Over 90% of internet users want to see more video content from their favorite brands. Additionally, two-thirds of consumers prefer learning about new products and services via short-form videos, rather than text and other mediums [1].
Consumers don’t just crave clips, however, but images as well. Nearly half of all marketing professionals use both pictures and videos to appeal to a wider range of clientele and drum up more business [2].
As social media platforms continually change their guidelines regarding video and image size, more and more brands are adding stretched, shrunken, or distorted posts to their feeds. This guide will cover the correct social media sizing rules for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn in 2024 so your followers get the whole picture as they browse your pages.
Best Sizes for Facebook Reels and Standard Video Posts
Facebook enjoys up to 200 billion hits on Reels on a daily basis [3]. That’s a lot of potential viewership for your products, ideas, and creativity. If your videos are too zoomed in, small, or distorted, users will likely scroll by to the next post.
As of June 2024, Facebook’s official guidelines for posting Reels include [4]:
- Keeping them between three and 60 seconds
- Using .mp4 format
- Shooting in a minimum resolution of 1080p
- Maintaining a 9:16 aspect ratio on iOS or your screen’s aspect ratio on Android devices
Reels aren’t the only kind of clips you can use to reach your Facebook followers. Businesses can (and should) also post standard videos to their feeds and pages—but the size of these videos varies depending on exactly where they’ll be hosted. For example [5]:
- Your Facebook feed
- Marketplace
- Facebook in-stream
- Stories
Can all support multiple aspect ratios, including [5]:
- Horizontal 16:9
- Square 1:1
- Portrait 4:5
- Vertical 9:16
Facebook stories can also support an aspect ratio of 1.91:1. Meanwhile, videos within search results are limited to 1:1 squares.
The maximum length of Facebook videos also varies as follows [5]:
- On Feed, Marketplace, and within search results – 240 minutes
- On Stories and In-Stream – 120 seconds
Facebook Image Size Guide for Business and Event Page Covers
Posting a captivating cover image lets browsers on your page know about your brand, personality, and creative flair. But, if it ends up stretched and skewed, they’re not going to be able to tell what it is.
Thankfully, Facebook lays out some clear guidelines for posting the perfect cover image [6]:
- Cover photos are displayed at 830 x 312 pixels on computers and 640 x 360 on mobile
- The minimum size for any cover image is 400 x 150—though these dimensions may lead to some distortion
- Cover photos load best as an sRBG JPG image that’s 851 x 315 pixels and under 100 kilobytes
Likewise, if you’re hosting a riveting event and want to include a charming cover photo on its Facebook page, they load best at 1920 x 1005 pixels—so stick to that size for maximum resolution [7].
How to Size Instagram Reels, Story Posts, Videos, and Regular Photos
With the third most daily users of any social media site and the perfect platform for videos, images, and more, you’re not going to want amateur, missized posts on your Instagram page [8].
When it comes to stories and Reels, your best bet is to maintain a 16:9 aspect ratio and use images and videos sized 1080 x 1920 pixels. Keep in mind that their maximum lengths do vary, however: stories top out at 15 seconds while Reels can contain up to a minute of content [9].
If you’re posting regular photos and videos to your feed, their ideal size depends on their orientation [9]:
- Square posts – Square pictures and videos maintain a 1:1 aspect ratio and are best posted at 1080 x 1080 pixels for maximum quality.
- Portrait – Instagram recommends posting portraits with a 4:5 aspect ratio and a resolution of 1080 x 1350 pixels.
- Landscape – If you’re flipping your phone sideways to snap pics or record video, be sure to post them at 1080 x 566 pixels with a 1.91:1 aspect ratio.
Check out this Reel we made for Penn-Lee Footwear.
Ideal Dimensions for LinkedIn Videos, Photos, and Business Profile Cover Images
Last but certainly not least, let’s discuss the ideal photo and video dimensions for everyone’s favorite professional networking platform: LinkedIn.
When it comes to posting videos, LinkedIn is pretty lenient about its guidelines. They allow a variety of dimensions depending on your chosen orientation and aspect ratio, but these are the maximum recommended (and thus, clearest resolutions) they support [10]:
- Vertical videos with 4:5 aspect ratios – 1536 x 1920 pixels
- Vertical videos with 9:16 aspect ratios – 1080 x 1920 pixels
- Landscape videos with 16:9 aspect ratios – 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Square videos with 1:1 aspect ratios – 1920 x 1920 pixels
When it comes to posting photos, what you’re posting dictates its ideal size. When using your company logo as a profile photo, for instance, your best bet is a 300×300 pixel square. Meanwhile, the background image that gives your page character and life displays most clearly at 1584 x 396 pixels [11].
If you’re having trouble resizing images to fit perfectly into these dimensions—or want to upgrade your graphic and video production with the help of some visionary masterminds—don’t just call any marketing agency. Instead, collaborate with the most artistically skilled and technologically savvy creative agency in Northeast Pennsylvania (NEPA) and beyond… Coal Creative.
Confide in Coal Creative for All Your Video, Graphic, and Social Media Marketing Needs
At Coal Creative, we have our finger on the pulse of modern marketing and rapid technological advancement. Every time a leading social media site changes its posting guidelines, we’re there to create ads that leverage these new rules for maximum exposure.
When an emerging platform rises in popularity, we get to work optimizing our marketing techniques to adjust to its growing potential. And when a new collaborator approaches us with dreams of social media success, we put our full attention and brainpower towards enhancing their online presence.
From creating Reels, graphics, and posts for every popular platform to crafting paid advertising campaigns, we’re your trusted partner for social media marketing and growth. Request a proposal to see exactly what Coal can do for your social media presence—perfectly-sized pictures and videos are just the beginning!
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Sources:
[1] “Video Marketing Statistics In 2024 (Usage, ROI & More).” Demand Sage. January 16, 2024. [Online] Available: https://www.demandsage.com/. Accessed June 19, 2024.
[2] “52 Visual Content Marketing Statistics You Should Know in 2024.” HubSpot. September 11, 2023. {Online] Available: https://blog.hubspot.com/. Accessed June 19, 2024.
[3] “24 Facebook statistics marketers should know in 2024.” Sprout Social. March 19, 2024. [Online] Available: https://sproutsocial.com/. Accessed June 19, 2024.
[4] “Requirements for Facebook Reels.” Facebook. [Online] Available: https://www.facebook.com/. Accessed June 19, 2024.
[5] “Video Requirements.” Facebook. [Online] Available: https://www.facebook.com/. Accessed June 19, 2024.
[6] “Business Help Centre.” Facebook. [Online] Available: https://www.facebook.com/. Accessed June 19, 2024.
[7] “Create stunning Facebook Event Covers.” Canva. [Online] Available: https://www.canva.com/. Accessed June 19, 2024.
[8] “Social Media Fact Sheet.” PEW Research Center. January 31, 2024. [Online] Available: https://www.pewresearch.org/. Accessed June 19, 2024.
[9] “Your guide to Instagram sizes.” Microsoft. November 14, 2023. [Online] Available: https://create.microsoft.com/. Accessed June 19, 2024.
[10] “Video Ads.” LinkedIn. [Online] Available: https://business.linkedin.com/. Accessed June 19, 2024.
[11] “LinkedIn sizes.” Canva. [Online] Available: https://www.canva.com/. Accessed June 19, 2024.