Facebook and Instagram Ads image dimensions and specifications

The recommended dimensions and specifications for promoted (sponsored) Facebook ads and Instagram ads.

Facebook and Instagram have 2 different primary types of content: Sponsored and Organic. Organic content (content you share for free) from a Business Page that has not been “boosted” (or Sponsored) will typically display to about 20% of the page’s followers (this percentage of the “reach” increases as the engagement with the post increases, so the more reactions / shares / comments means a higher percentage of the total audience reach will be shown the post). This means that a post from a page with 1,000 likes in its total audience will likely only show to 200 of those people. These posts must meet Facebook’s community standards.

On the other hand, sponsored content (or content you pay to promote) from a Business Page will show to 100% of a select audience (reach) as long as the images are compliant with Facebook’s design recommendations. There are 4 different versions of images that are worth noting:

• Facebook single image (appearing in Desktop News Feed and Mobile News Feed):
  • Recommended image size: 1,200 x 628 pixels
  • Image ratio: 1.9:1
  • Text: 90 characters
  • Headline: 25 characters
  • Link description: 30 characters
  • Your image should include minimal text. 20% or less is recommended. Images that have more than 20% text will have their audiences reduced.
  • You can test how much text overlay is in an image using Facebook’s text overlay test check.   
• Facebook Carousel (appearing in Desktop News Feed, Mobile News Feed and Right Column):
  • Recommended image size: 1080 x 1080 pixels
  • Image ratio: 1:1
  • Text: 90 characters
  • Headline: 40 characters
  • Link description: 20 characters
  • Your image should include minimal text. 20% or less is recommended. Images that have more than 20% text will have their audiences reduced.
• Instagram single image (appearing in Instagram feed):
  • Design Recommendations:
    • Image ratio: 1:1
    • Image size: 1080 x 1080 pixels
    • Caption: Text only, 125 characters recommended
  • Technical Requirements
    • Image ratio: Landscape (1.91:1), Square (1:1), Vertical (4:5)
    • Minimum resolution: 600 x 315 pixels (1.91:1 landscape) / 600 x 600 pixels (1:1 square) / 600 x 750 pixels (4:5 vertical)
    • Caption: Text only, max 2,200 characters
    • Limited support for landscape format
    • Maximum resolution: 1936 x 1936 pixels
    • File type: .jpg or .png
    • Maximum size: 30MB
    • Your image may not include more than 20% text.
• Instagram Carousel (appearing in Instagram feed):
  • Design Recommendations:
    • Image size: 1080 x 1080 pixels
    • Caption: Text only, 125 characters recommended
  • Technical Recommendations
    • Minimum number of cards: 2
    • Maximum number of cards: 10
    • Image ratio: 1:1
    • Minimum resolution: 600 x 600 pixels
    • Maximum resolution: 1080 x 1080 pixels
    • File type: .jpg or .png
    • Maximum size: 30MB per image
    • Your image should include minimal text. See how the amount of text in your ad image will impact the reach of your ad.
    • Caption: Text only, max 2,200 characters

One other important thing to note is the Call to Action button (or CTA). Facebook and Instagram ads allow “Call to Action” buttons to appear along with any sponsored content. While this might seem like an afterthought, the CTA for any sponsored post is one of the most important decisions you can make, as this is what the audience will click to perform whatever action you want them to perform. “Learn More” is the default, but the choices also usually include:

• Shop Now
• Apply Now
• Book Now
• Contact Us
• Download
• Send Message
• Request Time
• Start Order
• Sign Up
• Watch More

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