The Lingnan research team analyses over 16,000 social media videos worldwide with AI, revealing key marketing strategies that boost viewership.
From left: Prof Sebastian Chung Yu-ho, Assistant Professor of the Department of Marketing and International Business; Prof Peng Ling, Head of the Department of Marketing and International Business; Prof Cui Geng, Professor of the Department of Marketing and International Business
The competition in managing short video content on social media platforms and executing online marketing has intensified in recent years. Crafting eye-catching video titles and thumbnails to increase viewer engagement has become a crucial marketing strategy. A recent study by the Department of Marketing and International Business at Lingnan University titled “Clicks for money: Predicting video views through a sentiment analysis of titles and thumbnails” used artificial intelligence (AI) to show that thumbnails expressing strong sentiments tend to attract more views, while strong sentiments conveyed in video titles may have the opposite effect. Additionally, videos with punctuation, capital letters, and emojis in their titles tend to receive more clicks. The Lingnan research team suggests these findings indicate that specific strategies in producing video content can fully leverage their videos’ potential to boost viewership and enhance online marketing efforts.
The Lingnan research team analysed a total of 16,215 videos published on YouTube, the world’s largest video search and sharing platform, from 16 to 28 February 2023. These videos, posted for over a week, covered six categories: music, film, sport, education, politics, and technology, all with English titles. Using AI to extract content from video thumbnails, and including specific elements such as facial expressions, vehicles, animals, and food, the study also analysed the captions and text descriptions embedded in the thumbnails, aiming to understand how these elements affect video viewership and influence viewers' decisions to watch.
The 16,215 videos have an average duration of 177 seconds and an average view count of 36,600. 38 per cent (6,168) included captions in the thumbnails, and 51 per cent (8,220) used thumbnails featuring human faces. The results revealed that videos with thumbnails expressing strong sentiments (18.3%), whether positive or negative, had higher view counts. Also, videos with simple and concise captions (17.5%), titles conveying positive energy (36.4%), titles featuring punctuation (83.6%) and emojis (11.1%), and those with captions in the thumbnails (38%) experienced more clicks.
However, videos with titles posed as questions (5%) or featuring negative emotions (15.9%) experienced lower view counts. Long captions (8.4%) and titles expressing strong positive or negative emotions (13.1%) also resulted in fewer clicks, whereas shorter videos, higher thumbnail resolution, and thumbnails featuring human faces or more vibrant colours attracted more viewers.
Prof Peng Ling, Head of the Department of Marketing and International Business of Lingnan University, said that this innovative study applied AI for systematic analysis so as to gain insights into how sentiments expressed in video titles and thumbnails play a crucial role in viewer engagement, explaining “Video thumbnails, titles, and captions serve as snapshots of the video content and can significantly enhance its visual appeal, thereby increasing viewership. In today’s highly competitive market, content creators may use sensational titles and images to attract clicks and views for generating higher advertising revenue and sponsorship, although our findings suggest that poorly executed strategies may lead to a loss in viewership.”
Reflecting on the study’s important insights into short video marketing, Prof Peng continued “This research systematically analyses the characteristics of high-view videos. It is crucial for content creators to avoid exaggerated or emotional language in titles and subtitles, as this may be perceived as clickbait and reduce viewer interest. Conversely, incorporating appropriate punctuation and emoticons in video titles may stimulate curiosity and enhance viewer engagement. Marketers can use the curiosity gap as a principle for crafting marketing messages and designing video thumbnails.”
The Lingnan research team also includes Prof Cui Geng, Professor of the Department of Marketing and International Business, and Prof Sebastian Chung Yu-ho, Assistant Professor of the Department of Marketing and International Business.
The study was recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Business Research, published by Elsevier.
