Social Media Image Guide (2022)

Andrew Forbes

Andrew Forbes founded Peak Ed Designs with the goal of offering an educational experience that would better equip his clients for success in the online world. He is a front-end WordPress designer/developer, instructional designer, and online course creator that surrounds himself with a team of experts that synergistically work together to deliver high impact results for our clients. Peak Ed Designs enjoys working with small and medium-size coaches, educators, and entrepreneurs to get their business ideas out of their head and out onto the web.

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Social Media Image Guide | Peak Ed Designs

Social Media platforms often serve as your opportunity to make a first impression. Presenting quality imagery attests to your professionalism and attracts eyeballs, increasing engagement.

The following guide provides optimal social media image dimensions for the most widely used platforms. 

LinkedIn 

LinkedIn is where business happens, and presenting yourself in a professional light means stepping up your imagery game on both your personal and company pages.  

Tip: Your cover photo will crop differently on mobile and desktop. Make sure you view your profile on both before finalizing. 

LinkedIn Personal Page

Profile Image: 400 pixels x 400 pixels

Personal Background Image: 1584 pixels x 396 pixels (Aspect ratio 4:1)

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

LinkedIn Company/Business Page

Standard Logo: 400 pixels x 400 pixels

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

Cover Dimensions: 1128 pixels x 191 pixels

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

LinkedIn Ads

Company logo size for ads: 100 pixels x 100 pixels

Spotlight ads logo size: 100 pixels x 100 pixels

Spotlight ads custom background image: 300 pixels x 250 pixels

Sponsored content images: 1200 pixels x 627 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)

Sponsored content carousel images: 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio)


YouTube

YouTube is well known for both pertinent information and mindless entertainment, but it also provides a valuable opportunity to communicate with potential clients. While your videos will be the star of the show, your still imagery can also speak volumes about your organization. 

Tip: Books are often judged by their cover, and so are YouTube channels. Make sure your video channel cover image reflects the style of content viewers can find on your channel. 

Channel Cover Picture: 
For Desktop: 2560 pixels x 1440 pixels 
For Tablets: 1855 pixels x 423 pixels 
For Smartphones: 1546 pixels x 423 pixels 
For TV: 2560 pixels x 1440 pixels 

Tip: YouTube videos are often viewed on each of the above platforms, and there are different sizes for each. 

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

Thumbnail Image for Video Uploads: 1280 pixels x 720 pixels (with minimum width of 640 pixels)

Tip: Your custom thumbnail serves as the preview image in the embedded player. Think of it like a movie poster for your video. Make them as large as possible, within the 2MB file size limit, and save them as JPG, GIF or PNG. If you don’t provide a custom thumbnail, YouTube will choose a frame at random from your video. 

Ensure that your video content maintains a 16:9 aspect ratio. 

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

Facebook

Facebook remains a hugely influential platform. Well curated imagery will make your profile stand out and increase engagement with your posts and ads, so make sure your social media dimensions are correct. 

Tip: Facebook frequently updates its design and image dimensions, so future proof your content by using high quality images. 

Facebook Personal Page

Profile Picture: 180 pixels x 180 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio)

Cover Photo: 
For Desktop: 820 pixels x 310 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio) 
For Mobile: 640 pixels x 360 pixels

Tip: Make sure the most important information is in that center area, so it appears correctly on both devices.

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

Shared Image: 1200 pixels x 630 pixels

Shared Links with an Image: 1200 pixels x 628 pixels

Event Image: 1920 pixels x 1080 pixels

Sharing Stories: 1080 pixels x 1920 pixels

Facebook Groups

Profile Picture: N/A

Cover Photo: 1640 pixels x 856 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

Facebook Business Page

Company Picture/Logo: 180 pixels x 180 pixels

Tip: If the company picture or logo has text, be sure to save the image as a png.

Cover Photo: 
For Desktop: 820 pixels x 312 pixels 
For Mobile: 640 pixels x 360 pixels

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

Shared Image: 1200 pixels x 630 pixels

Shared Link with an Image: 1200 pixels x 628 pixels

Highlighted Image: 1200 pixels x 717 pixels

Facebook Ads

Facebook Feed Ads: 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels (Minimum size: 600 pixels x 600 pixels; Ratio: 1.91:1 to 1:1)

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

Facebook Right Column Ads: 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels (Minimum size: 254 pixels x 133 pixels; Ratio 1:1. (These are a desktop-only ad format.)

