Calling all creatives! How are you staying up to date with the ever-changing standards of social media posting? We want you to look no further! We have done the research for you! Get a glimpse inside of NMCO’s social media toolkit. Impress your clients with these facts about the platforms their customers interact with the most.
Instagram prioritizes photos and videos on its platform, which include;
- Single Posts
- Carousels
- Reels
- Stories
- And IG Lives
A couple of key points to always consider before posting to Instagram is:
- Instagram will resize all the photos you attach in a carousel based on the aspect ratio of the first photo. What does this mean? If the images or graphics you decide to post are all different sizes, Instagram will simply crop your images or graphics to fit one size! It is always best practice to post images or graphics that are all the same aspect ratio to avoid any weird cropping to happen.
- The max amount of photos or videos you can post on a single carousel is 20!
- Your grid on your profile is now resized to a 4:5 aspect ratio. What does this mean? Before your grid was sized to be a 1:1 aspect ratio, which was a perfect square. With its latest update, it is now at a 4:5 aspect ratio, which means any post going forward should be fitted with that aspect ratio.
- What is the 4:5 aspect ratio in pixels? We recommend 1080×1350
- Be sure that your videos are no larger than 4GB.
We recommend following these size guidelines to ensure that your photos are not cropped or distorted when posting.
- Profile Picture: 320×320 aspect ratio of 1:1
- Highlights Cover: 161×161 aspect ratio of 1:1
- Single Posts: 1080×1350 aspect ratio of 4:5
- IGTV: 1920×1080 aspect ratio of 16:9
- Reels and Stories: 1080×1920 aspect ratio of 9:16
- Be sure to only place your text and important information within the safe zones!
- Stories: need a cushion of 250px on the top and bottom of your graphic or image
- Reels: need a cushion of space 250px from the top, 350px from the bottom, and 193px from the right-hand side.
- Be sure to only place your text and important information within the safe zones!
Facebook is similar to Instagram as these platforms can be integrated into one another, however, there are some key differences that every graphic designer should take notice of.
- Keep PNG files below 1MB, otherwise they may appear pixelated.
- For best results, make sure your image is in JPG format, with RGB color, and less than 15MB.
- When sharing 2-10 images aim to have your images sized at 1200×1200.
- When you upload multiple photos to Facebook, the feed automatically arranges them into a grid and crops them based on the number of images in the post, disregarding their original aspect ratios.
- What does this mean? See the example below for a visual explanation!
We recommend following these size guidelines:
- Profile picture: 170×170 aspect ratio of 1:1
- Cover photo: 851×315 aspect ratio of 16:9
- Event cover photo: 1200×630 aspect ratio of 1:91:1
- Landscape post: 1200×630 aspect ratio of 1:91:1
- Square post: 1200×1200 aspect ratio of 1:1
- Reels and Stories: 1080×1920 aspect ratio of 9:16
- Be sure to only place your text and important information within the safe zones!
- Stories: need a cushion of 250px on the top and bottom of your graphic or image
- Reels: need a cushion of space 250px from the top, 350px from the bottom, and 193px from the right-hand side.
- Be sure to only place your text and important information within the safe zones!
LinkedIn is a great resource for businesses and professionals to connect with one another. Keep your LinkedIn content up to date with our recommendations.
- When posting image updates to your company page make sure they are PNG or JPG extensions.
- Photo files should be less than 8MB.
- Video file sizes must be between 75KB and 5GB.
- The max file size for documents is 100MB.
- The max amount of photos or videos on a single post is 20!
- When you upload multiple photos to LinkedIn, the feed automatically arranges them into a grid and crops them based on the number of images in the post, disregarding their original aspect ratios.
- What does this mean? See the example below for a visual explanation!
We recommend the following size guidelines:
- Company logo: 300×300 aspect ratio of 1:1
- Square logo: 60×60 aspect ratio of 1:1
- Page cover: 1128×191 aspect ratio of 5:91:1
- 1-2 images post: 1080×1080 aspect ratio of 1:1
- 3+ images post: 1200×628 aspect ratio of 1:91:1
x
X (formerly known as Twitter) is primarily known as a text-based social media platform, however, that should not stop you from incorporating images or graphics!
- Posts that include images consistently get more click-throughs, more likes, and more reposts than non-image posts! Posts with visual content are three times more likely to get engagement.
- The max file size for a video is 8GB.
- The max file size for the profile, header, and post image file is 5MB.
- When you upload multiple photos to X, the feed automatically arranges them into a grid and crops them based on the number of images in the post, disregarding their original aspect ratios.
- What does this mean? See the example below for a visual explanation!
We recommend the following size guidelines:
- Profile picture: 400×400 aspect ratio of 1:1
- Header photo: 1500×500 aspect ratio of 3:1
- Post: 1080×1080 aspect ratio of 1:1
Google My Business
Google My Business is a great free tool available to all businesses to help manage their online presence.
- Uploading more photos allows you to spotlight features of your business that matter to customers when they’re making a purchase decision.
- Your videos need to be no longer than 30 seconds and have a file size of 100MB.
- Photos should have a file size between 10KB-5MB.
We recommend the following size guidelines:
- Cover photo: 1080×608 aspect ratio of 135:76
- Logo: 250×250 aspect ratio of 1:1
- Video: 1920×1080 aspect ratio of 16:9
- Post graphic: 1080×608 aspect ratio of 16:9
YouTube
Lastly, YouTube is a video-based platform that is great for building community through stories. Here are our tips for video-based brand exposure.
- Profile photos should have a max file size of 4MB with a file extension of PNG or GIF.
- A cover photo max file size should be 6MB with a file extension PNG or GIF.
- A YouTube video file size should be 256GB.
- Frame rates supported are between 24 and 60 frames per second.
- Avoid letterboxing and pillar boxing by using the recommended 16:9 aspect ratio. This is 1920×1080 pixels!
- What is pillar boxing? Pillar boxing is a technique in video editing that adds black bars to the sides of a video in order to make the video fit onto a larger screen.
- What is letterboxing? Similar to pillar boxing, letterboxing is a technique used in video editing that adds black bars to the top or bottom in order for the video to be filmed without being distorted.
We recommend the following size guidelines:
- Profile picture: 800×800 aspect ratio of 1:1
- Video: 1920×1080 aspect ratio of 9:16
- Thumbnail: 1920×1080 aspect ratio of 9:16
- Shorts: 1080×1920 aspect ratio of 16:9
- Cover photo: 2560×1440 aspect ratio of 16:9
Stay ahead with the latest social media dimensions and sizing guidelines to keep your content looking sharp and professional. No more blurry images or awkward crops, just perfectly polished posts that reflect your client’s brand. Don’t forget to bookmark this page or download our Social Media Sizing Template for quick, easy reference!
