Eight tools you use between exporting and hitting publish: thumbnail scoring, posting times, A/B test sizing, hashtag checks.
Score your cover / thumbnail across 4 documented behavioral dimensions: face visibility, contrast, text load, hook pattern.
A 4-dimension heuristic. Each dimension is what marketing-creative literature cites as a stop-scroll lever - not a CTR prediction. Use it to spot which dimension is dragging the frame down.
Likes + comments + shares + saves ÷ views. Tier it against platform ranges.
ER thresholds vary wildly by niche, follower count and platform. The "Above average" tier here is a rough industry mid-band; small accounts typically see inflated ER.
Estimate the per-day watch-time needed for algorithmic lift at your subscriber/view level.
Public platform engineering posts and creator-economy surveys point to "watch minutes per day ÷ audience" as one of the most predictive inputs for For You / Recommended ranking. These are starting hypotheses, not official numbers.
See a typical week-by-hour posting heatmap for each platform. Generic baseline; always validate against your own analytics.
Darker = historically higher co-viewer activity. Times shown are local-to-your-browser. Many creators see a flat curve from 5-9 PM any weekday; the second-best slot after your top one is usually enough.
How many impressions per variant do you need for a meaningful A/B test?
A reliable test needs ~weeks of data; chasing tiny effects (under 0.5 percentage points) is rarely worth the time. Most short-form thumbnail tests converge by 5-10 days at moderate impressions.
How heavily does your caption lean on a chosen keyword? With over-optimization warning.
A natural mention is 1-2 uses per 100 words. Stuffing the same phrase 4+ times looks spammy and may reduce reach. "Stuff" tags put all your SEO weight at the end of the caption - usually after the fold.
Estimate addressable retargeting audience from your organic video performance.
All ads are estimates. The platform's ad manager will give exact reach for a given bid. Use this calculator as a "should I even bother running an ad on this scale" sanity check.
Three common caption backgrounds compared (drop shadow, plate, blurred plate). We rank them for visual clarity, accessibility, and platform fit.
The "best" background depends on your subject content. The visual weight rises with plate opacity which can compete with the subject. We rank only contrast safety.
One calm ad slot between tools. No popups, no autoplay, no overlay panels.