Whether it’s an Instagram post announcing an update, a behind the scenes look at your business on Stories, or a promotional video on Facebook – visually appealing content dominates social media. Social Media is used as a way to reach new customers, engage with your current audience and build brand awareness, so it is vital to maintain a professional look across all platforms and stay on top of any updates.
Why Correct Social Media Matter for Your Brand
for Social Media platforms have updated a lot over the years. It can be difficult to keep up, but by not staying on top of the updates you run the risk of negatively affecting your online presence.
Think of Social Media as your visual shop front for your brand. It’s important to get everything right to avoid these common errors:
- Stretched and pixelated images from not being sized correctly – this can cause your social media pages to look unprofessional and your images to come across as poor quality.
- Not optimising your images for each different platform – this can have a negative effect on your engagement.
- Cropping important information, contact details or parts of your image by not sizing them correctly.
Below are the current Social Media as of 2021 to ensure this doesn’t happen to you.
Facebook
Facebook is the largest Social Media platform and one of your potential customers could be checking regularly. It is important to ensure Facebook images are sized correctly for both desktop and mobile and to regularly check this. It is also recommended that you don’t update your profile and cover images too regularly, as these are the images your audience begin to associate your brand with and recognise on their feeds.
Facebook profile photo: 170 x 170 pixels
Your chosen profile photo across all social platforms is the image you are choosing to represent your brand. Your Facebook profile photo is the image that appears below your cover photo and will appear when you post, comment and when your profile is searched. It is what people will associate your brand with, so it is important this is sized correctly, clear, professional and not regularly changed. If using your business logo we recommend ensuring text is visible and all images are of a high quality.
Facebook cover photo: 1200 x 674 pixels
Your Facebook cover photo is the banner image at the top of your page. When not sized correctly, you run the risk of key information being cropped out and a stretched and unprofessional looking banner image on your profile.
Facebook post photo: 1200 x 630 pixels
Alternatively, you can upload your Facebook post photos in square format at 1080 x 1080 pixels. This is also the recommended size for carousel posts.
Facebook event image: 1920 x 1005 pixels
Facebook events are a great way to connect with your audience and advertise virtual events. If you have a promo graphic, it is vital to ensure no information is lost by being wrongly sized.
Instagram
Instagram was created to be a visually appealing platform and more recently, a popular video sharing platform. It is an ideal place to showcase your creative side for your business and present your work and products. Getting your content right for Instagram gives you potential to reach a massive audience and can blow your business up.
Instagram profile photo: 320 x 320 pixels
Like Facebook, your Instagram profile photo is what people will associate your brand with, so it’s important to ensure it is sized correctly. Remember, Instagram profile photos are uploaded in square format but Instagram will display them as a circle, so make sure nothing will be cropped out and the main focus is in the centre of the image.
Instagram feed photos:
- Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Landscape: 1080 x 566 pixels
- Portrait: 1080 x 1350 pixels
Instagram feed photos are often the easiest to size correctly because Instagram will crop your image for square format and even allow you to take square images with their in app camera feature. You do have the option to upload your images in landscape and portrait format but your images will show as a cropped square on your grid. For this reason it is important to take care that none of your important information is cropped or not displayed correctly on your Instagram feed.
Instagram Stories: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16)
Instagram Stories is a good format to get full screen content out there without having to crop anything out and are a great way to encourage engagement.
Instagram Reels: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16)
Instagram reels are full screen video content in the same sizing as Instagram stories. It’s important to remember if you are sharing your Instagram reels to your grid as well, this will automatically be sized to square. If any of your audience watches your reel from your grid, it’s important to ensure nothing is cropped out and any text stays in the middle of the screen.
Instagram IGTV: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16)
Similar to Instagram reels, IGTVs are full screen video content but for a longer duration. Stimulate viewers to stay hooked for longer by carefully placing information and stickers so that they are seen, but aren’t disrupting the content. Cover photo for IGTV: 420 x 654 pixels.
Twitter
Twitter is not typically known as being a photo sharing platform, but make sure you don’t forget about it. Recently, Twitter has been making big changes to it’s layout and how the platform is used.
