Social media can be a lot of fun… but it’s also a competition.

Every day, millions of users log in to social media sites to connect with family, friends, and businesses they care about. The posts that your small business or nonprofit share on social media are going head-to-head with everyone else’s, competing for the attention of users every single day.

Visuals can help your posts stand out and get noticed

Did you know people can recall 65 percent of the visual content they see almost three days later? This statistic is especially impressive when you compare that to written content, of which only 10 percent is recalled three days after it’s read. Hopefully, you won’t forget this blog post in three days!

Why you must know the correct social media image sizes and guidelines

It’s clear that you shouldn’t ignore the power of visuals when it comes to social media marketing. However, it’s a challenge to keep up with the ever-changing image size guidelines for social media. The impact of posting visuals goes down when you post one that is awkwardly cropped or can’t be viewed on certain devices, so it’s important to get it right.

That’s why we’ve created this social media image size guide for Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Be sure to bookmark this page so you can refer back to it as you create content throughout the year.

Take advantage of free tools to create eye-catching images that drive engagement

Photography and photo editing not your forté? No worries. Image tools such as Canva, Stencil, Snappa, PicMonkey, Pablo, and Adobe Spark make it easy. They even have customizable social media image templates perfectly sized for each platform!

Constant Contact also makes creating custom images easy. Our image editor allows you to easily crop images and add text, stickers, or overlays to spice up your visuals. You can also add your edited images to your Library and then save them to your computer.

Additionally, our integration with Shutterstock provides access to a stock image gallery with millions of professional quality and royalty-free stock images. Images are available for free, or to purchase, and can be added to the Library to be used in your emails, events, and surveys.

Infographic: Social media image sizes guide (Updated for 2021)

Facebook image sizes

• When it comes to your profile photo, make sure to use an image that represents you or your brand. It should be at least 170 x 170 pixels.
• Your Facebook cover photo is the image that appears at the top of your brand page. Try to keep this image at 820 x 312 pixels and beware that anything smaller will be stretched to fit.
• Want to share a post to your brand page that includes an image? Images that are shared in a post have a recommended size of 1200 x 630 pixels.
• Pro tip: use your Facebook Page to really showcase your brand and create a cohesive, identifiable profile. You can do this by using your company logo as your profile picture and a photo that speaks to who you are as a brand for your cover photo. 

Instagram image sizes

• Instagram is all about images, so it’s important to get things right. For your profile picture, use an image that is 110 x 110 pixels. Keep in mind that this will be cropped as a circle, so be aware of any details that may be lost at the edges.
• Uploaded in-feed images can be square (1080 x 1080 pixels) or rectangular (4:5 ratio). The thumbnails that preview your uploads on your profile appear as 161 x 161 pixels. 
• Are you thinking about using Instagram Stories this year? If so, be sure to use the recommended resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels or an aspect ratio of 9:16. 
• Pro tip: short content is in! With more than 300 million daily users, Instagram Stories and Reels are a good place to focus this year when creating short-form content.

Pinterest image sizes

• Your Pinterest profile image helps users recognize your brand. Profile images on Pinterest appear at 165 x 165 pixels on the homepage.
• Each individual post on Pinterest is called a Pin. Pins on the main page, or on a board, will appear at 236 pixels wide with a scaled height. Once expanded, Pins have a minimum width of 660 pixels with a scaled height. 
• When creating a Pin for Pinterest, it is recommended to use a high-quality, vertical image with an aspect ratio of 2:3 (such as 1000 x 1500 pixels). 
• Pro tip: Pinterest is all about organization. When creating boards for your profile, be sure to keep content relevant. For example, a board on home decor should not include recipes. Be sure to choose a relevant thumbnail photo for each board as well to entice your audience to click.

Twitter image sizes

• For your Twitter profile photo, it is recommended to use a 400 x 400 pixels square image, although Twitter will crop it to appear as a circle.
• Your header photo on Twitter should be 1500 x 500 pixels. Make sure to choose an image that represents your brand/business. 
• When sharing a link, Twitter will generate a Twitter Card to display the image associated. This image will appear at 1200 x 628 pixels. When Tweeting a single image, the photo will appear at 1200 x 675 pixels.
• Pro tip: Twitter truncates image previews within Tweets. This means that if you tweet a single image, it will appear collapsed before a user clicks on it to expand the full image. For this reason, be sure to avoid awkward cropping by horizontally centering your content. 

YouTube image sizes

• Your YouTube channel profile image shows a user whose channel they are on. Your YouTube channel profile image should be 800 x 800 pixels and should use either your company logo or a photo of yourself so people can easily identify your brand.
• When uploading videos to YouTube, custom thumbnails can be very useful in garnering attention for your content. Custom YouTube thumbnails for your videos should be 1280 x 720 pixels. 
• YouTube allows you to upload a cover photo for your channel, further building your brand identity. The minimum image size for your cover photo is 2048 x 1152 pixels with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
• Pro tip: YouTube cover photos can be tricky, to say the least. Although YouTube requires a very large image for your cover photo, only a sliver of this photo will be visible on desktop and mobile devices. Make sure to check your photo and adjust the crop using YouTube’s channel art tool before publishing to avoid any awkward cropping. 

LinkedIn image sizes

• Uploading your company logo as your business page image ensures that customers, employees, and others can easily identify your profile. Your company logo image should be 300 x 300 pixels.
• LinkedIn’s company business background image covers the entire top of the page. It is recommended to upload an image around 1128 x 191 pixels. 
• Posting to your business page on LinkedIn is a great way to share exciting company news or updates. If you’re going to include an image in your post, use the recommended size of 1200 x 627 pixels. 
• Pro tip: LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network — so keep it professional. Make sure that your posts, and images, are appropriate for the audience and focus on building relationships with industry leaders or finding new employees rather than driving traffic or prospecting for new customers.

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