As the new year rolls in, you may be gearing up to hit the gym, accomplish some goals, or learn a thing or two! Whether you're rebranding or starting from scratch with a new project, we’ve got you covered with 2020’s social media image guidelines! In this write-up, we will dive right into what you need to set your social platforms up for success. Graphic design goes hand-in-hand with this type of “profile overhaul.” As graphic designers in Greenville, NC, we’ve done this a few times and figured it would be helpful to share. We’ve even made a printable cheat sheet – check it out at the bottom of this article!

If you are reading this, then you obviously know that visuals are one of, if not the most important aspects of online engagement. Eye-catching graphic design, the right choice of imagery, and overall consistency are what help set your profile apart from all the others. While all of that is definitely significant, it is also extremely important to understand and meet the particular image specifications throughout each social platform. The last thing you want is to look clueless. Your potential audience will notice a pixelated profile picture or headers with overset text they cannot read, and in turn, completely abandon the idea of giving you a follow.

Twitter

Images are a sure-fire way to drive more attention to your Twitter profile. The best way to increase your engagement is to be the quickest. In the fast-paced feed of Twitter, words can tend to be overlooked. However, a striking photo, video, or our favorite – memes, will grab a user's attention and slow their scroll.

• Profile Photo: 400 x 400 pixels

• Header Photo: 1500 x 500 pixels

• Shareable Photos: 440 x 220 pixels (min.), 1024 x 512 pixels (max.)

Instagram

On an app like Instagram, there’s not much more you can do besides post images. This is where it is even more essential to make sure yours are A1! Before, Instagram made it somewhat easy for us. With only one size to remember (Square), it was easy to plan your posts accordingly. Within the last year, this has been updated quite a few times, giving us the opportunity to try both portrait and landscape style imagery. No more downloading extra apps just to make your snapshot fit in their tiny window, hooray!

• Profile Picture: 110 x 110 pixels

• Square Images: 1080 x 1080 pixels

• Portrait Images: 1080 x 1350 pixels

• Landscape Images: 1080 x 566 pixels

Another feature that is becoming more relevant to Instagram is its story posts. These can be used to boost engagement, highlight products and work, or give shout-outs to followers.

• Story Size: 1080 x 1920 pixels

• Max File Size: 4GB

And last but not least, if you are interested in posting full-length videos to your page, IGTV is the way to go.

• IGTV Video Size: 1080 x 1920 pixels

• File Size: Less than 650 MB

• Video Length: Between 15 seconds and 10 minutes

(Larger accounts can go up to an hour!)

Facebook

Generally, Facebook allows for just about any sized image, however, when working with creative pieces for advertisements, promotions, and even Facebook Stories, it is extremely important to follow their guidelines carefully.

• Profile Picture: 180 x 180 pixels

• Profile Cover Photo: 1640 x 720 pixels

• Shareable Images: 1200 x 630 pixels

• Facebook Stories: 1080 x 1920 pixels

Facebook Advertising Sizes

• Newsfeed, Marketplace and Messenger Ads: 1200 x 628 pixels

• Carousel Ads: 1080 x 1080 pixels

• Video Ads: Ratio of 9:16 or 16:9, Max Size: 4GB

LinkedIn

Highlighting your brand's accomplishments and connecting with other professionals is what LinkedIn does best. You want your profile here to be as clean and well-rounded as possible.

• Profile Photo: 400 x 400 pixels

• Cover Photo: 1536 x 768 pixels

• Image Posts: 1200 x 628 pixels

YouTube

Hearing the name YouTube, your initial thought is probably “that’s all video.” In reality, this is a great place to showcase your work with both video and static images. Your YouTube channel can be made as unique as you’d like, giving your audience more to remember it by.

• Profile Picture: 800 x 800 pixels

• Cover Photo: 2560 x 1440 pixels

• Video Thumbnail: 1280 x 720 pixels

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