Staying Ahead of the Competition on Social Media
Staying on top of all of the current trends in the fast paced social media world can be a daunting task. When it comes to social media marketing for a business, there are many parameters and guidelines that must be continually monitored for changes as they evolve very quickly. One of the most important and challenging of these are the dimensions of social media graphics.
You don’t want to be that brand on social media who isn’t taken seriously because you show that you don’t really know how to use the platforms you are on. Studies have shown that content posted on Facebook that has corresponding images or infographics, has an /87% interaction rate from fans. (Statistic from Social Media Examiner.)
Not only is it important to include an image or video with your social media posts, but you must also stay on top of the correct size for each different social media platform. If you are sizing your images incorrectly, your followers and fans may not be fully engaged with the visuals that you have taken time to create for them.
It is also important to stay up to date on the correct dimensions when it comes to the profile photos on your social media accounts.
This blog post will help guide you on the most up to date information when it comes to social media image sizes, profile image dimensions, and any other graphic sizes that are important for social media. We will explore the top social media sites that require graphics, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Facebook Profile Picture and Cover Photo Dimensions
Facebook is the leading social media platform with over /1.49 billion monthly active users. You could say that they have led the way when it comes to how people have engrained social media into their lives. In order to give Facebook users the best experience possible when interacting with your brand’s page, designing images to these specs will be important.
(Updated November 2015)
Quick Reference Guide for Facebook Profile Photo and Cover Photo
| Facebook Profile Photo: | 180 x 180 pixels |
| Facebook Cover Photo (Desktop): | 851 x 315 pixels |
| Facebook Cover Photo (Smartphone): | 640 x 315 pixels |
Facebook Profile Photo Dimension Details
Your profile photo on Facebook is the image that not only represents the essence of your brand, but is also the image that people see alongside your posts and photos in their Facebook news feed. Some people make the mistake of changing their brand’s profile photo to something generic and/or not brand recognizable. You do not want to make this mistake as a brand as it can hurt engagement when people see your posts, ads, photos, and videos in their newsfeeds.
The profile photo or image should measure 180×180 pixels and display as 160×160 pixels. The image that you upload will automatically be cropped to fit into the square shape. It is recommended that a PNG file is uploaded if an image of a logo or text is used, but Facebook will also accept JPG.
NEW! Facebook Profile Video
In September 2015, Facebook released a new option for their Facebook Profile Photo that appears for users in the mobile app. Please note that this feature is not yet available for brands. You can now take a short video through the mobile app and use that as your profile photo. People have said this feature may have stemmed from the Harry Potter movie, and is now available in real life.
Facebook Cover Photo Dimension Details
The cover photo that your Facebook profile image sits on top of is also an important piece of your brand. Per Facebook’s guidelines, this area may not be used to advertise. However, this area should be used to represent your brand with items such as your top product or menu item.
Be creative and use your profile photo as part of the cover photo design, /like these brands have done. Whether you use both areas to work together or in separate ways, just keep in mind that part of the rectangle area of your cover photo is blocked by your profile picture. The profile photo is located 16 pixels from the left and 176 pixels from the top of your cover photo on a desktop. On a smartphone, the cover photo is 24 pixels from the left, 24 pixels from the bottom, and 196 pixels from the top of the cover photo.
The Facebook cover photo displays at two different sizes:
- For your desktop: 851 pixels wide x 315 pixels tall
- For your smartphone: 640 pixels wide x 315 pixels tall
The image that is uploaded for the cover photo must be at least 399 x 150 pixels. For best quality, if there is a logo or text, Facebook recommends uploading a PNG file, but will also accept JPG. Cover Photos should only have a max file size of 100KB.
Twitter Profile Photo and Header Photo Dimensions
Twitter took a similar direction to the setup of their profiles as Facebook. Twitter got rid of their background images (even though there is still an option to upload one), and now has the option to upload a header photo along with a profile photo. Along with these two image options, you can still go into your settings and click on the design tab to customize your theme color. The theme color is the color of the hyperlinks that are highlighted on the desktop version of Twitter.
