quite simple on Instagram. Big bold text in the upper thirds with some strange visual in the lower thirds to pair it.
A good rule of thumb is to make your title card a part of your video so it feels really nice and branded. NEVER start a video with “welcome back to [series name!]” that is a terrible hook.
TITLE CARDS RULES OF THUMB
Different / standout text compare to the rest of the video
Formatted nicely using the dead space in your shot
Take inso from other title cards, you can find a massive library here: EVERY MAGAZINE COVER EVER
For example the thumbnail in picture 3 is a screen shot of 4 seconds into the video. At a glance you see the keyword “burn out” AND you see a tiny little man on a frying page, being well, burnt. You’d click on it, don’t lie.
Also note that the left most video is a Creator-Maxxing episode, but that’s not the focal point of the thumbnail, it just helps recurrent viewers have a visual categorization.
As for general thumbnail theory:
Leading lines: You want to incorporate subtle visual lines that point to your subject. Think of it like invisible arrows that lead viewers’ eyes to the most important part.
Contrast: You want to use contrasting colors whenever possible. This makes the text and imagery stand out from each other while working in tandem within the principals of design. (see above: white on black, yellow on grey → it just “pops” better)
Text compression: You want to think of THE simplest way to say what your video is about. For example: “How to be cinematic.” → Can you take a wild guess on the value or topics that I touch on in that video?
You get the point. Using phrases like, “How to ___” or “The best ___” work well here also.
Consider what you need to do to make the series feel like YOU.
Use different formats to express yourself creatively. (shot/angle changes, props to demonstrate what you mean, voice overs with b-roll, etc.) No one want’s to watch 30 episodes of a talking head.
Film in different locations. I know its easy to just want to film in your room BUT outside videos tend to perform better and make the series feel integrated into your life.
When editing find the flow and pace that YOU like. Flashy tricks are cool but what would you want to see in a video? This is how you build your own style to actually stand out.
Again, this will all be covered in depth in Lesson 4, but it helps to plan series out knowing this information.