Facebook Image Sizes for Instant Articles: 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels (Ratio 1.91:1 to 1:1

Facebook Marketplace Ads: 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels (Ratio 1:1)

Facebook Search: 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels (Minimum size: 600 pixels x 600 pixels; Ratio 1.91:1 to 1:1

Sponsored Messages: 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels (Ratio 1.91:1 to 1:1)

Messenger Inbox Ads: 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels (Ratio 1:1; Minimum size: 254 x 133 pixels) 

Messenger Stories Ads: 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels (Ratio 9:16; Minimum width: 500 pixels)


Instagram

Imagery is the name of the game on Instagram, so it should go without saying that it’s important to look your best. 

Tip: Although Instagram’s feed now supports both horizontal and vertical images and videos, sticking consistently with the 1:1 aspect ratio provides a neat and tidy presentation to those who visit your page. As Huey Lewis and the News sang, it’s hip to be square! 

Profile Picture: 110 pixels x 110 pixels

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

Photo Size: 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

Video to Stories: 750 pixels x 1334 pixels

Videos can be uploaded to your timeline or shared through Instagram stories. The correct size will be determined by where you choose to publish it. 

Tip: Instagram does not allow for links within individual posts, so it’s common practice for users to update their profile bio to include their latest link, and use their posts to reference ‘link in bio’. 

Photo Thumbnails: 161 pixels x 161 pixels


Twitter

Twitter is a great place to share a laugh or go looking for an argument. It’s also a fine avenue for sharing info on the go. Utilizing good imagery will boost engagement! 

Twitter Feeds

Profile Photos: 400 pixels x 400 pixels (Minimum: 200 pixels x 200 pixels)

Header Photos: 1500 pixels x 500 pixels (3:1 ratio) 

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

In Stream Photos: 440 pixels x 220 pixels (Ratio: 16:9) 

Twitter Ads

Single and Multi-Image Tweets: 600 pixels x 335 pixels (Minimum), but use larger images for the best results.

Website Card Image: 800 pixels x 418 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio) OR 800 pixels x 800 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio)

App Card Image: 800 pixels x 800 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio) OR 800 pixels x 418 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)

Carousels: 800 pixels x 800 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio) OR 800 pixels x 418 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio) for 2-6 image cards

Direct Message Card: 800 pixels x 418 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)

Conversation Card: 800 pixels x 418 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio)


Pinterest 

Pinterest is like a virtual bulletin board, and it’s users are on the lookout for things to do, make- and buy! Get in on the action with a polished look. 

Social Media Image Guide (2022) | Peak Ed Designs

Profile Picture: 165 pixels x 165 pixels

Pin Sizes: Can be displayed as square pins or long pins or in between
Square pins: 1000 pixels x 1000 pixels recommended (1:1 aspect ratio)
Long pins: 1000 pixels x 2100 pixels recommended (1:2.1 aspect ratio)
Optimal pins: 1000 pixels x 1500 pixels recommended (2:3 aspect ratio)

Infographics: Square infographics is possible, but 1000 pixels x 3000 pixels is recommended (or 1:3 aspect ratio)

Wrap Up 

Social Media platforms are a powerful tool to reach your audience and using quality imagery will help make a strong first impression and increase engagement. 

In this guide, we covered the social media image dimensions for LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest to optimize that opportunity to present professional images.

Next Steps

To start creating attractive graphics and imagery, here are a few tools that we’ve used in the past:

  • Canva: Canva has pre-built social media templates to help get you started. The tool provides access to imagery and lettering, and operates on the freemium model. 
  • Piktochart: Piktochart helps you create your own charts, graphics, and infographics with their library of data visualization templates.
  • Stencil: Stencil is an alternative to Canva to create images for your website or social channels quickly with preset sizes.

Alternatively, if you need some additional help with your social media images, feel free to reach out and contact us. We’ll be happy to help.

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