Paid Media Ad Dimensions by Platform

Anvil

5 years ago

Compelling creative is paramount for any good social or paid media campaign. With all the noise on the internet, a strong and relevant image is what you need to stop the scroll and let users know what your business is about. While the old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” greatly predates the internet, it couldn’t be more spot on for digital marketing. Even more so if you’re focusing on platforms like Instagram or Display where the image is everything.

Once you’ve decided to take the plunge and get serious in digital marketing, it can be overwhelming to see how many sizes are needed for platforms. The good news is that you don’t have to have every single size, but the question remains, where to begin? Below I’ll share the best sizes for Facebook/Instagram, Google Display and LinkedIn. Of course, when in doubt contact Anvil Media for all your social media needs.

Facebook and Instagram

Facebook recommends that when you create ads for mobile, images and videos should cover as much screen as possible to grab attention. Choose an aspect ratio that best suits different placements and formats (see what the placements look like) and remember to check which placements support which aspect ratios. Below are some recommended aspect ratios for different placements and formats:

For Facebook and Instagram feeds: We recommend 4:5 but you can also use 1:1.
For Facebook, Instagram and Messenger Stories: Most people hold their phones vertically, so we recommend 9:16 to capture the full screen. You can also use 4:5.
For video carousel format: We recommend 1:1 and consistent ratios for all videos in a carousel.
For Facebook and Audience Network in-stream video: We recommend 16:9 to match the videos the ads appear in and alongside.
Size: 1,200 x 628 pixels
Maximum Image file Size: 30mb
Minimum image file size: 3mb
File Type: .jpeg

While we’re talking about Facebook imagery, they have found that images with less than 20% text perform better. Not only do they recommend your images follow that rule, but they will disapprove an ad for having too much text. Even is your ad is not disapproved, should it have too much text chances are it will not be shown as often.

Google Display Network

Display is a great, generally inexpensive way to reach users towards the top of the funnel. Per Google, Wider ad sizes tend to outperform their taller counterparts, due to their reader-friendly format. Wider sizes let them comfortably read more text at a glance without having to skip a line and return to the left margin every few words, as they’d have to with a narrower ad.

If positioned well, wide ad sizes can increase your earnings significantly. The sizes we’ve found to be the most effective are:

336×280 large rectangle
300×250 medium rectangle
728×90 leaderboard
300×600 half page
320×100 large mobile banner
160 x 600 wide skyscraper

All images need to be under 150kbs and unlike Facebook, you can use text. In fact, we encourage a call to action in the image!

LinkedIn is a great tool to get in front of the professional audience. It allows you to target specific job titles and industries, which is not available on Facebook or Google. In the last year the analytics have become more robust making it increasingly more compelling as an advertising platform.