Up-To-Date Social Media Image Size Guide: Organic & Paid
The majority of businesses now know that publishing regular and relevant content to their social media channels is a crucial aspect of their marketing strategy. However, where many companies are sadly falling down, lies within their imagery and video content they’re publishing on these channels. More specifically, the social media image size that is shared is often wrong and suited to only one of their social channels.
So you can be sure your imagery is seen at its best quality to deliver strong engagement and ROI, we’ve created a handy up-to-date social media image size guide with all the dimensions and formats you might need.
This is a really comprehensive post, so if you’re looking for a specific social network, click a link below:
Whether you’re a keen Facebook user or not, you should know it’s the world’s largest social network, with over 1.18 billion monthly active users.
With that in mind, if you’re publishing mediocre imagery on Facebook, you’ll wave goodbye to a huge user base eager to engage with you and instead find your posts often ignored.
Remember: Across the board, it’s important to remember that the device you’re creating and editing your content on will often be different to the device the majority of users will use to view it. So, choose dimensions (based on our list of recommendations), that are the most suitable for where the majority of viewers will see your image.
Profile picture: 180 x 180 (Displays as 170 x 170 on Desktop)
Regardless of the social channel, your profile picture is generally the photo representing your business or brand online.
For Facebook, this is in square format and it appears pretty much everywhere, so it’s important you get it right. Users will see your profile picture on your timeline, when you post to other users’ walls, when you comment on posts or when you’re searched for on Facebook’s search function, also known as Facebook’s Open Graph if we get technical.
Image Guidelines:
- Photos must be a minimum of 180 x 180 pixels.
- Your profile picture will appear on the page as 170 x 170 pixels on a desktop and 128 x 128 on smartphones.
- Photo thumbnail will appear throughout Facebook at 32 x 32 pixels.
Business Page profile picture: 180 x 180 (Displays 170 x 170 on Desktop)
If you weren’t aware, Facebook recently changed its profile picture for Business Pages to appear in a slightly different location to the general “personal” account.
You can now find the profile image on the left side of the screen. This makes the Business Pages stand out so users can differentiate between the two. However, in terms of the dimensions, these are the same as a personal page profile picture.
Image Guidelines:
- Photos must be a minimum of 180 x 180 pixels.
- Your profile picture will appear on the page as 170 x 170 pixels on a desktop and 128 x 128 on smartphones.
- Photo thumbnail will appear throughout Facebook at 32 x 32 pixels.
- Business Page images will be cropped to a circular shape.
Cover photo: 820 x 312
Another important aspect of both a personal or business profile is your cover photo (also referred to as a header image on other social channels).
The cover image only appears on your Facebook timeline (i.e. your profile) and it’s a lot bigger than your profile picture. As a result, you get lots more creative freedom to paint yourself or your brand just how you’d like.
For personal accounts, post an image that speaks more toward you as an individual. Show people who you are, what you like or similar.
For businesses, utilise the space as best as possible by including things like relevant calls to actions, your brand logo, an enticing video about your products and services or similar.
Image Guidelines:
- The image appears on page at 820 x 312 pixels – anything less than this will lead to a stretched, pixelated version of your image.
- The minimum size is 400 x 150 pixels.
- The cover photo displays at 820 x 312 pixels on a desktop and 640 x 360 pixels on smartphones.
- For best results, upload an sRGB JPG file less than 100 KB.
- If the image you’re uploading is of a logo or contains text, it may be best as a PNG file – the same goes for all social channels.
- Business Page cover photo dimensions are exactly the same as personal accounts.
Shared Image: 1,200 x 630
Sharing images is one of, if not, the most common form of sharing content on Facebook. These images will appear on your timeline (when you have shared the content) and ideally, on your followers’ News Feeds.
Note, as you are scrolling through your own News Feed, you’ll see lots of other shared images from the people you are Facebook Friends with.
