Finding the Right Images for your Social Media Marketing

Posted by Evelyn on February 16, 2016

With so many types of images that need to fit in a variety of many social media markets, how do you know which one to use?

More specifically, what is the correct size? You may find a stellar photo that you think will work great as the cover of your Facebook page but you keep getting an error message when you try to upload it, saying it's not big enough. This can get quite frustrating.

Images should be optimized correctly for each social media network. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn images are more rectangular as content is generally presented in a single column. Google+ Plus and Pinterest images are more portrait form, or taller then it is wide. Instagram’s images are square. This quick reference guide - courtesy of  Hubspot Blog -  has a list of each social media and it's correct sizing.

Also note that some images are only allowed a certain amount of text such as a boosted image on Facebook. There is a 20% rule which makes it very limited to what text you can put on it. However, Facebook does have feature that you can test the image to see if it's going to work before you boost it.

And where to find these images? Many people use free stock images such as these: www.freeimages.com   pixabay.com     picjumbo.com.  Or pay a little extra and buy images -- one I use on a regular bases is www.vectorstock.com

But here’s another idea—why not use your own photos? A few years ago when I was in Tofino, I took a few photos of sunsets and used one of those images as my busines Facebook cover image. ( see below)   The nice thing about using your own images is it’s easy on the budget PLUS you know it’s not something that will be recycled ( which happens with stock images)

Visuals are the key to success on social media – but you want to make sure that an image will fit your brand. Is it right for your followers on this specific social network? Does it spark some kind of emotion?

If you still need some help with this, I do offer monthly social media marketing packages. And of course, I can also design some stellar social media images for you too. Call or email me and ask about my FREE 30 minute consultation. 250.324.6100 or evelyn@visualedgedesign.ca