Social Media Image Sizes Guide – 2018
Welcome to the messy world of Social Media image sizes. With all platforms having different specs, we’ve put together this handy guide to find the right dimensions for your profile.
If you’re in a hurry and want to jump to a specific platform, you can do so below:
- Facebook (profile picture, cover media, link sharing post, regular post)
- Instagram (profile picture, Instagram post, Instagram story)
- Twitter (profile picture, cover media, tweet)
- YouTube (profile picture, cover media, video thumbnail)
- LinkedIn (profile picture, cover media, regular post)
This social behemoth caters for everyone, from world-class brands to local community groups. Follow these guidelines to ensure your content always stays looking professional.
Profile Picture
Does your logo stand out from the crowd? This is your opportunity to showcase your brand across all of Facebook as your posts, business page, and ads will all display this.
- At least 180 x 180 pixels
- May show anywhere between 36 x 36 pixels in size, to 180 x 180 pixels, depending on placement.
- Should be able to be recognisable at small sizes (refrain from using small text.
Cover Media
Your cover media is displayed at the top of your page, directly next to your profile picture. Remember, your profile picture no longer appears on top of your cover media, so you can use the canvas to your full advantage. Cover media can either be an image, or a video clip.
- Standard size of 820 x 312 pixels.
- Images should be uploaded as an sRGB JPG file below 100kb.
- Videos must be between 20-90 seconds long, and may contain audio.
Link Sharing Post
You’ve found or written a kick-ass blog – now you just need to share it to the world! Facebook is arguably the best platform for this, given its automatic formatting for shared links, as well as how easy it is for your post to be shared amongst friends. Now, Facebook will automatically pull the featured image from your shared link, but if you want to change this, use these guidelines.
- Standard size of 1200 x 630 pixels.
- Will display with a width of between 470-504 pixels.
Standard Post
When it comes to posting images, you have a few options. However, whatever you choose make sure you remain consistent, as there’s nothing worse than a messy feed. Either use the same dimensions of your link sharing posts, or upload images as a square.
- Rectangle (link sharing) post size of 820 x 312 pixels.
- Square post size of 1080 x 1080 pixels.
Instagram’s shaping up to be one of the biggest social platforms of 2018, especially with the increasing use of their Stories feature. Here’s how to make your feed perfect.
Profile Picture
Instagram is part of the ever-growing list of social platforms using round over rectangle for their profile picture, so be sure yours is optimised for this.
- 161 x 161 pixels.
Instagram Post
Square, square, everywhere. Your great-looking feed is made possible through this tiled format. Although you can upload images of different sizes, all your content will be cropped into the same aspect ratio when appearing on your profile.
- 1080 x 1080 pixels.
- Will display between 510 x 510 pixels and 612 x 612 pixels.
Instagram Story
It’s time to stay up with the cool kids – cowabunga dude! Instagram Stories are the place to be in 2018, so here’s how to nail them.
- Standard of 1080 x 1920 pixels.
- May be uploaded at a minimum of 600 x 1067 pixels, with an aspect ratio of 9:16.
The turbulent world of Twitter has the potential to make or break a personality/brand in an instant – so it’s not the place for mistakes when posting. Here’s how to get it right.
Profile Picture
Your profile picture appears everywhere across Twitter – from the tweets you send out, comments you write, retweets you push, to your profile page. And just like Instagram, Twitter has embraced the round profile look. So get your image optimised, according to our guidelines.
- Standard size 400 x 400 pixels.
- Try keep your file size as low as possible, however, Twitter allows up to 2MB.
Cover Media
Unfortunately, Twitter doesn’t currently support videos for cover media, so be sure to use an image that stands out and represents your brand.
- Standard size of 1500 x 500 pixels.
- Twitter allows a file size of up to 5MB.
Tweet
This goldmine of 280 characters can be built upon with a great image.
- Recommended size of 440 x 220 pixels.
- Twitter may hide part of your photo in-feed, so make sure to always keep to a 2:1 ratio.
YouTube
Where the world goes to watch videos – as long as your thumbnail look eye-catching.
Profile Picture
YouTube is unique in its mixture of profile picture types – as both square and round images are displayed according to the platform you are viewing from. As such, it’s important to get your profile optimised for all of your audience.
- Standard size of 800 x 800 pixels.
- Can show as small as 98 x 98 pixels, so make sure elements such as text are easily readable.
Cover Media
This is the most complex of them all. YouTube crops your cover media according to your viewing platform, so it’s important to check that your artwork appears correctly across the board.
- Standard size of 2560 x 1440 pixels.
- Cropped/Displayed as:
- 1546 x 423 pixels on mobile
- 1855 x 423 on tablet
- 2560 x 423 on desktop
- 2560 x 1440 on TV
Video Thumbnails
Almost as attention-grabbing as a clickbait title, it pays to create a consistent look to reflect your brand.
- Standard size of 1280 x 720 pixels.
- Minimum size of 640 x 360 pixels.
In the words of the Flight of the Conchords, “it’s business time”. And with business hours open, let’s make sure your brand presence looks professional on the workplace platform.
Profile Picture
Your logo – displayed all across the platform from the highlights your employees share, to soon-to-be-employees looking for jobs.
- Standard size of 300 x 300 pixels.
- Resized down to 60 x 60 pixels in places (so make sure your logo is easily readable at this size).
Cover Media
This cover image (no video just yet) spreads across the width of the entire page, giving your brand great presence.
- Recommended size of 1400 x 425 pixels.
- Minimum size of 1190 x 220 pixels.
Regular Post
Working with LinkedIn you’ll soon understand they operate their dimensions in another dimension. Making sure your content fits the style of the site is very important.
- Recommended size of 1200 x 686 pixels.
Time for an example
We’ve been doing this for a while, so if you want to take a look at an exemplar of how to use different media dimensions well, check out our socials: