Creating Showstopping Social Media Images + Cheat Sheet in 2023
Social media is constantly changing, and it can be hard to keep up with those changes across all platforms. This post has been updated in February of 2023. One trend I've seen emerging is the importance of visual content. Look at Pinterest and Instagram- two widely popular platforms based on high quality visual content.
Whether you're just getting started with social media, or you've been around for a while and just want to get more exposure, you're going to want to spend a little time creating quality visual content. Visual content includes anything from banners and profile images to infographics, photos and more. Now, more than ever, your visual images are a crucial part of your online marketing. With over 300+ million photos shared on Instagram every day, we can't ignore this important aspect of marketing.
So how can you increase your exposure with social media images?
There are a few tips and tricks to creating the images that get noticed across the various platforms.
How to get your images noticed on social media
Tricks and tips for creating showstopping social media images
Profile photos on Instagram should be 110 x 110 pixels minimum
Photo sizes posted to your grid feed should be a minimum of 1080 x 1080 pixels. Squares always work best, but you can post other sizes and Instagram will auto-crop on the grid preview.
Instagram Stories and Reels are sized at a 9:16 ratio or 1080 x 1920 pixels.
Here are some quick tips to optimizing your Instagram posts:
Use Instagram to edit photos and make them more visually attractive.
Create images that have a higher resolution.
The photo editing capabilities of Instagram have come a long way. It's free, and allows users to upload their photos, and crop to a square format, and has a variety of filters, color corrections, and other photo editing tools. Aside from the editing features, Instagram can be an integral part of your marketing plan. That's a post for another day, but if you're not currently using Instagram, it’s a great option for many types of businesses.
Pinterest is the master of visual content right now. This social media platform isn't just for women- so if you're not on Pinterest already, you might want to think about joining. Pinterest displays visual content in a beautiful, clean spread on a user's homepage. Pins are shown at 238 pixels wide, but can have an unlimited height.
The profile photo for Pinterest is now 180 x 180 pixels (you can go larger if you’d like).
The maximum pin width after you click it can vary by device.
For your custom Pinterest board covers, go with a minimum of 340 x 340 pixels, or larger.
The ideal size for a Pinterest pin is 1080 x 1920 pixels
Here are some quick tips to optimizing your Pinterest posts:
Use bright, colorful images without too much texture.
Photos with mostly warm tones (think reds, oranges and yellows) have higher repin rates on average than those with cool tones (think greens, blues and purples).
Making your Pinterest image loooonger can get it noticed. The longer it is, the more likely someone will notice it in their feed!
When you think of LinkedIn, it might only be when you're looking for a job. LinkedIn is much more than that, and is a great social network and powerful way to connect with others. While it may not be the most visual of the social media platforms, you'll still be able to use great visual content to get noticed.
On LinkedIn, the maximum aspect ratio for mobile and desktop is 4:5. I suggest using 1200 x 1500 pixels so that your images look the best they can and stand out in the newsfeed.
Square images do a great job of filling up a large amount of space to really get noticed. Go with a 1200 x 1200 pixel image for high visibility.
Here are some quick tips to optimizing your LinkedIn posts:
Always include a profile photo! Profiles that include a photo are viewed 11 times more than those that don't. That's 1100% more people you can reach!
Include a photo when sharing content on LinkedIn.
Header size on Twitter is 3:1 ratio, or 1500 x 500 pixels
The profile size on Twitter is a 1:1 ratio, or 400 x 400 pixels
Tweeted image sizes are 16:9 ratio, or 1200 x 675 pixels
The Twitter Card image sizes are 1.91:1 ratio, or 1200 x 628 pixels
Facebook Banner Sizes
A Facebook Page Banner is 1200 x 674 pixels
A Facebook Group Banner is 1640 x 856 pixels
A Facebook Event Banner is 1200 x 628 pixels
A Facebook Profile Banner is 1200 x 675 pixels
If you want to make it easy on yourself and just go with one-size-fits-all on Facebook, you could use a 16:9 ratio for the proportions and it will auto-crop appropriately.
Facebook Post Sizes
Photos on Facebook display at 176 x 176 pixels on computers and 196 x 196 pixels on smartphones
Photos on Facebook posts for the wall can have a varied heights but are 476 pixels wide. So a longer height is better for visibility.