Did you know? Facebook decreased the amount of organic reach that posts get so it’s unlikely that all of your friends will see your post. In order to increase the chances of your content reaching more users, you must generate engagement. The higher the number of people engaging with your post, the more likely it is that the rest of your followers (and then, their followers), will see your content.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend that you upload images in the dimensions 1,200 x 630 pixels.
- Your shared image will appear in feed at a minimum width of 470 pixels and it will scale to a max of 1:1 ratio.
- Your shared image will appear on page at a maximum width of 504 pixels and it will scale to a max of 1:1 ratio.
Shared Link: 1,200 x 628
As well as sharing images and videos, you can share links too. This feature is particularly useful for businesses who want to promote a particular web page, product or similar to their followers.
However, Facebook doesn’t limit your shared links posts to contain only text. You can actually create a shared link with a large, rectangular image that is shown just above the link with the text underneath.
See the below example from ourselves, promoting our most recent blog post on A/B testing Facebook Ads.
Alternatively, you can create a shared link with an image that sits in a small square to the left with the text on the right.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend that you upload images in the dimensions 1,200 x 628 pixels.
- Rectangular Photo: Minimum 470 x 246 pixels in feed.
- Rectangular Photo: Minimum 484 x 252 pixels on the page.
- Square Photo: Minimum 154 x 154 pixels in feed.
Square Photo: Minimum 116 x 116 pixels on the page. - Facebook will scale photos under the minimum dimensions. For better results, increase image resolution at the same scale as the minimum size.
Highlighted image: 1,200 x 717 (Recommended)
Highlighted images are fairly new to Facebook and simply, are a great place to show off a special event or occasion related to your business. That could be your company’s first birthday, gaining your 100th employee or conquering a client milestone – you get the gist.
Image Guidelines
- The highlighted image will appear on your page at 843 x 504 pixels.
- We recommend that you choose a higher resolution at this sort of scale for optimum quality.
Event image: 1920 x 1080 (Recommended)
Many businesses fall short of using Facebook Events as it’s often an overlooked feature. You posted about the meet-up and created a paid advert, so that’s enough, right? However, Facebook Events are great for capturing the attention of users and cutting through the noise (like competitor’s sponsored posts), to reach your audience.
Reminders are sent to your audience regarding the event, so making the event image look as admirable as possible is key. Use a captivating image that really shouts about your event and people will be sure to attend.
Image Guidelines
- Facebook will scale down to minimum dimensions: 470 × 174 pixels.
- Your Facebook Event image will show in the feed as 470 × 174 pixels.
Facebook Ads
Facebook is commonly seen as the first platform that marketers consider when it comes to planning online paid advertising campaigns. Pretty much everyone can be found on the platform, including your existing customers and more importantly, prospective customers.
Just like organic social images, there are lots of places and formats you can choose to publish sponsored content to get in front of the people that matter most. Let’s take a look…
Facebook timeline ads: 1200 x 628 (Minimum)
Facebook timeline ads (or those that appear in the feed), make up the space that every advertiser is fighting for. It’s known as “the prime real estate for Facebook ads” to stand out.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend using image dimensions 1200 x 628 pixels.
- Timeline ads have a minimum width and height of 600 pixels.
- Upload the image in the highest resolution available in either JPG or PNG format.
- Images containing more than 20% text could increase the chances of a failed delivery or limited audience views.
Image Ad Character Limits
- Headline: 25 characters
- Text: 125 characters
- Link: 30 characters
Video Guidelines
- Upload the video at minimum dimensions as 600 x 315 for landscape and 600 x 600 for square content.
- Upload any video content in the formats MP4 and MOV at a maximum size of 4GB and length of 240 minutes.
Video Ad Character Limits
- Headline: 25 characters
- Link description: 30 characters
Facebook right column ads: 1200 x 628 (Minimum)
The right column ad is one of the most sought after spots for advertisers because of the results these ads generate. Though this type of ad is restricted to desktop only, it has been found to deliver high numbers of conversions and clicks and so, it’s important to nail this ad image to deliver maximum results.
Plus, it has been shown that this ad placement demands some of the highest CPC (cost per click) rates, so you don’t want to waste budget on a poor quality image here.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend using image dimensions 1200 x 628 pixels.
