A Complete Guide To Different Social Media Design Formats
Imagine putting together the perfect content for your Instagram post only to discover that your poster needs to be bigger or more visually coherent for your followers. Why is there a need to perfect a social media post? Why do you need to ensure that people read it?
Three of the best reasons are for users to know your brand, engage with your post, and convert these prospects into paying customers. On top of that, you’d want your brand to succeed and be one of the 15% of online businesses that run for 15 years and beyond.
To that end, here we present a comprehensive roadmap to designing compelling visuals tailored to each social media platform, helping you enhance brand consistency, engagement, and reach.
Image Sizing Guidelines
Like other marketers who want their campaigns to succeed, you may also be relentlessly studying how to design for social media.
The first thing to know is this: Social media platforms often update their image size guidelines, so you must stay on top of these social media design changes to keep your posts relevant for your followers.
Here are the most recent image guidelines for different social media platforms.
1. Facebook
As a user-friendly and innovative platform, Facebook has established itself as the premiere social networking platform, with 3.07 billion active users today. This platform continuously upgrades its features to better serve its user base’s changing needs.
Brands should take advantage of Facebook to reach an expansive and diverse audience. The best thing about this platform is that it offers two-way communication between the brands and their followers. As such, it’s easier to deliver impeccable customer service and receive feedback for service.
To do well on this platform, consider the following image and video guidelines:
Profile and Cover Photos:
- Profile Picture: 176×176 pixels (desktop), 128×128 pixels (mobile). Aspect ratio: 1:1. Maximum resolution: 850×850 pixels
- Cover Photo: 820×312 pixels (desktop), 640×360 pixels (mobile). Aspect ratio: 16:9
- Cover Video: 820×462 pixels, 20-90 seconds
- Event Cover Photo: 1200×628 pixels, 2:1 aspect ratio
Newsfeed Posts:
- Image Post: 1200×630 pixels, 1.9:1 aspect ratio
- Video Post: 1080×1080 pixels (1:1), 4:5 (mobile). Maximum duration: 241 minutes. File formats: MP4, MOV, GIF. Maximum file size: 4GB
Stories:
- Video: Minimum width: 500 pixels. Aspect ratio: 9:16 or 1.91:1. Maximum file size: 4GB. Maximum duration: 120 seconds
- Image: 1080×1080 pixels (minimum). Aspect ratio: 9:16. File formats: JPG, PNG. Maximum file size: 30MB
Reels:
- Image: 1080×1080 pixels, 1.91:1 to 1:1. File formats: JPG, PNG. Maximum file size: 30MB
- Video: 500×888 pixels, 9:16 aspect ratio. File formats: MP4, MOV. Maximum duration: 90 seconds. Maximum file size: 4GB
Ads:
- Square Image Ads: 1080×1080 pixels (recommended), 1:1 aspect ratio
- Carousel Ads: 1080×1080 pixels (recommended), 1:1 aspect ratio
- Collection Ads: 1080×1080 pixels (recommended), 1:1 aspect ratio
- Right Column Ads: 1080×1080 pixels (recommended), minimum 254×133 pixels
- Landscape Image Ads: 1200×628 pixels, 1.91:1 aspect ratio
- Vertical Image Ads: 1080×1350 pixels, 4:5 aspect ratio
- Facebook Stories Ads: 1080×1920 pixels, 9:16 aspect ratio
- Video Ads: 1080×1080 pixels (1:1), 4:5 (mobile). Maximum duration: 240 minutes. Maximum file size: 4GB
- Instant Experience Full-Screen Image: 1080×1920 pixels, 1.91:1 to 1:1 aspect ratio
2. Instagram (IG)
This visually driven social media platform offers an intuitive interface that allows the blending of professional and personal content. Businesses should leverage its popularity to reach and engage with a broader user base while humanizing their brand and promoting their products.
As an Instagram marketer, you should regularly look for better social media post design ideas to engage your audience. You can use IG features like Shopping, Reels, and Stories to convert your followers into paying customers.
Consider these sizing guidelines to perform better on Instagram.
Profile and Highlights:
- Profile Picture: 320×320 pixels. This square image is displayed as your avatar. Use a high-resolution image
- Thumbnail: 161×161 pixels
- Story Highlights Cover: 161×161 pixels
Newsfeed Posts:
- Square Format: 1080×1080 pixels
- Landscape Format: 1080×566 pixels
- Portrait Format: 1080×1350 pixels
- Aspect Ratio: 1.91:1 (landscape), 1:1 (square), 4:5 (vertical)
- Recommended Dimensions: Width: 1080 pixels, Height: 566-1350 pixels
Stories, Reels, and Stories Ads:
- Dimensions: 1080×1920 pixels
- Aspect Ratio: 9:16
- Maximum File Size: 30MB
IGTV:
- Dimensions: 1920×1080 pixels
- Aspect Ratio: 1:1.55
- Cover Photo: 420×654 pixels
3. LinkedIn
LinkedIn caters to job seekers and employers, unlike the platforms mentioned previously. It’s a highly influential platform for promoting brands, sharing business insights, and nurturing professional networks. Over the years, LinkedIn has proved itself to be a trusted platform where professionals can engage with brands.
