Social media is constantly morphing and changing its rules regarding images. One minute you have the ideal cover photo for your account, and then because of altered image requirements, it appears resized and pixelated like a 1990’s version of itself. In addition to this, it is difficult to locate the information you need about the standard image sizes for social media, and each platform has different recommendations. Here is a quick guide for image sizing for social media in 2021, so get it while it’s hot — or at least before the rules change again.
Why Are Social Media Image Sizes Important?
When your law firm brand needs great visual content for social media, there are things to get right, such as avoiding copyright laws, finding quality images, and using the best photo optimizing tools.
Besides this, your social media images need to be sized correctly. This step is essential because properly sized images:
- Avoid unattractive image stretching
- Bypass pixelation
- Stay optimized for the social media feeds
- Increase engagement
- Ensure full photo display
Types of Social Media Images
- Profile photo. Your law firm logo should appear as your profile photo and match its color and appearance as much as possible. The identical image should appear on each of your social media networks.
- Header photo. This image displays at the top of your page. Here you can use a creative, current, eye-catching image. Try updating your header photo when key events happen in your law firm.
- Post photos. These are the images that you include in your social media posts to engage visitors and followers. Posting once per day keeps you visible to your audience, while posting too much appears spammy.
Instagram Image Sizing
You can use horizontal, vertical, and square images on Instagram. Follow this guide to get your images optimized for Instagram:
- Profile Photo: 320 x 320
- Portrait: 1080 x 1350
- Landscape: 1080 x 566
- Square: 1080 x 1080
- Stories: 1080 x 1920
Instagram Ads
If you purchase an Instagram ad in the feed, your ad cannot contain more than 30 hashtags. Here are more recommendations for Instagram ads, and the recommended image sizes are listed below.
- Landscape: 1080 x 566 pixels
- Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Minimum width: 320 pixels
- Maximum width: 1080 pixels
- Supported aspect ratios: Anywhere between 1.91:1 and 4:5
Tips for Instagram Images
- The dimensions for a profile photo are square, but the photo is displayed as a circle. Make sure the elements you want to be included are centered so they are not cropped out.
- If you share a photo with a resolution below 320 pixels, Instagram will size it to 320 pixels.
- If the image you upload to Instagram is an unsupported ratio, the platform will auto-crop it to fit a supported ratio.
Facebook Image Sizing
Facebook keeps updating its image dimension and design guidelines. To protect your future image uploads, try to consistently use premium quality images and stick to the current file formats for best results.
- Profile Photo: 170 x 170
- Portrait: 630 x 1200
- Landscape: 1200 x 630
- Square: 1200 x 1200
- Stories:1080 x 1920
- Cover Photo: 851 x 315
Facebook Ads:
- Feed ads: Minimum 1080 x 1080 pixels. Maximum file size of 30 MB.
- Right Column ads: Minimum 1080 x 1080 pixels.
- Instant Articles: Minimum of 1080 x 1080 pixels. Maximum file size of 30 MB.
- Facebook Marketplace ads: Minimum of 1080 x 1080 pixels. Maximum file size of 30 MB.
- Facebook Search: Minimum 1080 x 1080 pixels. Maximum file size of 30 MB.
- Sponsored Messages: Minimum 1080 x 1080 pixels. Maximum file size of 30 MB.
- Messenger Inbox ads: Minimum 1080 x 1080 pixels. Maximum file size of 30 MB.
- Messenger Stories ads: Minimum 1080 x 1080 pixels.
Tips for Facebook Images
- Upload JPG or PNG files to avoid distortion.
- For quick loading, use the recommended pixel size.
- Cover or profile photos with a logo perform best when uploaded as a PNG file.
- Once you have uploaded a cover photo, avoid dragging the photo to reposition it.
- After an event, the size of your event cover photo cannot be edited.
Twitter Image Sizing
Tweets with images included gather more engagement than tweets without images. In fact, tweets with some kind of visual content attract three times more engagements. So, images do matter on Twitter, and it is essential to get the images sizing correct.
- Profile Photo: 400 x 400
- Portrait: N/A
- Landscape: 1024 x 512
- Square: N/A
- Stories: 1080 x 1920
- Cover Photo: 1500 x 1500
Twitter Ads
Twitter image sizes for ads:
- Multi-image and single tweet ads: 600 x 335 pixels minimum. For best results, use larger images.
- Direct Message card: 800 x 418 pixels for 1.91:1 aspect ratio. Max file size of 3MB.
- Conversation card: 800 x 418 pixels for 1.91:1 aspect ratio. Max file size of 3MB.
- Website card image: 800 x 418 pixels for 1.91:1 aspect ratio. 800 x 800 for 1:1 aspect ratio. Max file size of 20MB.
- App card image: 800 x 800 pixels for 1:1 aspect ratio. 800 x 418 pixels for 1.91:1 aspect ratio. Max file size of 3MB.
- Carousels: 800 x 800 pixels for 1:1 aspect ratio. 800 x 418 pixels for 1.91:1 aspect ratio. Max file size of 20MB for 2-6 image cards.
Tips for Twitter Images
- The minimum image size for Twitter is 200 by 200 pixels
- Maximum file size for Twitter is 2 MB.
- To future-proof your Twitter images, use the maximum allowable size.
- Twitter header images are cropped to a 3:1 aspect ratio.
- Header image display depends on the device being used.
LinkedIn Image Sizing
As on all social media platforms, using images on LinkedIn consistently shows an increase in sharing, comments and overall engagement. Use the following recommended sizing for LinkedIn images and always confirm the display and content before finalizing your post.
- Profile Photo: 400 x 400
- Portrait: 627 x 1200
- Landscape: 1200 x 627
- Square: N/A
- Stories: 1080 x 1920
- Cover Photo: 1128 x 191
LinkedIn Ads
When you invest in ads for LinkedIn, you want to make sure you get the image sizing correct, so here are the recommendations for LinkedIn Ads in 2021.
- Company logo size for ads: 100 x 100 pixels
- Spotlight ads logo size: 100 x 100 pixels
- Spotlight ads custom background image: 300 x 250 pixels
- Sponsored content images: 1200 x 627 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)
- Sponsored content carousel images: 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio)
Tips for LinkedIn Images
- LinkedIn can accommodate photos to a maximum of 7680 x 4320 pixels.
- You can use files up to 8MB on LinkedIn, so use the maximum allowable when you can .
- Depending on the device use, cover photos are cropped differently. Make sure to double check your photos on both desktop and mobile before completing your content.
- When posting an image update to your law firm’s page, be sure to use JPG or PNG images.
Digital Marketing Next Steps:
In 2021, visual content rules. Images should be a crucial part of your law firm’s social media marketing, from your company logo to your posts and ads. Using the right video or image can attract your audience’s attention and keep users engaged, but each platform has its unique optimal size requirements. Sticking to these image guidelines will keep your visual content attractive and its message clear. However, photos that are poorly cropped or awkwardly stretched are a turn-off, so before posting, be sure you check the current guidelines for image use on social media. Also, take the time to go back and make sure that the pictures and images you have posted on recent social media platforms look correct!
Annette Choti graduated from law school 20 years ago, and is now the CEO & Owner of Law Quill, a legal digital marketing agency focused on small and solo law firms. Law Quill is the only legal digital marketing agency that provides unique, SEO-optimized content, pre-packaged content, and courses for lawyers to learn SEO themselves through Law Quill Academy. Annette used to do theatre and professional comedy, which is not so different from the legal field if we are all being honest. Annette can be found on LinkedIn or at annette@lawquill.com
