Social Media Video Aspect Ratio: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet

Ackansha Deoli -

Marketing has always been a competitive sphere.

Companies around the world keep up with the latest fads in marketing to stay relevant and top of mind. At the moment, videos seem to be the ultimate marketing tool, having the potential to change the entire game for you. This is why, most of the forward-thinking brands today, look up to videos, to get noticed, make a mark, convert and delight.

But, to incorporate videos in your social media campaigns, and make the best use of them, you need to take care of all the right social video sizes. To make things easier for you, I am jotting down every spec and size here so that you can start using videos right away.

Let us see the correct video specs for each social media platform one by one:

Facebook Video Aspect Ratio

Each one of us can tell this from our personal experience that Facebook has become one of the finest mediums to binge-watch interesting videos. As far as I am concerned, every time I log into my account, all I can see is a feed soaked in videos.

But the problem with Facebook is, there simply are so many types of videos that one cannot really decide which video specs to follow. Since different video formats follow different specs, it gets extremely confusing after a while.  

But don't you worry as I am just going to mention individual specs for each video type.

a) Shared Post Video (Portrait & Landscape)

Video Guidelines

  • For both Landscape & Portrait, the video dimensions need to be 1280 x 720.
  • The length for both landscape & Portrait depends on the aspect ratio.
  • The Preferred width for landscape & Portrait, however, is 600 pixels.
  • It is best to keep the Landscape aspect ratio 16:9.
  • When sharing the video in portrait, the aspect ration needs to be 9:16.
  • The maximum size of the file is 4GB.
  • .MP4 and .MOV are more preferred video formats.
  • The length of the video could extend to 120 minutes and no more.
  • Maximum video frames could be 30fps.

b) 360 Videos

Video Guidelines

  • Maximum dimensions for a 360 video is 4096 x 2048.
  • Minimum width for a 360 video is 600 pixels. Its length depends on the aspect ratio.  
  • The aspect ratio for a 360 video is 2:1.  
  • The maximum file size cannot extend beyond 1.75GB.
  • .MP4 is the most preferred video format.
  • Make sure the Video length doesn't exceed beyond 40 minutes.
  • Maximum video frames could be 60fps.

Instagram Video Aspect Ratio

Seventy-one percent of the businesses around the world use Instagram to reach their audiences. Instagram is the perfect medium to establish yourself as a brand through videos. It is the right place to send your message across, understand peoples' requirements & behaviors and build a deep and meaningful relationship with them. Always use Instagram tools for best results on Instagram marketing .

In Feed Videos (Landscape, Square & Vertical)

Video Guidelines

  • Minimum resolution for landscape, square and vertical videos for Instagram's In Feed Videos are 600 x 315, 600 x 600 and 600 x 750 respectively.
  • The aspect ratios for landscape, square and vertical videos are 16:9, 1:1 and 4:5 respectively.    
  • The maximum file size cannot extend beyond 4GB. (All Formats)
  • .MP4 and .MOV are more preferred video formats.
  • Make sure the Video length doesn't exceed beyond 60 seconds.
  • Maximum video frames could be 30fps.  

Also The aspect ratios for landscape, square and vertical videos are 16:9, 1:1 and 4:5 respectively.

Twitter Video Aspect Ratio

Twitter is known for its quirkiness. If you want to conquer Twitter space, you must know how to be witty in a precisely crisp manner. That is why the video you share on Twitter must come with a clear, exciting and attractive clickbait. Your content should arouse in your audience a natural desire to click on the given link and engage.

Video Guideline

Twitter Landscape & Portrait Videos

  • Preferred dimensions for Twitter Landscape Video are 320 x 180 (256K bitrate), 640 x 360 (768K bitrate) and 1280 x 720 (2048K bitrate).
  • Preferred dimensions for Twitter Portrait Video are 240 x 240 (256K bitrate), 480 x 480 (768K bitrate) and 640 x 640 (1024K bitrate).
  • Minimum dimensions for both the Landscape & Portrait videos are 32 x 32.  
  • Maximum dimensions for both the Landscape & Portrait videos are 1280 x 1024.
  • The aspect ratio for Twitter's Landscape & Portrait video fall between 1:2.39 and 2.39:1.  
  • The maximum file size cannot extend beyond 512MB.
  • .MP4 and .MOV are more preferred video formats.
  • Make sure that the Video length doesn't exceed beyond 140 seconds.
  • Maximum video frames could be 40fps.

YouTube Video Aspect Ratio

We don't even need to see the numbers to realize how many people visit YouTube every minute, to entertain and inform themselves. YouTube is an important video platform.

What gives its an upper edge over all the other social media platforms is its crux, which is built upon videos. And true to its character, until date, YouTube has been successfully serving people with all kinds of binge-worthy videos.

Standard YouTube Videos

Video Guidelines

  • Preferred dimensions for a standard YouTube Video are 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p), 1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
  • Minimum dimension for a standard YouTube Video needs to be 426 x 240.
  • Maximum dimension for a standard YouTube Video needs to be 3840 x 2160.
  • Recommended standard aspect ratio for YouTube is 16:9.  
  • The maximum file size cannot extend beyond 128Gb or 12 hours.
  • .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM are the preferred Video formats.
  • Make sure that the Video length doesn't exceed beyond 12 hours.

LinkedIn Video Aspect Ratio

LinkedIn is a professional platform where companies use videos to flaunt their products, services, and testimonies & updates. It is one of the most trusted networks that can make or mar your company's reputation in the professional realm.

This is why it is very important to know your LinkedIn video dimensions well and create videos that best suits the medium.

Shared Videos

Video Guidelines

  • The aspect ratio for LinkedIn's Shared Videos falls between 1:2.4 and 2.4:1.
  • The maximum file size cannot extend beyond 5Gb.
  • The Video formats that the platform accept are .ASF, .AVI, .FLV, .MOV, .MPEG-1, .MPEG-4, .MKV, and .WebM.
  • Make sure that the Video length doesn't exceed beyond 10 minutes.
  • Maximum video frames could be 60fps.

Wrapping up..

Videos are a great way to reach your audience and get imprinted in their memories. If you know your video specs right, you can use the various social media platforms well to spread your message, product or services. Setting the video format right might seem too difficult in the beginning. However, once you know the basics, there is nothing simpler than that. All you got to do is follow our lead and see what dimensions are best fit for which platform.

If you would like to connect with us and tell us what is been happening, just drop us a message. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Also, since, you read about the video specs, I thought you might be interested in learning about the Social Video length as well.