How to Post a YouTube Video on Facebook with a Big Thumbnail

Ever meticulously craft a YouTube video, create the perfect thumbnail, and then paste the link on Facebook, only to have it show up as a sad, tiny rectangle that nobody wants to touch? You’re not alone. Getting a big, beautiful YouTube thumbnail to appear on Facebook can feel frustratingly random, but there are clear reasons why it happens - and more importantly, reliable ways to fix it.

This guide will walk you through exactly why your YouTube links sometimes look underwhelming on Facebook. We'll cover several effective methods, from the simplest direct share to the highest-performing native upload, helping you get more eyeballs on your content and make your posts look polished and professional.

Why That Tiny Thumbnail Happens (And How to Fix It)

The core of the issue comes down to two things: fierce competition and technical communication. Facebook and YouTube (owned by Google) are direct competitors for video views and user attention. Naturally, Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes content that keeps people on its own platform. Native Facebook videos - videos uploaded directly to Facebook - get preferential treatment with features like autoplay and significantly boosted reach. Links that take users off of Facebook, especially to a major video competitor, are often given less prominence in the news feed.

On the technical side, when you paste a link into Facebook, it "scrapes" the page for metadata to generate a preview. This data is pulled from Open Graph (OG) tags in the website's HTML. While YouTube usually provides the right tags for a large thumbnail (the og:image tag), Facebook doesn't always read it correctly or may default to a smaller display size for external video links. The result is a post that gets fewer clicks, less engagement, and doesn’t reflect the quality of your video.

The good news is you can take control of how your video appears. Let's look at the methods you can use, starting with the simplest and moving to the most effective.

Method 1: The Native "Share to Facebook" Button

Sometimes, the most straightforward approach works just fine. Using YouTube’s built-in sharing feature prompts both platforms to communicate properly, which can often result in the large thumbnail you want without any extra hassle.

How to do it:

• Step 1: Navigate to your YouTube video on a desktop browser.
• Step 2: Below the video player, click the "Share" button.
• Step 3: In the pop-up window, click on the Facebook icon.
• Step 4: A new browser window will open, loading Facebook’s post composer with the link preview already generated. Most of the time, this preview will be the full-sized thumbnail.
• Step 5: Write your caption directly in the Facebook composer, choose where you want to share it (your timeline, a page, or a group), and click "Post to Facebook."

Pros: This method is incredibly fast and simple. It requires no extra tools or steps.

Cons: It isn't a 100% guarantee. Depending on how Facebook is feeling that day, you might still get a small thumbnail. You also cede control to the platforms’ automated preview generator.

Method 2: The Best-Performing Strategy - Uploading Natively to Facebook

If your main goal is to get the most engagement and reach on Facebook itself, there is no better strategy than uploading your video natively. Facebook's algorithm rewards native video like nothing else. Your video will autoplay in the feed, capture immediate attention, and be shown to a wider portion of your audience.

Instead of trying to pull people over to YouTube, this approach brings the content directly to your Facebook audience and uses YouTube more as a secondary call-to-action.

How to do it:

• Step 1: Get your video file. You'll need the original .MP4 or .MOV file that you uploaded to YouTube. If you don't have it saved, you can download it from your own channel in YouTube Studio.
• Step 2: Create a new post on Facebook. Go to your Facebook Page, Group, or Profile and click on "Photo/Video."
• Step 3: Upload the video. Select the video file from your computer and let it upload.
• Step 4: Customize the post. This is where you get all the benefits of native video. Facebook's "Video Options" allow you to:
  • Write a unique, compelling video title.
  • Add a description that hooks the viewer.
  • Choose a custom thumbnail (you can upload your own image, just like on YouTube) or select a frame from the video.
  • Add captions/subtitles for viewers watching with sound off.
• Step 5: Add your Call-to-Action. This is still about promoting your YouTube channel! In the post's main caption, add a line like: "Find more tutorials like this on my YouTube channel! Subscribe here:" followed by a direct link to your YouTube channel's homepage. This drives subscribers instead of just a single view.

Pros: Guarantees a big, autoplaying video. Massively higher reach and engagement on Facebook. Gives you full control over the post's appearance. It taps into how people actually consume video on the platform.

