I’ve been asked a few times if I have any articles up on social media image sizes so I thought it was about time that one was created.

Social Media is constantly changing. What was the best size for an image on Facebook in 2016 is not the same in 2021, and what’s trending now could change again next year. 

In this blog post we’ll go over every social media image size, including the dimensions of posts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. By staying up-to-date with all of your social media channels’ most recent updates, you can ensure that your profile and posts are always optimised!

There are a lot of changes happening right now since content consumption has changed drastically and it’s important to make sure that your content is still connecting with your target market on every platform.

As a marketer or entrepreneur it’s crucial to know about these changes because they impact whether or not your content will be seen by others on their respective news feed screens.

Your social media post sizes need to be optimised for each channel, giving you more chance of appealing to your audience and the algorithms of each network.

Bookmark this page, save it in your notes, copy the URL and keep it safe- just makes sure your images don’t get stretched or cropped on social media.

Let’s get into it…

*Please note that some of these social media image dimensions are only recommendations based on your posts avoiding stretching and pixellating. Other sizes can be used, but may affect quality.

Facebook Image Sizes 2021

Of all the social networks, Facebook has the widest variety of different image types, and therefore, the most image dimensions to keep track of.

Facebook is still the world’s most popular social network, with just under 2.8 Billion Monthly Active Users reported in Q1 of 2021 (Statista), and as it’s grown as a platform, it’s become increasingly reliant on visual content.

If you want to succeed as a social media marketer, make a note of these Facebook image sizes for 2021!

• Facebook profile picture size: 180 x 180
• Facebook cover photo size: 820 x 312
• Facebook Video Post Size: 1280 x 7230
• Facebook Story Image Size: 1080 x 1920
• Facebook event image size: 1920 x 1080
• Facebook link image size: 1200 x 628
• Facebook image post size: 1200 x 900

Facebook Image Size Notes: 

• The Facebook profile photo is shown as both a square and a circle (depending where it appears). Make sure the most important elements of your profile photo are centred so they look good in both formats.
• The Facebook cover photo size comes up as slightly taller on a mobile (640 x 360). Make sure your image looks good on both formats by centring the most important elements of your cover photo before uploading.
• This is Facebook’s recommended video post size. You can also post square shaped videos on Facebook’s newsfeed, and use either of these sizes for your video ads.
• This is Facebook’s story image size. It applies to both organic and paid stories (ads). You can go as small as 500×500 for a story ad, but I wouldn’t recommend this as it doesn’t fill the entire available space.

Find out how to Get More Facebook Business Page Likes for free, a Complete Guide to Building Winning Facebook ads or How the Facebook Ad Algorithm Works, to develop your Facebook marketing strategy further!

Instagram Image Sizes 2021

Instagram is a social network that is solely based around visuals. In other words, you really need to know your Instagram image sizes to be a success on their platform.

The fast-growing social network has over 1 Billion monthly active users, making it a great place for businesses to level-up.

And if that wasn’t appealing enough, there are only a handful of image size dimensions to remember on Instagram. Let’s get into them…

• Instagram profile picture size: 180 x 180
• Instagram photo size (square): 1080 x1080
• Instagram photo size (landscape): 1080 x 566
• Instagram photo size (portrait): 1080 x 1350
• Instagram story size: 1080 x 1920
• Instagram reel size: 1080 x 1920
• Instagram video size (square): 600 x 600
• Instagram video size (landscape): 600 x 315
• Instagram video size (portrait): 600 x 750

Instagram Image Size Notes:

• Similarly to Facebook, this image will revert to a circle in most circumstances. Make sure your image fits this shape.
• There are three different types of regular photo/image posts on Instagram (above). However, make sure you use the portrait or landscape dimensions as much as possible- these sizes take up more space on the Instagram newsfeed.

Discover how to Increase Your Post Reach on Instagram, How to Use Instagram Hashtags, or How the Instagram Algorithm Works to increase your chances of promoting your business on Instagram.

Twitter Image Sizes 2021

Historically, Twitter posts didn’t need images/videos.

All a Twitter user needed was an appropriate hashtag and a cutting opinion to get ‘retweets’ and grow their profile.

In today’s world of social media, Twitter images are 100% necessary.

It’s crucial that you implement images in your Twitter strategy, so if you aren’t using visuals already, make sure to take note of these social media image sizes and scale your content to fit Twitter too!

• Twitter profile picture size: 150 x 150
• Twitter header size: 1500 x 500
• Twitter post video size (square): 720 x 720
• Twitter post video size (landscape): 1280 x 720
• Twitter post video size (portrait): 720x 1280
• Twitter post image size: 1200 x 675
• Twitter card image size: 1200 x 628 

Twitter Image Size Notes: 

• The Twitter profile photo crops into a circle shape, so make sure the focus of your image is centred.
• Twitter video ads are the same dimensions as video posts, but I’d recommend using  a square or portrait video as they take up more space on the newsfeed, giving you more chance to grab attention.
• These dimensions are also recommended for images in your Twitter ads.

Discover the the best and worst times to post on social media, to up your Twitter game!

LinkedIn Image Sizes 2021

Just because it’s a ‘professional’ network, that doesn’t mean users don’t want to be engaged with images on LinkedIn.

The LinkedIn newsfeed is a busy place and it’s important that you give your posts the best chance of success by attaching relevant images and videos…

…but this isn’t where LinkedIn’s visual importance ends:

A well-thought-out personal LinkedIn profile acts like a modern-day digital business card. And a brand’s business page acts as great billboard for professionalism and collaboration.

• LinkedIn video size (maximum): 4096 x 2304
• LinkedIn image size (square): 1200 x 1200

LinkedIn Image Sizes for Personal Pages:

• Linked profile photo size: 400 x 400
• LinkedIn background photo size: 1584 x 396

LinkedIn Image Sizes for Business Pages:

• LinkedIn logo size: 300 x 300
• LinkedIn business cover photo size: 1536 x 768
• LinkedIn sponsored content image size: 1200 x 628

YouTube Profile Image Sizes 2021

Last but not least, we’ve got the second most popular website in the world.

YouTube is insanely popular and despite common misconceptions, it is actually labelled as a social network.

As well as being the second most visited website on the net, it’s also the second most used search engine (after Google), making it a densely populated place to build a following, engage an audience and develop your digital strategy.

Followers on YouTube are known as Subscribers (‘subs’ if you’re down with the kids) and most will want to check out your YouTube profile before subscribing to your ‘channel’. That’s why you need to have your YouTube profile image sizes in order, so here they are:

• YouTube profile picture size: 800 x 800
• YouTube channel art: 2560 x 1440
• YouTube video thumbnail image size: 1280 x 720

Social Media Image Sizes: Conclusion

And that’s your lot!

Now you really don’t have any excuse for posting images that will be cropped, stretched or pixelated.

In this guide I’ve covered the social media image sizes of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, but if you feel like I’ve missed an important social network, and you’d like it to be added to this collection…

…leave a comment or send us a message and I’ll get to work!

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• Author Details

Josh Barney

https://joshbarney.blog

josh@einsteinmarketer.com

Josh is the Founder of We Imagine Media, an award-winning content marketer, best selling author and creator of the www.joshbarney.blog. He creates and strategises content, sharing the most successful tactics with his lovely audience. He hates writing in the third person, follow him on the social links so he can get back to writing as himself.