Recommended Social Media Sizing Tips for Digital Marketers

As the needs and trends for online users change, so do the standards for social media sizing.

Each platform has its own set of guidelines and dimensions for photos, videos, graphics, and other types of content. But these standards change so constantly that even the best digital marketers can suffer the cons of keeping up with pixel image sizes, video dimensions, and more.

So what’s your social media business strategy to optimize your content and keep up with the ever-changing standards this year?

Stay on top of the latest tips and image resolution enhancer techniques today. Check out this guide for the most up-to-date standards for your social media marketing success right now.

The importance of developing your visual content

Visual content reigns supreme in digital marketing today. There’s no avoiding it anymore - not only do visuals help to make your content more appealing, but they also serve to communicate your brand more clearly to audiences.

Photos, videos, graphics, and other forms of content are excellent marketing tools that help make your business more memorable for social media users. They give audiences more information on your brand, communicating your unique story, voice, and personality to them as well.

With well-done designs across all social media platforms, you can ensure that audiences will remember your brand’s name, story, and unique voice. This is why it’s imperative that you optimize your photo and video content to garner the best results for your business online.

Social media sizing and asset design guide

Have a better idea of why social media sizing matters to your brand’s success now? Then take a look at these design guides to execute the best content possible for competitive social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and more.

1. Facebook

As the most popular social network to date, Facebook is a platform that you’ll definitely want to optimize for today. From photos, to videos, to Carousels, and even Stories, Facebook has them all. So increase the quality of images and picture layouts by following these content guidelines:

• Profile photo: The recommended size is 170 x 170 pixels, while the ideal file size is less than 100KB. Note that your profile photo is cropped to a circle, and will look different depending on the device used.
  • Display size for desktop: 176x176 px
  • Display size for mobile: 196x196 px
• Cover photo:  The recommended size is 851 x 315 pixels, while the ideal file size is less than 100KB. Note that the left side of your cover photo will be partially covered by your profile picture, and will look different depending on the device used.
  • Display size for desktop: 820 x 312 px
  • Display size for mobile: 640 x 360 px
• Photo posts: The minimum size is 600 x 315 pixels, while the recommended size is 1200 x 630 pixels.
• Photo ads: The recommended sizes for Facebook photo ad content include:
  • Feed ads: 1080 x 1080 px
  • Right Column ads: 1080 x 1080 px (note that this is a desktop-only ad format)
  • Instant Articles: minimum 1080 x 1080 px
  • Marketplace ads: minimum 1080 x 1080 px
  • Facebook Search: minimum 1080 x 1080 px
  • Sponsored Messages: minimum 1080 x 1080 px
  • Messenger inbox ads: minimum 1080 x 1080 px
  • Messenger Stories ads: minimum 1080 x 1080 px
• Stories: The recommended size is 1080 x 1920 pixels

2. X (formerly Twitter)

Tweets with images usually get more likes, retweets, and click-throughs than other non-image Tweets, because they tend to be more engaging and eye-catching than plain-text Tweets. With visual content gaining three times more engagement than others, optimizing images for Twitter becomes imperative to your marketing strategy. Here are some recommended size guidelines you should follow for this social platform:

• Profile photo: 400 x 400 px
  • Minimum photo size: 200 x 200 px
  • Maximum file size: 2MB
• Header photos: 1500 x 500 px
  • Note:The way header photos look will depend on the device, browser, or monitor being used.
• Timeline photos: 1600 x 900 pixels
  • Minimum photo size: 600 x 335 px
  • Maximum file size: Up to 5MB on mobile, while up to 15MB on desktop.
• Photo ads: Minimum 600 x 335 pixels, but use bigger photos for the best results.
• Carousels: Maximum file size of 20MB for 2-6 photos.

3. TikTok

Optimizing for TikTok is a necessity because of how popular the platform is among social media users today. So if you want to find success online, then you need to ensure that your content follows these guidelines for the best possible digital marketing outcomes.

• Profile photos: Minimum 20 x 20 pixels, but use bigger photos for the best results.
• TikTok videos: 1080 x 1920 pixels, with an ideal aspect ratio of 1:1 or 9:16.