- Facebook right column ads have a minimum width and height of 600 pixels.
- Upload the image in the highest resolution possible and keep your text to a minimum following the same character limit rules as Facebook Feed ads.
- Recommended image formats include JPG and PNG.
- Images with 20% text or more could increase the chances of a failed delivery or limited audience views.
Whilst you’re here follow us on Facebook!
Generally, social posts that generate the best engagement contain image or video content and Twitter is no different, with image and video tweets performing the best in terms of likes, retweets and clickthroughs. That’s because they’re usually a lot more eye-catching, entertaining and informative for users.
With 313 million monthly active users, it’s a go-to channel for your consumers to discuss your brand and chat with you so it pays to get your images right on this platform.
Profile photo: 400 x 400 (Displays 200 x 200)
The first step is to get your profile photo nailed to a T. This is particularly important if you’re a business and you’re displaying your company logo – which we recommend. You’ll want to ensure it’s readable and doesn’t crop letters or words that will make it hard for users to recognise your business.
Your Twitter profile photo will be seen in multiple places on the site including on your page, in-stream and in who-to-follow suggestions. The image will display at its largest on your page and will then be scaled down slightly for the other two spots.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend using a Square Image of 400 x 400 pixels.
- Due to the scaling down of the image, we recommend the maximum file size to be 2 MB.
- Recommended image types include JPG, GIF or PNG.
Header photo: 1,500 x 500
When your users are on your page, they’ll then see your header photo. This is the large banner-like image that spans the top of your Twitter profile. It’s considerably bigger than your profile photo and so, needs to be uploaded at the highest possible resolution so that it looks professional and not over-pixelated.
Tip: Your header photo is most likely the first thing profile visitors will cast their eyes on. Make the image truly captivating and include calls to action where possible!
Image Guidelines
- We recommend using an image of 1,500 x 500 pixels.
- Although you want the image to be to a high resolution, the maximum recommended file size is 5 MB.
- Image types include: JPG, GIF or PNG.
In-Stream Photo: Minimum 1024 x 512 (2:1 Ratio)
An in-stream Twitter photo is the image that’s seen in Tweets on your page, the Twitter homepage and on other user’s pages in their Tweets.
Twitter used to have a slightly more strict image size, yet they now allow you to upload an image of any size within their maximum and minimum dimensions. Just keep in mind that Twitter will crop your image to fit their minimum width requirements.
Note: If you share a link with a featured image, you have the option to display the image as a “Twitter Card”. For these images, Twitter applies automatic renderings to display the image slightly smaller than other in-stream photos. See how to optimise for a Twitter Card, next.
Image Guidelines
- Minimum size to appear expanded 440 x 220 pixels (a 2:1 ratio).
- Maximum size to appear expanded 1024 x 512 pixels.
- You can tweet up to 4 images in one post and Twitter allows you to edit these images if tweeting from the Twitter app on iOS or Android.
- Your image will appear in-stream collapsed at 506 x 253 pixels on desktop.
- The maximum filesize for photos and animated GIFs is 5 MB on mobile and 15 MB on the web.
Twitter Card: 280 x 150
Image Guidelines
- The image should be at least 120 x 120 pixels and no more than 1MB.
- You have a character limit of 70 characters for the title and 200 characters for the description.
- Use it to show off the latest deal on your eCommerce Store, promote a blog article or highlight a new product or range.
Whilst you’re here follow us on Twitter!
If you didn’t already gather, Instagram is a humongous social media marketing platform known for its photo-sharing. It has more than 600 million users worldwide and so, it’s the best place to get your visuals in front of the masses.
On Instagram, you can upload horizontal and vertically-orientated images as well as those in square format. Inevitably, getting your image dimensions correct is a little trickier…
Profile Photo: 320 x 320
Your profile photo on Instagram is displayed as a circle. Ensure that you are uploading the image in a square format which scales correctly to avoid your logo or any text on the image being cropped during upload.
