The importance of images on social media (with size cheat sheet!)

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Did you know that people form an impression in just 50 milliseconds of content they’re viewing online?

If we said that using images on social media was just important, we’d be wrong: It’s absolutely necessary. Eye-catching visuals make your content perform much better than just a post will alone.

Here are a few tips for driving more traffic to your links with images:

1. Use relevant images

Writing a fashion blog post? Make sure to include a picture of the products you’re talking about. Posting about your services? How can you convey those services with art?

Don’t just pick any old image, try to create original content; or use creative commons photos to supplement your posts.

You can find great, free stock photos on two of our favorite sites: Unsplash and Pixabay. If those aren’t doing it for you, our friends at Gazette Media & Marketing have compiled this list of free stock photo sites.

2. Use the appropriate file type

If you’re adding text to an image for your posts, you should NEVER (ever) save them as a JPEG file. JPEGs are lossy image files, and when saved with text, you’ll start to notice fuzziness around your elements.

Instead, download images as PNGs.

3. Use the correct sizes for each network

Here are the guidelines for each network’s image sizes, in width by height:

Facebook

  • Cover image: 828 x 315
  • Profile image: ≥180 x 180
  • Shared image: 1200 x 900
  • Shared link preview image: 1200 x 628

Instagram

  • Profile image: 110 x 110
  • Image thumbnail: 161 x 161
  • Shared images: 1080 x 1080
  • Shared videos: 1080 pixels wide

Pinterest Image Sizes

  • Profile image: 180 x 180
  • Board cover image: 214 x 100
  • Pin preview: 238 pixels wide

Twitter

  • Header image: 1500 x 500
  • Profile image: 400 x 400
  • Timeline image: 506 x 253

LinkedIn

  • Banner image: 1850 x 200
  • Profile image: 400 x 400
  • Cover image: 1536 x 768
  • Shared image: 350 pixels wide
  • Shared link preview: 180 x 110
  • Logo image: 400 x 400

Tumblr

  • Profile image: 128 x 128
  • Image post: 500 x 750 | 1280 x 1920 maximum

Snapchat

  • Geofilter: 1080 x 1920

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