(Updated November 2015)
Quick Reference Guide for Twitter Profile Photo and Header Photo
| Twitter Profile Photo: | 400 x 400 pixels |
| Twitter Header Photo (Desktop): | 1500 x 500 pixels |
We’ve made a handy Photoshop(.psd) template file just for you!
Twitter Profile Photo Dimension Details
Your profile photo on Twitter should be treated similar to your profile photo on Facebook. This square box should be used to represent your brand in the best way possible with a logo. This profile photo will not only be on your profile home page, but will show up in a user’s news feed when you post a tweet, photo, or video.
Your Twitter Profile Photo dimensions should be at the recommended 400 x 400 pixels. However, the image will display at 200 x 200 pixels. Twitter recommends that a JPG, GIF, or PNG with a maximum file size of 2MB be uploaded. Once the image is uploaded, Twitter will create rounded edges with a white outline around the square.
Twitter Header Photo Dimension Details
The larger image located at the top of your brand’s Twitter account is called the Header Photo. Similar to Facebook, this large area should be used to complement your brand’s profile photo as a way to highlight a key product.
This photo has a large display of 1500 x 500 pixels. Since Twitter has a responsive design applied to their site and app, the desktop and mobile versions will show the same way. However, you will want to leave at least 70 pixels at the bottom and top of your header photo to ensure that any visuals or text is not cut off. So technically, you should be designing within a 1500 x 366 pixel area to be safe.
Similar to Facebook, you will also need to leave about 470 x 225 pixels in the bottom left corner of your header photo to ensure that any content or text does not get cut off by your Twitter profile photo.
If you can’t seem to find a photo that works, Twitter has shared a flickr image gallery with header photos already sized for upload.
Google+ Profile Photo and Cover Photo Dimensions
Google has created several products for both users and businesses to utilize. While it took off rapidly, Google+ has seemed to slow down for businesses, but is still a “checklist” platform if not just for SEO reasons. The dimensions shared are for a G+, Google+, or Google Plus brand profile. Just keep in mind that any new photo added for the profile images will also be saved to your public photo album.
(Updated November 2015)
Quick Reference Guide for Google+ Profile Photo and Cover Photo
| Google+ Profile Photo: | 250 x 250 pixels |
| Google+ Cover Photo: | 1080 x 608 pixels |
Google+ Profile Photo Dimension Details
Google recommends uploading larger photos, as they look best. They also have a tool to help you edit your photos to make them look best for upload. You can add filters, crop photos, and more all within Google+. Learn more from their guide that can be found here.
Google recommends that you upload a photo that is at least 250 x 250 pixels. Google does not give a maximum upload size as they would prefer larger photos. Keep in mind that when you upload your square image into Google+, Google changes the image to become a circle shape—so the outer edges of the square will be cut off. Image types that can be uploaded are JPG, GIF, or PNG.
Google+ Cover Photo Dimension Details
Google+ created an even larger cover image space for their social media product. To the left of the overall profile header is the profile image circle along with a blurred out mirror image of the cover photo that you upload. The right side of the space is the actual size and area that the image appears in. Google recommends that the image you upload for your cover image be 1080 x 608 pixels. The smallest image they will allow is 480 x 270 pixels, and the largest image you can upload for your cover photo is 2120 x 1192 pixels.
Instagram Photo Dimensions
Instagram first launched as an app only platform, but recently Instagram has enabled some features on desktop for brands to more easily manage their accounts. Most desktop versions of social media platforms seem to have different image dimensions. But on Instagram, there is no option to upload from your desktop. All dimensions for Instagram are mentioned in mobile only because the platform has given limited abilities on the web.
Instagram once had a header image collage on the desktop version of the social media platform, but in June of 2015, this feature went away. Photo thumbnails are also important for sizing in Instagram, since there is now both portrait and landscape sizes.
