Social media image sizes 2021: Socialgov cheat sheet
Gone are the days when it was perfectly acceptable to repurpose the same image, no matter the size, on more than one social media platform. Nowadays, the recommended social media image sizes seem to be constantly changing — what has become so important to your social media strategy has also become just as difficult to keep up with. In this quick guide, we’ll go over the most recent image sizes for the most popular platforms used in government social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Why it matters
For one, if you don’t have images that fit the recommended platform sizes, it just doesn’t look professional. The last thing you want as a socialgov is for the public you serve to completely overlook your social media content because of a rookie mistake. Getting social media images right is also important because:
- It avoids awkward image pixelation and stretching
- You ensure your audience sees the full image and doesn’t crop any important information
- It may future-proof your images when platform updates take place
- Use the recommended pixel sizes for the fastest load time
Quick social media size guides
When it comes to image sizes, Facebook is the most versatile social media platform, but if you want your government profile looking as clean as possible, follow these recommended image sizes:
- Profile Image: 170 x 170 pixels
- Landscape In-Feed Image: 1200 x 630 pixels
- Portrait In-Feed Image: 630 x 1200 pixels
- Square In-Feed Image: 1200 x 1200 pixels
- Stories: 1080 x 1920 pixels
- Cover Image: 851 x 315 pixels
One thing to note for Instagram is that even if the profile image size is in a square format, the platform displays profile photos as a circle. Ensure you center any elements you want your audience to focus on. Here are the recommended image sizes:
- Profile Image: 320 x 320 pixels
- Landscape In-Feed Image: 1080 x 566 pixels
- Portrait In-Feed Image: 1080 x 1350 pixels
- Square In-Feed Image: 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Stories: 1080 x 1920 pixels
- Cover Image: N/A
It’s no secret that tweets with visual content get more engagement, so choosing the right image sizes is an important part of your Twitter strategy. Here are the image sizes Twitter recommends:
- Profile Image: 400 x 400 pixels
- Landscape In-Feed Image: 1024 x 512 pixels
- Portrait In-Feed Image: N/A
- Square In-Feed Image: N/A
- Stories: N/A
- Cover Image: 1500 x 1500 pixels
Please note, your cover photo will appear differently on mobile as it will on desktop view.
For best results, you’ll want to stick with LinkedIn’s recommended sizes below as it’s been proven to increase comments and sharing. Here’s what’s recommended:
- Profile Image: 400 x 400 pixels
Please note, LinkedIn will display your profile image as a circle. - Landscape In-Feed Image: 1200 x 627 pixels
- Portrait In-Feed Image: 627 x 1200 pixels
- Square In-Feed Image: N/A
- Stories: 1080 x 1920 pixels
- Cover Image: 1128 x 191 pixels
Keep this guide handy! You can save it in your bookmarks or simply save the image size graphics onto your computer for fast access. We look forward to seeing your images!
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