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Kerala home baker Mangala Unnikrishnan is proving age is just a number! CakePopShop Kochi offers fresh cream cakes, seasonal fruit cakes, tea cakes, eggless desserts, brownies, cookies & more. #mompreneur #Keralafood #supportlocal
Author: Neenu Sara Abraham
According to CNBC, Instagram reportedly crossed over 2 billion active users by the the end of 2021, and it has indeed become an unavoidable part of your marketing mix in this pandemic era. But, do you find it hard to perfectly fit your photos or videos on Instagram and worry about unnecessary cropping? This is your one stop guide to sizes of all Instagram features. Watch out for some secret designer tips at the end of each section!
How to calculate Instagram post sizes?
This is basic math but easy to confuse. An aspect ratio of the post is the width to height ratio of the post and the resolution is the pixels (pixels per inch or ppi) on that post within this ratio. The key is to first choose a standard width for any post and then adjust the heights according to your aspect ratio.
Tip:
A standard 1080 px post width with an image resolution of 300 ppi is preferred. That way your Instagram post will have good image quality even after compression and an ideal colour quality shall be maintained on different devices. You can always go above this, the output file size will change accordingly. Always remember, images for digital sharing should be in RGB format. Use sRGB colour profile if you are using professional graphic tools like Photoshop or Illustrator.
SIZES FOR INSTAGRAM PHOTOS
1:1 Square post
(1080X1080 px)
This is the easiest and the best size for photos and carousels and they don’t give way for unattractive cropping on profile grid.
Tip:
While designing any post, it is convenient to leave an imaginary border around the design so that icons such as tags and carousel number do not overlap the important areas of your design.
4:5 Portrait post or 5:4 Landscape post
(1080X1350 px or 1350X1080 px)
This is the maximum possible size for an image post and maximum visible area on feed for any vertical post (including reels and videos). Since this size utilizes more area on a device screen, it can grab the users’ attention more than that of the square size. You can leverage this to bring more attention to your content.
Tip:
Keep the text and important parts of the visuals within an imaginary square (1:1) in the centre to avoid cropping on profile grid.
SIZES FOR INSTAGRAM REELS & VIDEOS
By now, we know that Instagram has been pushing reels and videos a lot and has been on a mission to give more value to Creators, Instagram Business and Shopping as well as messaging. This calls for quality video sizes to amplify your content to reach more audience.
You can post Videos upto 10 minutes and Reels upto 60 seconds long. MP4 format is preferred.
9:16 Portrait or 16:9 Landscape
(1080X1920 px or 1920X1080 px)
It is possible to post videos in the above mentioned sizes like 1:1 and 4:5 but Reels are best viewed in 9:16 or full screen mode. But these are not the same. 9:16 video or photo size is a universally convenient size and the full screen size is different for different brands of phones. Instagram lets you resize your 9:16 reels to full screen mode before posting but this will cause cutting of edges.
Tip: Keep your text and important areas of graphic within central 1:2 as the top and bottom areas of video will be covered by account name, caption, etc.
Videos can be in landscape or portrait from 1:1 to 9:16. It’s worth noting that the reels and portrait videos will play on feed in a maximum size of 4:5.
Tip:
While making any vertical posts like Instagram Stories, Reels and Videos, it’s smart to leave extra boundaries of 50px around them and design within the 9:16 area. Now the design area becomes 1180X2020 px.
SIZE FOR INSTAGRAM STORIES
9:16 (1080X1920 px)
Though you can’t reach new people, stories are the best way to communicate directly with your followers through stickers and by posting short lived updates. Each story can be 15 seconds long and Instagram splits videos upto 60 seconds by default into four stories of 15 seconds each.
Tip:
Keep your stickers like Ask question, Quiz, Poll, Link etc above the bottom 1/5th area of the screen as these may not be touchable on all devices.
SIZES FOR INSTAGRAM COVERS
Tip: While 4:5 size is viewed on the feed while scrolling, only the central 1:1 is visible on profile grid and in the videos tab. Add text and important areas of graphic within 1:1.
Tip: You cannot upload a cover for Guide. It can only be chosen from your own posts or saved posts from other profiles. It’s good to have a demo Instagram profile which you can use for trying out all your size experiments before officially posting. Post your desired Guide cover on this demo profile. Save this post on the main profile. Now you can use this image from your saved posts as Guide cover.
That’s it, ya’ll. By now, you might have understood that it is best to stick to the standard 1:1, 4:5 and 9:16 sizes. Here is a roundup of common tips:
Before concluding, did you wonder why we use 1080px as the common width for any social media aspect ratio? This is because the most widely used aspect ratios for photography and videography across all devices are 1:1, 3:4, 4:5 and 9:16. And 1080px is the width (numerator) that is divisible by all these integers (1,3,4,5,9 & 16) without leaving long decimals that are complicated for calculating the height (denominator). A 1080 px image can ensure a minimum quality without getting pixelated. Happy creating, Instagrammers!
If you’re looking for ways to grow your small business on social media, here are 25 ideas to revamp and jazz up your social media feed.
Author: Tejashree Bhat
Influencer Marketing on Instagram has been in buzz for a while now. It takes the idea of celebrity endorsement but doesn’t actually involve celebrities. Instead, it revolves around “influencers”, many of whom would never consider themselves famous in an offline setting.
An influencer is someone who has power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority, knowledge, position or relationship with their audience. They have a following in a distinct niche, with whom they actively engage. It is also important to realise that most influencers have systematically built a keen and enthusiastic audience. Their audience do not care much about the brand but care about the opinions of the influencer.
It is very important how you consider your approach to Influencer Marketing. Be organised, put together a strategy, plan, and budget, spend time on research. Decide on your approach to finding influencers. Be patient and be human while interacting with the influencer. Interact like people talking to people, not company talking to company.
The first step of any influencer program is to define your goals. Understand why you are carrying out an Influencer Campaign. Then define the target audience for your campaign. For Influencer Marketing to be successful, you need to work with influencers who influence your target audience. From that, define the best type of influencer for your brand. Search for these influencers, either manually or with a platform. Make contact with these influencers and then contract them.
As a brand you also need to do some groundwork. Firstly, interact in positive and constructive ways on influencers’ social pages. This way you gain early access to their followers. You’re showing your face as a member of their community without promoting anything to them and adding your credibility down the line. Eventually, when you do propose Influencer Marketing collaboration, the influencer will already know you, what you’re about, and whether you’re a good fit for their audience.
Post marketing you can measure the results with increase in:
1. Audience Reach
2. Impressions
3. Engagement (Comments, Likes, Shares)
4. Sentiment
6. Conversions
Lastly remember Influencer Marketing isn’t just about finding someone with an audience and offering them money or exposure so they can say good things about you. Influencer Marketing is also not about quick results. It’s the slow-and-steady approach just like Social Media and Content Marketing.