Here are the image and design guidelines you must know to stand out on LinkedIn:
Personal Profile:
- Profile Picture: 400×400 pixels. Maximum upload size: 7680×4320 pixels, 8MB
- Cover Image: 1584×396 pixels, 4:1 aspect ratio
Company Page:
- Company Logo: 300×300 pixels
- Cover Image: 1128×191 pixels
- Life Tab Featured Images: Main image: 1128×376 pixels. Company photos: 900×600 pixels, Custom modules image: 502×282 pixels
- Square Logo: Minimum 60×60 pixels
Newsfeed Posts:
- LinkedIn Post: 1080×1080 pixels (square), 1920×1080 pixels (vertical)
- Blog Post Link Image: 1200×628 pixels, 1.91:1 aspect ratio
- LinkedIn Stories: 1080×1920 pixels
- LinkedIn Carousel: PDF
- Video Post: Minimum resolution: 256×144 pixels, Maximum resolution: 4096×2304 pixels, File size: 75KB-200MB, Maximum duration: 10 minutes
Ads:
- Company Ads Logo: 100×100 pixels (recommended)
- Spotlight Ads Background: 300×250 pixels (recommended)
- Sponsored Content Images: 1200×627 pixels, 1.91:1 aspect ratio
- Sponsored Carousel Images: 1080×1080 pixels, 1:1 aspect ratio
4. TikTok
As of July this year, TikTok has amassed 10.4 billion active users worldwide. This creativity hub is also a frontier for groundbreaking marketing. Thus, it’s highly beneficial for brands to tailor their marketing content to conform with the platform’s predominantly young target market. To maximize engagement and maintain consistency, businesses can schedule social media posts that align with TikTok’s trends and active user hours.
Considering the following guidelines to pique the interests of TikTok’s young user base:
Video Size:
- Full-Screen Vertical: 1080 x 1920 pixels (optimum image size), 9:16 (aspect ratio)
- Square : 1080 x 1080, 1:1
- Landscape: 1920 x 1080, 16:9
Image Optimization for Quality and Visibility:
- File Type: JPEG or. PNG
- Compression: Normal (avoid over-compression)
- Brightness and Contrast: Enough to make images pop
Text and Branding Elements:
- Visibility: Large and bold texts
- Brevity: Keep text succinct
- Placement: Keep text unobscured by the platform’s UI elements
5. Pinterest
This platform’s image-centric approach helps users find, collect, and share inspiring and valuable visual content.
It’s effective for branding and product promotion due to its appeal to visual learners. It acts as a virtual storefront, driving traffic to business websites through image links.
Its user demographics, mainly women with purchasing power, make it a suitable platform for targeting this audience. Pinterest analytics offer valuable insights into a brand’s reach, aiding in refining marketing strategies.
Make the most of this platform by adhering to its image and video sizing guidelines:
Profile and Boards:
- Profile Picture: 165×165 pixels
- Cover Photo: 800×450 pixels
Newsfeed Posts:
- Image Pin: 1000×1500 pixels (2:3), 1000×1000 pixels (1:1), 1000×2100 pixels (1:2.1)
- Story Pin: 1080×1920 pixels
- Infographic: 1000×3000 pixels, 1:3 aspect ratio
- File Types: PNG, JPEG
- File Size: 20MB (desktop), 23MB (mobile)
Ads:
- Ad Image Pin: 1000×1500 pixels, 2:3 aspect ratio. Maximum file size: 20MB (desktop), 23MB (in-app)
- Carousel Ads: 1:1 or 2:3 aspect ratio. Maximum file size: exceeds 20MB—maximum 5 photos per carousel
- Video Pin: 1:1 (square), 9:16 (vertical), or 2:3 aspect ratio. File types: MOV, MP4, M4V. Maximum file size: 2GB. Video length: 4-15 minutes
- App Pins: 1000×1500 pixels, 2:3 aspect ratio
- Shopping Ads: 1000×1500 pixels, 2:3 aspect ratio
Succeeding and thriving on these platforms is more than just knowing the answer to the question, “What is social media design?”
Tailoring your branding strategy to match each platform’s specific image and video sizing guidelines ensures your content is displayed correctly. It also helps you maintain brand consistency and improve engagement.
Adhering to these guidelines can boost your organic reach, as many platforms prioritize content following their rules. Presenting visually appealing and professional content can significantly upgrade the user experience and achieve your marketing objectives.
Overwhelmed? We gotchu, fam!
Whew! That’s a certainly a lot of information to take in. But don’t worry. Below you’ll find a handy infographic that summarizes what we covered in this post. So, bookmark this link or screenshot the infographic shoud you need a quick refresher on social media design formats anytime.
BrandCrowd offers user-friendly tools to create stunning social media designs optimized for each platform. Visit brandcrowd.com to streamline your social media design process.
Save or bookmark this cheat sheet for a quick reference when creating your social media content!
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