4. Instagram

As a visuals-forward social network, optimizing things like your picture layout or pixel image sizes are critical to your marketing success on Instagram. Keep in mind the following guidelines to ensure the best quality content from your brand’s account:

• Profile photos: The recommended size is 320 x 320 pixels, while the profile photo itself is displayed at 110 x 100 pixels. Note that your profile photo is cropped to a circle, and will look different depending on the device used.
• Instagram Feed photos: The recommended width is 1080 pixels, while the height depends on the photo’s orientation. The ideal aspect ratio for all feed photos is anywhere between 1.91:1 and 4:5.
  • Portrait: 1080 x 1350 px
  • Landscape: 1080 x 566 px
  • Square: 1080 x 1080 px
• Carousel photos: The recommended width is 1080 pixels, while the height depends on the photo’s orientation. The ideal aspect ratio for all Carousel photos is anywhere between 1.91:1 and 4:5.
  • Portrait: 1080 x 1350 px
  • Landscape: 1080 x 566 px
  • Square: 1080 x 1080 px
• Instagram Ads photo sizes: The recommended width is 1080 pixels. The ideal aspect ratio for all ad photos is anywhere between 1.91:1 and 4:5.
  • Landscape: 1080 x 566 px
  • Square: 1080 x 1080 px
• Instagram Reels sizes: 1080 x 1920 px
  • Reel cover photo: 1080 x 1920 px
  • Note:Reels are cropped to a 1:1 photo on your profile and a 4:5 photo on your feed.
• Stories: 1080 x 1920 px

5. LinkedIn

Given how LinkedIn is used to connect your profile or business with other businesses in the industry, you’ll definitely want to provide a professional impression for your audiences on this platform. So make sure to edit photo sizes to these guidelines for the most optimal results:

• Profile photos: The minimum photo size is 400 x 400 pixels, while the maximum photo size is 7680 x 4320 pixels.
• LinkedIn company pages: the recommended sizes for content on company pages include:
  • Logo size: 300 x 300 px
  • Cover photo size: 1128 x 191 px
  • Life tab main photo size: 1128 x 376 px
  • Life tab custom module photo size: 502 x 282 px
  • Life tab company photos photo size: 900 x 600 px
• Photo posts: 1200 x 628 px
• LinkedIn ads photo sizes: 1200 x 627 px
• LinkedIn ads Carousel photo sizes: 1080 x 1080 px

6. YouTube

Want to find business success on the most popular video streaming platform today? Then make sure your photo and video content align with these sizing guidelines for YouTube first:

• Profile photos: 800 x 800 px
• Banner photo size: minimum 2048 x 1152 px
  • Maximum file size: 6MB
  • Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Video size: The recommended minimum size is 1280 x 720 pixels, to meet video HD standards in a 16:9 aspect ratio.
• Thumbnail size: 1280 x 720 px

Best practices to optimize your picture layout

Whether you post photos, videos, or other important forms of content for your business, you should make it a priority to optimize them to the best of your ability today. So check out these additional tips and best practices to increase the quality of images, videos, clips, and other media you post online:

• Humans prefer visuals. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” People tend to prefer visual content over written content, because visuals can communicate brand messages more deeply and clearly than most text ever could.
• Create connections with visuals. Whether they be memes, videos, or funny TikToks, visuals give people things to talk about beyond the initial messaging of the content you posted. With the right content marketing, you can create connections with and among audiences to benefit your brand in the long run today.
• Update your information regularly. Given how important visual content is and how often the standards for it tends to change, make it a habit to update your media know-how regularly to avoid any sizing mishaps.
• Future-proof your content. You might’ve caught a whiff of this tip in the individual social media sizing tips sections – but to ensure your content stays optimal over time, always future-proof it by uploading larger, more high-quality photos and videos. This way, you won’t have to update your content as much even if your platform’s standards change.

Increase the quality of an image, create great impact

The impact of attractive visual content on your brand can be huge - if you do your social media sizing right.

You’re not just creating visual content for the sake of making something pretty, after all. You’re producing photos, videos, graphics, and more to effectively tell the story and message of your business online. So create great impact and drive digital wins by being calculated with your social media strategy this year.

Key takeaways

Ready to optimize your socials with the right asset sizes today? Then remember to bring these key takeaways with you as you create great digital impact with your visuals this year:

• Always update your know-how. Given how the visual needs and interests of your online audiences are constantly changing, it’s important to update your visual content know-how just as often too.
• Optimize per platform. Every platform has its own set of standards and sizes. Make sure to optimize your content per social media platform to drive the best possible results for your brand as well.
• Call in the experts. Don’t let the lack of great photo, video, or graphics experts get in the way of your business success. Feel free to outsource your expert services to ensure your visuals are fully optimized for your social media this year.

If you have any other questions, send us a message via our Facebook, X, and LinkedIn accounts. Let’s chat.

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