Image Guidelines
- This image appears on your profile at 110 x 110 pixels though the image is stored at 320 x 320 pixels. Upload it at this size to future-proof your profile photo.
- Upload it as a square photo: make sure to maintain an aspect ratio of 1:1.
Photo Thumbnails: 161 x 161 on mobile
When you look at your profile page, you’ll see all of your images in a grid format with 3 columns. Each image is in a strict square proportion regardless of the image size – they’re thumbnails.
These smaller renditions of your images and video content will then scale to the original upload size once clicked on. When viewed at full size, you’ll also see the image caption, number of likes, comments and be prompted to leave your own comment.
Image Guidelines
- The thumbnails will appear on the page at 161 x 161 pixels.
- Thumbnails are displayed as a square photo: make sure to maintain an aspect ratio of 1:1 ratio.
- Note that with screen size varying, the recommended pixels of 161 x 161 are the smallest it’ll be shown.
Post Photo: 1080 x 1080
The main photo size for Instagram posts is a square image of 1080 x 1080 pixels. However, Instagram has evolved its platform to allow longer or wider rectangular images to be posted with a strict width of 1080 pixels. That way, you can post portrait or landscape photos without them being cropped to a square.
However, it’s important to remember that Instagram will crop this image to a square aspect when displaying it on your profile meaning vital content could be missed in the thumbnail.
Image Guidelines
- The size of Instagram images has been increased to 1080 x 1080 pixels.
- Instagram still scales these photos down to 612 x 612 pixels and they appear in feed at 510 x 510 pixels.
- Square or rectangle photos: make sure to maintain an aspect ratio between 1.91:1 and 4:5.
- For portrait (4:5) photos, recommended dimensions are 1080 x 1350 pixels.
- Smaller featured header images appear as 204 x 204 pixels, and larger featured header images appear as 409 x 409 pixels.
Instagram Stories: 1080 x 1920
Instagram Stories are a growing feature within the Instagram app. They are a popular source of quick-time content, offering image or video content with a post time that’s temporary – 24 hours to be exact.
Image Guidelines
- The recommended resolution is 1080 x 1920 pixels and the minimum resolution is 600 x 1067 pixels.
- Aspect ratio is 9:16.
- The maximum file size is 4GB.
Instagram Ads
If you’re not already, you should seriously consider advertising on Instagram. It’s great for marketing your business; helping to boost your engagement, build brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, and even generate sales.
So, you need to make sure the dimensions of your Instagram Ads are correct for the best possible display.
Image Guidelines
- Landscape: 1080 by 566 pixels
- Square: 1080 by 1080 pixels
- Minimum width: 320 pixels
- Maximum width: 1080 pixels
- Supported aspect ratios: anywhere between 1.91:1 and 4:5
- Instagram stories ads: 1080 x 1920 pixels
Did you know that the exact dimensions of stories are highly dependant on the device they’re displayed on? Instagram recommends leaving roughly “14% (250 pixels) of the top and bottom of the image free from text and logos” to prevent them from being covered as the screen size of Androids to iPhones differ.
Whilst you’re here follow us on Instagram!
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, allowing you to source great employees and connect with other industry leaders – 476 million in total.
On this channel, you can have a personal profile and a company profile. For each, the image dimensions change slightly.
Personal Profile Image Dimensions:
Personal profile photo: 400 x 400 (Recommended)
Due to the recent updates, LinkedIn has now separated personal profiles by making the profile images slightly different in layout to those on company pages.
A personal profile photo is the main image that represents you and is the most prominent image that visitors see when looking at your profile.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend using 400 x 400 and 20,000 x 20,000 pixels.
- Minimum 200 x 200 pixels and a maximum file size 10MB.
- Recommended image types include JPG, GIF or PNG.
Personal Background Image: 1584 x 396
LinkedIn’s personal background image is another new feature that’s been added to enhance your personal page. Due to the layout of the profile image, it’s a little trickier to find something that perfectly suits this space – so stick to our guidelines.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend using the pixels 1584 x 396.
- Maximum file size of 4MB.
