Social Media Image Sizes in 2024: Complete Cheat Sheet

With what seems like an endless list of image specs for every social platform, we’ve gathered them together for you in an easy, single guide – one that’s up-to-date, accurate and certified for official use. across all your socials

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Guide to social media image sizes in 2024

From headers, to feed posts, to profile pics and beyond. This guide covers all the big players: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Plus cheat sheets for each!

But first you might be thinking. What’s all the fuss about? Why do image sizes matter for me as a musician? In actual fact, sizing your images correctly is key to your music social media strategy and branding.

It not only makes sure you’re posting great visual content to your feed and followers, but it also presents you and your music in a professional, high-quality light online.

It does this by making sure…

Okay you ready? Let's get into it.

Instagram Image Sizes

First up’s a biggie – Instagram – arguably the most popular photo sharing platform out there. With a feed that’s based primarily on visual content, getting the right sized images really matters when it comes to promoting music on Instagram.

Supported File formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, BMP and non-animated GIFs

Profile Picture

This is the first thing users will see when they search you through Instagram’s explore page. And remember - first impressions count.

Keep in mind that Instagram profile images are displayed in a circle. So you may need to re-centre your image to make sure none of the important visuals are cropped out.

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Feed Posts

Instagram’s all about the feed.

The below specs refer to the images you upload as ‘posts’ on Instagram, which appear in your follower’s main feed. Post images can be formatted in square, portrait or landscape mode, but we'd recommend sticking to square images on your feed.

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Thumbnail Images

Thumbnails are the images that show up when you view your Instagram profile in grid or gallery view. Instagram keeps your image uploads as thumbnails, so try and upload pics as large as possible to prevent them ending up pixelated.

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Instagram Stories

Instagram stories are one of the most popular features on the app. You can add both images and videos here, so don’t cut corners when it comes to the specifics!

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IGTV Cover Photo

If you upload an IGTV vid to Instagram, the cover photo will appear on your channel page. So make sure it’s sized right.

Remember, you can’t edit this image once it’s published – so double check it before uploading.

IGTV Video

You can upload an IGTV video in either portrait or landscape mode.

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Carousels

For those who don't know, Instagram carousels are essentially multiple image posts. And there’s a couple of different format types you can use: square, portrait and landscape.

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Twitter Image Sizes

Twitter is up there with one of the best places to network and promote your music on socials. And when it comes to uploading images, there’s a few different formatting aspects to consider…

Supported File Formats: JPEG, GIF and PNG

Profile Picture

Like Instagram, your music Twitter profile picture is the first point of reference for when audiences search your Twitter handle or name.  

Also like Instagram, your Twitter profile picture will be displayed as a circle even though it’s uploaded as a square. So as before, keep any important visuals away from the corner to avoid them being cropped out.

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Header/Banner Image

Your Twitter header or banner is the image that appears horizontally along the top of your Twitter profile.

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Keep in mind - header images look different across different devices i.e. from desktop to mobile. This means Twitter could crop your header by up to 60 pixels, up and down. So like Instagram, you might need to re-centre this image to keep all the important info and visuals at the fore.

Another thing to keep in mind – your Twitter profile picture will partially block the bottom left corner of your header image, so again re-centre as needed (but we’ll get to that next).

Images in Tweets

These are the images that appear within your main Twitter stream or feed i.e. if you tweeted out an image, this is what people would see.

Any images you include in a Tweet will be a cropped preview version of the image. Users will only see the full display size when clicked on. This can go up to 1200 x 675 pixels.

So you can still upload any shape of image, it’ll just be cropped into an in-steam preview version.

Quick note about GIFS: Twitter ONLY supports looping GIFS (tragic, we know). So if you share a GIF that doesn’t loop, it will show up in-stream as a static image.

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Facebook Image Sizes

Facebook is another great social platform for promoting your music with a visual aid.

With the option of using your personal account, creating a business account or making a page, Facebook’s image options allow you to customise your profile to fit your own branding.  

Supported File Formats: JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, or TIFF

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Profile Picture

Smile! This is the main headline image that represents you, your music and your brand on Facebook. This will be layered over the top of your cover photo and is the photo that shows up when you post or comment anywhere on Facebook. Remember this image will be cropped into a circle shape, so bare that in mind in terms of the image you choose.

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On a Desktop: Profile pictures are located 16 pixels from the left and 176 pixels from the top of your cover photo.

On a Smartphone: Profile pictures are located 24 pixels from the left, 24 pixels from the bottom and 196 pixels from the top of your cover photo.

Your profile picture will appear as a thumbnail version throughout Facebook at 32 x 32 pixels.

Note: For a Facebook Business Account, the dimensions of your profile picture will remain the same. The only difference worth mentioning is that Facebook crops Business Page images to fit a square, so it’ll look slightly different compared with personal accounts.

Cover Image

Similar to a Twitter banner, a Facebook cover image appears at the top of your profile, as a sort of underlay or background image.

For images that feature a logo, message or text, use a PNG file for best results.

You can also use a video for your Facebook cover image rather than a static image.

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Note: Facebook Business Page cover image dimensions are exactly the same as personal accounts.

Post Images

A shared image is probably the most common form of sharing on Facebook. If you share an image, it appears on your timeline and it’ll also show up on in the majority of your followers’ news feeds.

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Event Cover Image

Creating Facebook events is a great way to promote your upcoming performances or gigs, and invite followers to RSVP whether they’re attending or not.

With event posts, you can add a cover image for the event itself, similar to your own profile cover image.

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Facebook Stories

Facebook stories - similar to Instagram Stories - will take up your entire mobile screen.