(Updated November 2015)
Quick Reference Guide for Instagram Profile Image and Uploaded Photo Sizes
| Instagram Profile Image: | 110 x 110 pixels |
| Instagram Photo (Square): | 640 x 640 pixels |
| Instagram Photo (Portrait): | 602 x 752 pixels |
| Instagram Photo (Landscape): | 600 x 314 pixels |
| Instagram Photo Thumbnail: | 161 x 161 pixels |
Instagram Profile Photo Dimensions
Similar to Google+, your Instagram Profile Photo is shaped into a circle, so keeping this in mind is important. This profile image should be 110 x 110 pixels with the understanding that the corners of the image will be rounded off.
Instagram Photo Dimensions
Instagram users used to need apps and camera phone photo options in order to make the square photos in Instagram capture everything that they wanted in their photo. This was a problem if users didn’t know how to use the apps, or didn’t have a phone that automatically took square photos. With a recent update in August 2015, Instagram now has a feature that supports the size of landscape and portrait sized photos, so users can share any photo they take without having to crop out sides or use a different app to “workaround” the square setting in Instagram.
Instagram Square Photo Size
The original square photo that users upload into Instagram is 640 x 640 pixels. This is important for businesses to know so that photos or designed images they upload don’t get cut off on the left, right, top, and bottom, depending on the size of the JPG. If the photo is not at the original ratio, Instagram will automatically scale the image down to 612 x 612 pixels. The catch is the image will appear in the Instagram Feed at 510 x 510 pixels.
Instagram Landscape and Portrait Photo Sizes
This new feature, which was released in 2015, now allows those beautiful landscape and portrait shots to fit in your Instagram feed without forcing you to crop part of them out. By tapping on the small round grey icon, you can switch the photo area to allow for a landscape or portrait sized photo with aspect ratios between 1.91:1 and 4:5.
For landscape, the longest width that this photo will have is 600 px.
This feature also works for videos.
Instagram Photo Thumbnail Sizes
Once a photo has been uploaded to Instagram, the photo will then live on your profile. When someone visits your profile, they will see thumbnails of your photos that you have previously posted. These thumbnails appear on the page as 161 x 161 pixels. It is a rule of thumb to keep all of these images in the square areas at a ratio of 1:1.
LinkedIn Company Page Dimensions
LinkedIn is not necessarily the best social media tool for every business, but for those that it makes sense for, having the most professional looking company page is what will set you apart from the competition. If you need help on how to add images to your company page on LinkedIn, they have a very helpful resource guide here. In this guide, it is mentioned that these images can only be made on a desktop by the Admins of the page.
(Updated November 2015)
Quick Reference Guide for LinkedIn Homepage Logo and Banner Image Sizes
| Banner Image: | 646 x 220 pixels |
| Company Page Logo: | 400 x 400 pixels |
| Showcase Banner Image: | 947 x 330 pixels |
LinkedIn Banner Image Size
The banner image you upload to your brand’s company page on Linkedin requires a different approach than you would use on Facebook or Twitter. On LinkedIn, you want to keep your brand’s personality, but also need to remember that this is a professional setting. It is recommended that business highlights or strong company branding is used in this space.
The banner image on your LinkedIn Company Page should be a landscape layout and a minimum of 646 x 220 pixels. LinkedIn also recommends that you upload a PNG, JPG, or GIF file at a maximum of 2MB.
LinkedIn Company Logo Size
When uploading your company logo, you must have a PNG, JPG, or GIF file. LinkedIn recommends a file size of 400 x 400 pixels and a minimum of 300 x 300 pixels. This logo is in a square format and once uploaded, it will be resized to 60 x 60 pixels.
LinkedIn Showcase Banner Size
LinkedIn now has an option for businesses to create Showcase LinkedIn pages that highlight a specific piece of the business. If your brand has this type of page, you will want to use the recommended dimensions of 947 x 330 pixels. The maximum file size for this banner is 2MB.
Summary
In summary, social media is always changing, even when it comes to what you are posting for images and videos. Use this guide to find out what the latest dimensions are for the core social media platforms that businesses are using on a daily basis.