- Recommended image types include JPG, PNG or GIF.
Company Profile Image Dimensions:
Company Logo Image: 300 x 300
LinkedIn allows businesses to upload two different styles of logo image. The first is the bigger of the two and shows next to your brand name on the LinkedIn homepage. Make this photo as enticing as possible to ensure you’re generating clickthroughs and most importantly, new followers.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend using 300 x 300 pixels.
- Minimum 300 x 300 pixels and the maximum file size is 4MB (Square layout).
- Image types include PNG, JPG or GIF.
Square Logo: 60 x 60
The square logo is the business image that appears up when your company is searched for. You want to make this image not only enticing but filled with your branding. You want your customers to instantly recognise that this is your company.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend using 60 x 60 pixels (resized to fit).
- The maximum file size is 2MB.
- Image types include PNG, JPG or GIF.
Company Cover Image: 1536 x 768 (Recommended)
Unlike the new personal background image, the company cover image takes up all of the top of the page. It appears much larger than the personal cover image so you get more space to shout about your company. After all, it is a business social networking site.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend an image size of 1536 x 768 pixels.
- The minimum size should be 1192 x 220 with a maximum file size of 4MB.
- Your company cover image will appear as 1400 x 425 pixels.
- Image types include PNG, JPG or GIF.
Banner Image for Company Pages: 646 x 220 (Minimum)
As well as a company cover image, LinkedIn allows for banner images for company pages. This image is what the user sees when they visit your brand’s homepage. Again, it’s located at the top of the page and visitors who see this image often are those who are intentionally looking for you. As a result, this image should be top-quality to really reel them in.
Image Guidelines
- The minimum image size is recommended at 646 x 220 pixels.
- Maximum 2MB.
- Landscape Layout.
- Image types include PNG, JPG or GIF.
Hero Image: 1128 x 376
LinkedIn is known for recruiting employees and so, there is a whole section on the channel where you can find career opportunities at your company. This page is home to another banner image – the Hero Image is the biggest and ‘baddest’ of them all.
Use this space to choose a picture that lets your company shine and more importantly, entices prospective employees to join you.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend images of 1128 x 376 pixels.
- Minimum 1128 x 376 pixels and maximum file size of 2MB.
- Landscape Layout.
- Image types include PNG, JPG or GIF.
Shared Image or Link: 1104 x 736 (Recommended)
Shared images and images within links are best at the above-recommended size. They are found within your LinkedIn posts on your page, on the feed and on other company and users profile pages.
However, if you are sharing images you have a bit more room to increase to the maximum dimensions.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend images or links to be 1104 x 736 pixels though they appear at 552 x 289 pixels.
- Maximum size for shared images only: 1104 x 736
- Image types include JPEG, JPG or GIF.
Pinterest is another highly popular social network that is predominantly based on the sharing of images. It’s perfect for driving referral traffic to your site and with 90% of Pinterest pages including external links, it’s crucial that you optimise these images to the desired dimensions.
Profile Picture: 165 x 165
If you have set up your Pinterest account using Twitter or Facebook credentials, Pinterest will cleverly pull through your current profile picture on this channel to your new Pinterest account.
However, it’s important to ensure that it’s of high quality and doesn’t get pixelated in order to give visitors the best first impression of your Pinterest page.
Upload your own photos in square format and make sure it’s large and of high resolution. Pinterest will resize it to fit.
Image Guidelines
- Appears at 165 x 165 pixels on the home page.
- Appears at 32 x 32 pixels across the rest of Pinterest.
- Maximum file size of 10 MB.
- Image types include: JPG and PNG for profile pictures.
Pin Sizes
When adding a pin to your board, you will notice that the width of the image is limited but not the length. This gives you the opportunity to add a photo that’s square or one that will scale to be even taller depending on how much information you need to display.
Tip: Make sure you are only creating an image with a greater length if it warrants it. You shouldn’t be doing it for the sake of it.
Image Guidelines
- Pins on the main page appear as 236 pixels (height is scaled).
