Do your photos on social media load blurry, stretched or pixelated? This is typically because the images are not sized correctly for each platform. By using the right size of social media images, they get clear and look sharp, professional, and engaging to your customers, which is essential for social media marketing.
Various platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, and Pinterest also have their unique image size limits. When your images are too big, too small or the wrong shape, they can end up looking stretched, cropped, and low-quality.
If you stick to the recommended sizes, you’ll ensure that your posts show exactly as planned, whether it’s a profile picture, story, or shared, uploaded or captioned image. In this guide, you’ll learn:
If you upload the incorrect image size, you lose and your audience loses: Your visual content may appear pixelated, stretched or cropped, which can tarnish your brand and dissuade followers.
Every social media platform including Facebook, Instagram and others prefers using each type of images & resolutions which are best suited to its designs so that your image look stunning on their platform.
Quick tip: Hi-res images can seem low-quality if you don’t size them for the platform.
For instance, if you upload a 1200 x 1200 px photo to Instagram as a square, and your design is posted at 1080x1080px instead (which the platform will either compress or lightly crop) this could cause text to appear off-center or logos slightly off. This slight dissonance can lead to fewer likes and shares because your post does not appear to be professional.
Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest commonly auto-resize images. Sprout Social in fact mentions that some of the times Facebook will resize shared link image from 1200 x 627 px to fit various feeds and it may also crop important areas. Likewise, Metricool states that Pinterest suggests a vertical 2:3 image ratio for pins to avoid pins being clipped in the feed.
Marketing tip: If you want more engagement, make sure to preview your images on other devices as well before posting. A photograph that appears nice on the desktop may be cropped on the mobile.
If text or logos are near the edges, consider running them closer to the middle of each page to avoid having them cut off. Maintaining the proper image sizes is widely variable, but if you maintain a proper size, you can increase engagement by 30 percent according to Sprout Social , as users prefer to engage with attractive and well-organized content.
Here’s your cheat sheet for the most popular platforms. We’ve also included links to FREE Canva templates so you can start creating images without the guesswork!
Facebook image size
Instagram image size
Twitter (X) image size
LinkedIn image size
Pinterest image size
There’s more to optimizing your images than simply choosing the right size – it’s also about ensuring your visuals are crisp, engaging and on-brand, as well as helping you reach a wider audience. Here are some practical tips, with advice from experts:
Keep Branding Consistent
Use the same color, font, and visual styles throughout every platform. This increases brand name acknowledgement and makes your postings easily identifiable. MoreKeting found that fans are more likely to trust and remember a consistent brand identity, which could ultimately generate social media engagement.
Use High-Quality Images
Blurred or pixelated images damage credibility. Always upload high-resolution images that look crisp on both desktop and mobile. HubSpot suggests uploading no less than 1080 px for social media posts and compressing images appropriately to maintain both quality and loading time.
Less Text = More Impact
Over-crowded pictures with text are more difficult to read and of less aesthetic appeal. Keep it simple and clear and use text sparingly to emphasize main points. In MoreKeting we know that posts with too much text in the image have lower engagement than uncluttered, visually focused graphics.
Optimize for SEO
If you’re posting images on your website or blog, don’t forget to optimize the images for search engines. This includes:
Optimized images boost organic traffic because search engines can easily crawl up the content of your pages, and you will also rank higher on Google.
Try various sizes of visuals, options for layout, and types of visuals. Monitor the statistics on interaction and engagement rates with your content or shares and clicks to find out what is striking a chord with the people who follow you. The Definitive Guide to A/B Testing Images in Marketing Campaign by Sprout Social decides that A/B testing images is crucial for campaigns, to maximize exposure and response.
Tip from MoreKeting: Try creating platform-specific variations of the same image (say, square for Instagram and horizontal for Twitter) to see what format earns more interaction.
This can help increase engagement, as your content will appear native and professional, on every platform.
It’s because your social media photo isn’t the right dimension for that platform. By adhering to the proper sizes of these social platforms, it will allow your images to be crisp, professional, and worthy of being appreciated.
Optimal Facebook dimensions are 180 x 180 px for the profile picture, 820 x 312 pixels (px) for a cover photo, and 1200 x 630 px for shared images.These sizes prevent you from having cropped or squished images.
How can I get my images looking at their sharpest when posting to Instagram posts and stories?
Ideal image sizes for Instagram are 1080 x 1080 px (square posts), 1080 x 1350 px (vertical posts), and up to 1080 x1920 in stories. Text and logos will be visible in image posts, and posts format properly on all devices.