If you’re including text in your stories, we’d suggest leaving about 250 pixels at the top and bottom of the image text-free. This prevents any CTAs (call-to-actions) being covered by buttons or your profile image.

Snapchat Image Sizes

Snapchat is another platform well worth looking into when promoting new music – did you know you can upload music to Snapchat with Ditto? And what’s Snapchat better known for than swapping and sharing visual content? So make sure your image-sharing is on point by posting your content in the right ratio every time!

Supported File Formats: JPG or PNG

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Profile Picture

Gotcha ;-)

Yep, Snapchat no longer has a profile picture option. Bitmojis are essentially the new profile picture across the platform. So you don’t need to worry about this one for Snapchat.

Shared Photo/Snap Size

Similar to Instagram Stories, Snapchat photos take up the full screen of your phone when you open and view them.

This means when you take a photo on your phone, the dimensions of that image will be automatically preserved by the app, so you don’t have to change anything here. Another less thing to worry about!

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Geofilters Image Size

This is a fun one! Geofilters let you filter and spice up an image by adding a location tag or similar. This is useful for marketing your music locally, or even non-locally, which is a easy way to generate more visibility in your area.

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Geofilters can also be used to create a filter that includes your logo or branding on it. But you’ll need to get authorization first to do this.

If you’ve already secured authorization, make sure you…

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Stories

Just like Instagram and Facebook, Snapchat lets you post videos to your story that others can view and send to other Snapchatters (if your privacy settings allow it).

A good one for short self-recorded clips of you singing, playing or just sharing what you're up to right now!

TikTok Image Sizes

TikTok is one the biggest social platform to hit the market in years! And it's massive growth has opened up new ops for marketing music on TikTok with interesting and potentially viral visuals.

Supported Image Formats: JPG and PNG

Profile Picture

For TikTok, your profile image is the only photo associated with your account i.e. no banners or cover photos (as of yet…).So make sure you take extra care in correctly sizing it to fit.

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TikTok Video

Videos are at the heart of TikTok.

They can be uploaded in either portrait or landscape view, but ideally you want to opt for portrait mode as these are the normal viewing format for TikTok.

Although it’s still a relatively new platform and therefore susceptible to change, the current specs for uploading video content to TikTok are as follows:

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Note: You can now upload TikTok videos up to 3 minutes long, but it’s been found that the shorter the duration, the higher the likelihood of viewers watching a video to the end.

YouTube Image Sizes

Now you might think YouTube is all about the video content, and it mostly is. But images also play a really important role in making sure your channel looks professional.

Supported Image Formats: JPG, GIF, BMP and PNG

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Profile Picture

Your profile picture on YouTube is the image that oversees your YouTube channel account.

But it’s slightly different from other platforms as it allows you to select a profile image border from your pic. But most importantly, whether you have a border or not, the dimensions stay the same.

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Channel Cover Art

You can add some fun and customisation to your channel through YouTube’s “channel art” option. This presents viewers with a series of exciting imagery as they flick through your videos, which may just convince them to hang around a bit longer!

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Note: If you want your cover art to display nicely on mobile, makes sure to keep all the important visuals within the safe area mentioned above.

Video Thumbnail Images

Uploading video content is at the core of YouTube. Whether it’s you newest music video, footage of you performing live, or an interview talking about your recent release, this is the main reason why fans visit and subscribe to your YouTube channel.

Which means your video thumbnail image should be fit for high quality viewing. It's what people will see before they hit play on your vid.

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Video Upload

If you're uploading a video to YouTube, make sure it's in standard 16:9 format. It doesn't need to be 4K - although there's nothing to lose if you have a powerful camera - but make sure you're sharing high-quality clips every time.

LinkedIn Image Sizes

LinkedIn can be a vital place to link up with industry contacts. And when it comes to rubbing shoulders with influential leaders, making sure your LinkedIn profile looks as sleek and polished as possible, is a must.

Supported Image Formats: JPG, PNG, or GIF

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Profile Picture

Your LinkedIn profile picture can help sell your brand. It’s the first visual cue that industry players will see when you show up on their screen.  

Profile Cover Image

LinkedIn also lets you select a background image for your profile. Although it can be a little awkward to find an image to fit this space, if you do it can really set you apart.

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Shared Image or Link

These are the basic posts you create to share an image or a link (with an image), most likely to a blog post or article.

Pinterest Image Sizes

Pinterest is ALL about the imagery. With such a massive user base, Pinterest holds the potential for you to attract new audiences to your music.

But that can only be achieved through well optimised Pinterest photos for your boards and pins.

Supported Image Formats: JPEG and PNG

Profile picture

If you’ve already got a Pinterest account, you’ll know you have the option to set it up using your Facebook or Twitter account. This means Pinterest will automatically import the profile photo from whichever of those accounts, and set it as your Pinterest profile picture.

But if you’d like to use a different photo, you can!

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For Pinterest, the larger the photo you upload, the better. And Pinterest will simply resize it to fit.

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Profile Banner

You can also add a banner image to the top of your Pinterest profile.

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Pin Images

When creating pins, it’s important to note that Pinterest limits the width of the image but not the length. This means you can upload a square photo (1:1) or one that’s taller than it is width wise. For this reason, Pinterest is more based on ratios than pixel sizes.

Board Cover Photo

Now you’ve got your perfectly sized pins, you wanna make sure your board has an optimum cover photo to display them on. It’s important you’re using a cover image that fits the board size criteria exactly.

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Story Pins

And don’t forget those Pinterest stories!

Now you’re all set with everything you need to know for crafting the optimum sized images and videos for all your social media marketing.

Now get out there and share some awesome content!