- Pins on a board appear as 236 pixels (height is scaled).
- Expanded pins have a minimum width of 600 pixels (height is scaled).
- It’s recommended to use an image aspect ratio of 2:3 to 1:3.5
Board Display
The board display is referring to how your various “boards” (folders of pins) look. Boards are vital to ensure that users can easily navigate your categories to sort through your many pins and find content that is useful and relevant to their wants and needs.
As a result, these photos should be enticing as well as super simple and accurate to the pins that are included within the board.
Image Guidelines
- We recommend using 222 x 150 pixels for a large thumbnail.
- We recommend using 55 x 55 pixels for a smaller thumbnail.
YouTube
YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google with more than 1 billion unique users every month. It poses a great opportunity for businesses to reach their fan-base whether that’s through their channel or an influencer’s.
Channel Profile Image: 800 x 800
YouTube is the only social networking site that we’ll mention that allows you to pick and choose what type of border you’d like for your channel’s profile image. You can have a square, circle or square-overlay style.
Image Guidelines:
- We recommend the image to be 800 x 800 pixels.
- Displays as 98 x 98 pixels.
- Image types: JPEG, GIF, BMP or PNG.
Channel Cover Photo: 2,560 x 1440
Your Channel Cover photo is where you can shout about your content – it’s one of the first places your audiences’ eyes will be drawn to when they visit your profile.
It’s important to include calls to action, branding, your logo, discounts and similar promotions, in this space. You’re trying to entice the viewer to stay on your page longer and browse your video content.
Image Guidelines:
- We recommend the image to be between 2560 x 1440 pixels.
- Safe area for mobile and web (without text and logo cropping) 1546 x 423 pixels.
- Maximum file size: 4MB.
- Image types: JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG.
Across Different Devices: Display Options
Display options vary across the different devices which you watch YouTube on. That includes iPhone, Android, iPads, other tablets, desktop and more.
It’s important that your images are optimised for each device so that you are catering to all of your viewers on every platform they watch your content on.
Display Sizes:
- Tablet display: 1,855 x 423.
- Mobile display: 1,546 x 423.
- TV display: 2,560 x 1,440.
- Desktop: 2,560 x 423 (1,546 x 423 pixels are always visible). Flexible Area (may be visible): 507 pixels to the left and 507 pixels to the right of the safe area.
Video Uploads: 1280 x 720 (Minimum HD)
YouTube is for video content and so, this is by far the most important factor to consider when thinking of your dimensions, file sizes and content quality.
There are multiple types of videos you can create, may they be product-focused, a chatty interview, store tour or similar. Each type of video will need to be optimised to give great quality sound and visuals.
Video Guidelines:
- Videos must maintain a 16:9 aspect ratio.
- In order to qualify as full HD, your dimensions must be at least 1,280 x 720 pixels.
Tip: If you’d like more help optimising your YouTube content, visit the YouTube Help Centre, here.
Snapchat
Snapchat is a multimedia messaging app used globally. It’s considerably different to marketing on the other popular social media sites and with that, marketers can often disregard it.
However, with approximately 191 million daily active users, 10 billion daily video views and 76% of these Snapchat users being online shoppers, it’s super important to consider it for your business.
Snapchat ads image size: 1080 x 1920 (recommended)
Snapchat ad images are the perfect place to advertise your business on a global scale. As a result, you’ll want to include lots of text to add more context to your advertisement as you’ll be reaching lots of people who won’t necessarily be aware of your business.
Image Guidelines
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
Snapchat Geo-filter image size: 1080 x 1920 (recommended)
Geo-filters are the filters that appear when a user takes a photo near your businesses location. All photos taken within the app are of the same ratio as Instagram Stories, 1080 x 1920 pixels.
Image Guidelines:
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Custom geo-filters must be created in 1080 x 1920 pixels to be applied properly on a photo taken within the app.
Summary
Now you know the correct, up-to-date image dimensions for these 7 popular social networking sites, you can be sure to give the best impression of your brand through your image content. If you’d like any extra help with social media marketing, get in touch!