Blog Post

A Complete Guide to Social Media Post Sizes

by: Zellie Friedman September 19, 2018

Table of Contents

Making optimized posts for each unique channel can get confusing! It can be tempting to create one post for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more…but when each channel requires a different image size, it is important to develop unique posts whenever applicable. Using the incorrect social media post size can cause your post to be cropped, appear with low resolution, or make it so you can’t even upload your post to that platform. As a brand, it is critical to make sure you showcase a professional and credible appearance on social media to build trust and followership with your audience. Creating optimized posts is the first step in developing a brag-worthy social media channel for your brand.

If you are just setting up your social media channel there are some important sizes to focus on when creating your profile photos and cover photos!

You want to make sure your social pages look professional and credible, so before you start designing, read on to make sure your images will be optimized!

Image Sizes on Facebook

Facebook is one of the most picky platforms when it comes to social media image sizes. Facebook offers multiple different ways to display your content (photo, video, carousel, link, etc.) and not every post is sized the same!

Carousel or Image Posts: 1200x1200px

Links: 1200x628px

Profile Photo: 180x180px

Cover Photo or Video: 820x312px (displays 640x360px on mobile)

Image Sizes on Instagram

As the most visual social platform, making sure your images are sized correctly is critical for a professional looking Instagram feed. While individual posts can be uploaded at their original size, they will be displayed as a square image.

Because of this, we suggest always uploading your images as a square so you can be confident in the overall appearance of your grid from the time you create your post. The Instagram app highlights a cover photo, which are a new, unique way to incorporate your branding into your social page.

These covers can now be uploaded directly to the highlight rather than shared to your story which is a welcomed change for your business page!

Single Square Post: 1200x1200px

Instagram Story: 1080x1920px

Profile Photo: 110x110px

Highlight Cover: 1080x1920px (icon should be centered and smaller than 100x100px)

Image Sizes on Pinterest

Pinterest is a unique platform since the images do not fit the full width of a phone screen. Since these images will appear smaller on a phone than most other channels, you need to be very cautious of the size of your text. Another great customization opportunity here is with your custom board covers! This gives you more control over the aesthetic of your Pinterest page.

Standard Image Size: 735×1102 (note length can vary)

Board Cover Image Size: 1080×1080

Profile Photo: 165×165

Image Sizes on Twitter

While Twitter traditionally has not been a very visual platform, it is becoming increasingly important to incorporate creatives into your Twitter strategy.