Your image size guide on social media

Size matters, or at least on social media. Social channels are visual led so making sure your assets are not too big and not too small can be daunting. To make things easier, we’ve rounded up what you need to know for the top four channels:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

But is there a one size fits all option? Unfortunately not, but there some tips we can share:

• Aim for assets with a width of 1200 pixels
• If in doubt, share square. While square images will be displayed with cropped thumbnails on Twitter feeds, Instagram loves them and they’re a safe bet for Facebook and LinkedIn.
• Stories provide an opportunity to fill the full screen. These need to be a ratio of 9:16 with a resolution of at least 1080 pixels wide by 1020 pixels tall to pack that punch.
• Ensure the most important elements of your image are central, in case of unexpected cropping
• If you’re sharing multiple images, the platform will crop the image thumbnails to make them work on their respective news feeds. When clicked you should be able to view them as a carousel, but this is something to be aware of if you need maximum impact.
• Clipped text on thumbnails NEVER looks good, so pay extra attention if your assets have text on them. If sharing assets with text on Instagram remember images on your profile are tiled – so text that’s not clipped on the feed may be clipped here if the image is not a square (1:1)
• Make sure your assets are JPG/JPEG/PNG files
• Cropping or scaling an image down that is too large is easy, but even with sophisticated tools like Photoshop digitally enlarging an image will result in less than crisp and clear results.
• Bookmark this page 

Instagram

Instagram Feed Guidelines

• Ideal aspect ratio 1:1
• Ideal width 1080 pixels
• Minimum width: 320 pixels
• Must be an aspect ratio between 4:5 or 1.91:1
• Multiple images appear in a carousel

Instagram Story Guidelines

• Ideal size: 1080 x 1920 pixels
• 9:16 aspect ratio

Facebook

• We recommend an aspect ratio of 3:2 for maximum screen dominance or 1:1 for versatility
• Ideal width 1200 pixels
• Minimum width: 500 pixels
• Can share any aspect ratio, however:
  • Portrait images taller than 3:2 will be cropped on the feed (but display in full when clicked)
  • Landscape images are not cropped, but will shrink in height to fit
• Multiple images will be tiled with thumbnails
• The size limit for an upload is 30 MB

Facebook Story Guidelines

• Ideal size: 1080 x 1920 pixels
• 9:16 aspect ratio

Twitter

• Recommended aspect ratio 16:9
• Ideal image size: 1024 x 515 pixels
• Minimum width: 600 pixels
• If the ratio is larger than (16:9) the image will be cropped on the news feed
• If the ratio is larger it will be displayed in full when the image is clicked
• Multiple images will be tiled with thumbnails
• Maximum file size of 5 MB for photos or 15 MB on a desktop

Twitter Fleets

• Ideal size: 1080 x 1920 pixels
• 9:16 aspect ratio

LinkedIn

• We recommend an aspect ratio of 2:3 for maximum screen dominance or 1:1 for versatility
• Ideal width: 1200 pixels
• Minimum width: 552 pixels
• Minimum height: 276 pixels
• The image frame ratio ranges from 3:1 to 2:3. If the ratio is larger, the image will be centred and cropped
• Multiple images will be tiled with thumbnails
• The size limit for an upload is 5 MB

LinkedIn Stories:

• Ideal size: 1080 x 1920 pixels
• 9:16 aspect ratio

Need help with your organic social media? We can audit your channels to show you what’s working, what’s not and what opportunities you’re missing! To make sure you’re getting the most from your social channels get in touch with Fox&Bear on 01283 208 913.