Twitter profile photo: 400 x 400 pixels
Your Twitter profile photo is the image that appears below your header photo, and it is what people will associate your brand with, so it is important this is sized correctly and not regularly changed.
Twitter header photo: 1500 x 500 pixels
Your Twitter header photo is the image at the top of your page. This should be a clear image that represents your brand. Ensure it is eye catching to engage your audience.
Twitter card photo: 1200 x 628 pixels
A Twitter card image is the image that appears when you share a URL in a tweet. Users can also attach an image to any tweet, and one of the big Twitter updates in 2021 was that they were no longer cropping your image. This means you no longer have to worry about your image content having to be center focused.
Twitter fleets photo: 1080 x 1920 pixels
Twitter fleets appear on your twitter homepage and disappear after 24 hours. They are Twitter’s response to the story feature on other Social Media platforms.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the leading professional Social Media network. It has potential for your business to find new employees and connect with others in the same industry. For these reasons it is important to maintain a professional look across your page.
LinkedIn profile photo: 400 x 400 pixels
Your LinkedIn profile photo is the image that appears below your banner photo and is what people will associate your brand with, so it is important this is clear and professional.
LinkedIn banner photo: 1584 x 396 pixels
This is the image that appears at the top of your LinkedIn account. It is recommended to keep this clear, professional and within your branding.
YouTube
The popular video sharing platform is a great way to create and share content to reach your target audience. Being a visual-focused platform, the quality of static and moving images is a priority
YouTube profile photo: 800 x 800 pixels
YouTube allows you to select different borders for your photo and it should be centered for the best look.
YouTube banner photo: 2048 x 1152 pixels (16:9)
Your YouTube banner photo should be branded and clear for a professional look.
YouTube video size: 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9)
This is the YouTube video size that is needed to meet HD requirements.
YouTube thumbnail size: 1280 x 720 pixels
YouTube thumbnails are useful for generating interest and encouraging your audience to watch your video. Ensure these are clear and enticing.
TikTok
TikTok has been dominating Social Media for short videos and allows you to reach new audiences. Captions are a central part of TikTok, whether it be for comedic or informational purposes – so it’s important to ensure these are not cropped out.
TikTok profile photo: 20 x 20 pixels
TikTok profile photos are small so it is important to ensure these are clear and easily identifiable as being your brand.
TikTok video size: 1080 x 1920 pixels (1:1 or 9:16)
TikTok video size is the same as Instagram reels which make it easier to repurpose the content.
Snapchat
Snapchat lets you connect with your audience and advertise to new markets. While snapchat content is temporary, it is still a great way to engage audiences – that’s why it is essential to consider sizing content correctly.
Snapchat ad image size: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16)
Snapchat full screen ads let you advertise to new audiences.
Snapchat Geofilter image size: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16)
Snapchat Geofilters are a fun way to encourage interaction and build brand awareness for your business.
Pinterest
If you use Pinterest for your business it is important to optimize your page regularly, it can be a great Social Media platform for driving referral traffic to your website. Remember to keep your content relevant to your board.
Pinterest profile image size: 165 x 165 pixels
You have the option to set up your Pinterest account through Facebook, Twitter or email. If you select Facebook or Twitter, Pinterest will use your profile picture from there. You can upload your own but keep in mind Pinterest will display it as a circle so keep the focus centered.
Pinterest post (or pin) image size: 236 pixel width or 660 pixel height (2:3)
Pinterest has a limit on the width of your image but not the length.
Google My Business
Google My Business is essential for businesses to drive customer engagement and manage reviews.
Google my business photos:
- Logo: 720 x 720 pixels
- Cover photo: 720 x 720 pixels
- Business photo: 720 x 720 pixels
These images may be the first impression potential customers get of your business. Take care to choose images that truly reflect your business.
How to create the current social media image sizes 2021
You now know the correct sizes you need, it’s time to adjust your images to fit in with the current social media image sizes. There are plenty of free tools available online to do so. Check out Canva, PicMonkey and Snappa for some examples of apps that make this easy for you.