Cons: It requires more effort since you are re-uploading content. Your video views will be split between Facebook and YouTube, which could be a concern if you're trying to hit YouTube monetization goals.

Method 3: The Custom Image Link Hack

What if your top priority is driving traffic directly to your YouTube video, no matter what? This clever workaround gets you the best of both worlds: a big, eye-catching visual on Facebook and a direct pipeline to YouTube. It’s perfect when racking up views on YouTube is the endgame.

Instead of posting a video link, you post a static image and put the video link in the text caption.

How to do it:

• Step 1: Design an enticing preview image. Save your official YouTube thumbnail as a JPG or PNG file. For the best display on Facebook, a 1200 x 628 pixel image is perfect. Pro tip: Overlay a fake "play" button icon in the center of your thumbnail image. This tiny visual cue dramatically increases the likelihood that people will look for a link to click.
• Step 2: Create an image post on Facebook. Create a new post, but instead of pasting a link, click on "Photo/Video" and upload the awesome graphic you just made.
• Step 3: Add the YouTube link in the caption. Write your text to introduce the video. Ask a question, give a fascinating snippet, and then include your call-to-action with the direct YouTube video link. For example: "I can't believe how this turned out! Watch the full process from start to finish here: [your YouTube link]"

Since the post is an image post, Facebook will display your uploaded graphic in its full-size glory. The "play" button graphic will signal to users that it's video content, and they'll naturally click the links to watch it.

Pros: You get a guaranteed, full-size, custom image in the feed. This method is excellent for directing 100% of your click-through traffic to YouTube.

Cons: The image itself isn't clickable, only the link in the caption is. It requires the user to move their cursor from the image to the text - a small amount of friction, but still more than a direct video link.

Method 4: Using Facebook's Official Link Debugger

Sometimes, the reason you get a small thumbnail is simply because Facebook has cached an old or incorrect version of your link's data. If you’ve just uploaded your video to YouTube and immediately shared it, Facebook might not have had time to properly scrape the final information. You can force a refresh using Facebook's own tool.

This is the best fix for when a simple copy-paste should work but isn’t.

How to do it:

• Step 1: Go to the Facebook Sharing Debugger tool.
• Step 2: Copy the URL of your YouTube video.
• Step 3: Paste the URL into the debugger tool's input box and click the "Debug" button.
• Step 4: The tool may show you the old, small preview. To fix this, click the "Scrape Again" button. This tells Facebook to re-fetch the link information. You might need to click it twice.
• Step 5: Check the "Link Preview" section at the bottom. Once it shows your desired large thumbnail, you're good to go. You can now copy that same URL and paste it directly into a new Facebook post, and it should display correctly.

Pros: Often a very quick fix for caching-related problems. It’s Facebook’s official method for troubleshooting link previews.

Cons: Doesn’t guarantee better reach - the Facebook algorithm knows it is an external link. It's an extra technical step that can feel a little disconnected from your usual workflow.

Turning Your Share into Actual Engagement

Successfully getting a big thumbnail is only part of the story. Once you post it, you want people to actually care. Here are a few final tips for maximizing your results:

• Craft a magnetic caption: Don't just dump the link with the video title. Pull out a juicy quote, ask a provocative question related to the video's content, or tell a brief one-sentence story about why you made it. Give people a reason to stop scrolling and click.
• Write for Facebook, not YouTube: Your Facebook caption should be tailored to that audience. Use tags and emojis, and keep the tone conversational, even if your YouTube video is more formal.
• Add a CTA: What do you want people to do after watching? Remind them! Use phrases like, "Let me know what you think in the comments," "Check out the description on YouTube for all the links!" or "Follow me for more..."

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, getting a YouTube video on Facebook to look right comes down to being intentional about how you share. You can upload it natively for the Facebook audience and maximum reach, use an image post to drive traffic to YouTube, or use Facebook's debug tool to fix a small link preview. No more settling for tiny thumbnails that get lost in the feed.

We know this can feel like a lot of work - debugging links, creating custom images, and scheduling posts across different platforms. To simplify this process, a social media management tool like Postbase can streamline your entire workflow. You can plan all of your content in a visual calendar, customize captions for each platform, and manage everything from one place, ensuring your posts always look exactly how you want. For a streamlined content workflow, try Postbase.