Video Thumbnails

[KristiM5]

I created a custom video thumbnail for my You Tube video and when I insert my video into CC, it will not recognize the thumbnail I created. Does anyone have a work around?

[KristiM5]

Hello @ElizabethO7 ,

If the video site's API is unable to provide the thumbnail desired, or if there's an issue with importing the particular video link, then the best workaround would be to generate your own thumbnail image to link the video to. This is how you'd get to "upload a custom video thumbnail."

There's 3rd party sites and other programs that can be utilized to also add a play button overlay on your image, prior to uploading and inserting into your email.

[Taryn_L]

@KristiM5

Thank you for reaching out to the Community. That is a great question! I'm sorry to hear your video thumbnail is not populating as it should be, but I do have a work around for you. Instead of copying the full URL at the top of the page, click where it says Share at the bottom right corner below your video, and copy the short URL link. Usually when you add that to your email, the thumbnail will generate for you.

If that does not work for you, please email us at social_support(at)constantcontact(dot)com with your username, the email campaign name, the Youtube video URL, and a reference to this post and I would be happy to take a look into this!

[KristiM5]

Thanks Teryn. That is what I had done originally but it would not take the custom thumbnail I created. I deleted my You Tube video and then uploaded it again. Now it works in CC.

[Taryn_L]

@KristiM5

Great, I'm glad to hear your video thumbnail now works! If any other issues come up, definitely don't hesitate to reach back out to us. Enjoy your Monday!

[ShivaniS35]

I am having the same issue, CC is not showing custom thumbnail for my video. I cannot delete my video and upload again, because then I will loose the views and like video had already received. Please suggest any other work around for this.

[Zoe_H]

Hello @ShivaniS35,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community. I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing this as well. Customers who experience a similar issue find that using the short URL usually helps to generate a thumbnail. Another option would be to take a screenshot of your video, upload it as an image to your library, and make that image a clickable link to your YouTube video instead. If those options do not work, please email us at social_support(at)constantcontact(dot)com with your username, the email campaign name, the YouTube video URL, and a reference to this post and we would love to research this further for you!

[ChristopherK37]

I am having the same problem constant contact says video not available but if I click it it takes me to the video on youtube. This would be acceptable if it loaded the thumbnail but no thumbnail appears.

[Zoe_H]

Hello @ChristopherK37,

I apologize that you are experiencing this issue as well. To fix this, try deleting the video block and dragging in a new one. That should allow for the thumbnail to appear in your email campaign. I apologize for the inconvenience, this is a known issue that we are currently working on and will be fixed as soon as possible. 

[StephanieF707]

May 2019 and still having the same issue. Is there a fix for this yet?

[Frankie_P]

Hi @StephanieF707 

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, I apologize you too are having this experience. Have you tried the workaround previously shared in this thread? This workaround being to delete the video block and dragging in a new one. That should allow for the thumbnail to appear in your email campaign. Did taking these steps help?

[BrianaS49]

I can not believe this is still an issue after all this time! Thumbnail from Youtube does not load. 

[Frankie_P]

Hi @BrianaS49 

I'm so sorry to hear you are still seeing this happen with your email campaign. With that said, are you still having this experience after trying the workaround from this thread? If you have not yet tested this workaround of deleting the video block and dragging in a new one, I would suggest doing so. I hope this helps!

[SynchroNet.Net]

Workarounds don't solve this issue - I'm trying to load a video from Vimeo and I can't get the thumbnails to appear (the thumbnails really sell the videos ... they are funny to inspire clicks!). How do we solve this? 

[Brian_H]

Hi @SynchroNet.Net 

Thanks for joining us in the Community! We certainly understand why its frustrating when your video thumbnails don't appear for your readers. Are you currently seeing any specific error message when trying to insert the video? What is the link to the Vimeo video and is this video is currently private? We will attempt to replicate on your behalf.

[LaurenL2489]

I am having the same issues.  I insert the link and it displays a rainbow thumbnail with a play button.  I've tried all the work arounds in this thread.  Please let me know how to fix this.

[Frankie_P]

Hi @LaurenL2489 

Thank you for testing the workarounds in this thread! I apologize this different thumbnail is being pulled on this video block. Is this image an old thumbnail for the video? I have taken a look at your account and can see you were able to insert your video in your most recent campaign. Are you still in need of assistance with your video block? If so, it’s important to point out you are using a video hosted on Vimeo rather than YouTube like this thread is focused on. This lets me know you are having a different experience than that of these of these other users. We have recently received reports of color bars appearing when users insert a Vimeo URL into a video block. In these cases there are different workarounds you can try including:

1. Copying the link from your video’s share option through the paper plane icon and inserting this URL into a new video block
2. Creating an image screenshot of your video and inserting it as a clickable image
3. Removing of the "s" from "https" in your video’s URL

[KimKA]

Same Youtube / thumbnail problem. I tried the workarounds, too. Nothing is working for me. How can I solve this quickly?

[Caitlin_M]

Hi @KimKA. I made a copy of your most recent campaign that had a screenshot of the video included in it to see if I could replicate the thumbnail not loading. I pulled in a video block and saw a thumbnail load right away using that link. Did you receive any specific error messages when inserting the video? What was exactly happening when you attempted to do this?

[ERICS6969]

none of these fixes help

i'm surprised this still doesnt work after being an issue for 2 years.

[William_A]

Hello @ERICS6969 ,

Since the issue is in regards to how YouTube's API is communicating the thumbnail to us (YouTube sometimes generates multiple thumbnails of a video automatically), our engineers are still looking into what, if anything, can be done on our end. Hence, the workarounds being suggested in the meantime. 

If re-uploading the video to YouTube doesn't resolve the issue, then the next best workaround would be to screenshot what the thumbnail is supposed to be. You can use third party sites or programs to add play buttons on top of the screenshot, if needed.

[AIAdmin]

I am in the same boat.  The original thumbnail selected for the video is automatically populating in Constant Contact and the only way to change it is to re-upload the video in Youtube, which is a ridiculous workaround.

Uploading an image and making it a clickable link to the youtube video isn't really a workaround with the functionality of embedded video, and is a ridiculous suggestion.  Our readers/viewers cannot play the video within their e-mail client if we make a picture with a clickable link.

I would rather people forthright say "the integration isn't working as expected and we do not have a good resolution yet" than some of the other obfuscations on this thread until the final comment.

[William_A]

Hello @AIAdmin ,

The issue is on YouTube continuously providing us with the incorrect thumbnail due to an issue within their own API. While our engineers are trying to work with YouTube to figure out what it could be, the suggested workaround in the meantime is to use one of the aforementioned methods. Unfortunately this is something we're predominantly relying on Google for since it is their API.

[DeborahW006]

Two years later and this is still an incredibly annoying - as in nonfunctioning, function that we pay for. I have spent the afternoon uploading and deleting the video I created. So insulting to get the "try again later" message. Unprofessional and completely unhelpful.

[DeborahW006]

It drives me crazy! "workarounds" are NOT solutions! We don't pay for services that we must "workaround" - think of the number of hours spent on this by customers vs Constant Contact. 

[Zoe_H]

Hello @DeborahW006,

The issue is on YouTube continuously providing us with the incorrect thumbnail due to an issue within their own API. While our engineers are trying to work with YouTube to figure out what it could be, the suggested workaround in the meantime is to use one of the aforementioned methods. Unfortunately this is something we're predominantly relying on Google for since it is their API.