Social media is quickly becoming the new battlefield for marketers and companies alike. With a plethora of platforms to choose from, it can be difficult to know where your best content will make an impact. Luckily, there are several ways that videos have been proven particularly successful in keeping audiences engaged with posts on social media sites like Instagram or Facebook! Videos do more than just attract visual attention - they also impact not only minds but feelings as well which translates into higher engagement rates across all social networks worldwide. However as each platform releases new video ad formats and updates old ones, staying up-to-date can seem overwhelming; which is why we compiled this exhaustive guide that will keep you updated! Before getting into that let us first look at a few reasons why video content is important in social media marketing.
Video content marketing is a way for brands to both generate their name recognition and spread their message. The video can be uploaded on YouTube and other social media channels. It's great because it works with both B2C and B2B strategies as well as being much easier than traditional methods of publicity. Video is a great way to share your story with the world and get it out there. Video is a versatile and engaging content format that not only gives us an in-depth picture of what’s happening; it can also be shared across various platforms. Consumers like video because it’s easy to digest, entertaining, and engaging while marketers may find there are many ROI opportunities through multiple channels. Video is accessible to anyone with access to the internet--not just those who have high-quality equipment at their disposal or hours on end for production either!
We all know that optimizing videos for Facebook can be quite challenging, especially because there are many types of Facebook videos and each with a different way to deliver them. These video formats include someone’s newsfeed on mobile facebook or desktop, as well as their inbox on messenger! This makes it difficult to understand which type of format is best suited for your campaign goal and doesn't cause any technical difficulty while delivering the right content at just the right time. Advertising videos come in a variety of specifications and types. From the many you'll find, each one has its own unique features that make them great for certain brands or products. Let's take a look at some types.
This is the most common type of video form on Facebook that is available on your Feed. There are two types of video orientations here - landscape and portrait and you can find the specifications for these below.
Video specifications
Minimum width - 600 pixels
Maximum size - 4GB
Maximum length - 240 minutes
Video formats - .MP4 and .MOV(with H.264 compression)
Video dimensions - 1280 X 720 for horizontal and portrait
MAximum frames - 30 fps
Aspect ratio - 16:9 (landscape) , 9:16 (portrait)
Mobile devices render videos to a fixed aspect ratio of 2:3 for both landscape and portrait.
Facebook's 360 Video allows users to get a complete view of whatever they are viewing by scrolling with their cursor on the web and by touching or turning the device for mobile devices. You can also record the video in this format and click the advanced tab and finally by setting the default point of view you can view your videos with stunning 360-degree angles. All you have to do is just drag your finger around within the video and check out all the angles. This type of video is mostly of priority in your feed.
Video specifications
Minimum width: 600 pixels (length depends on aspect ratio).
Maximum Size: 10 GB
Maximum length - 30 minutes
Video formats - MP4 container
Video dimension - Monoscopic videos: 5120 x 2560 maximum, aspect ratio 2:1
Video dimension - Stereoscopic videos 5120 x 5120 maximum, aspect ratio 1:1
Aspect ratio - 1:1 or 2:1
maximum framerate - 30 fps
Have you seen shared videos on your Facebook newsfeed? These are all over the feed but take up a lot of space. They also come in either landscape or portrait orientation. This type of video is shared by friends and marketers, who post them most often.
Video specifications
Minimum width - 600 pixels
Maximum file size - 4GB
Maximum video length - 240 minutes
Video formats - .MP4 and .MOV(with H.264 compression)
Video dimensions - 1280 X 720 for horizontal and portrait
Maximum frames - 30 fps
Aspect ratio - 16:9 (landscape) , 9:16 (portrait)
Mobile devices render videos to a fixed aspect ratio of 2:3 for both landscape and portrait.
They're definitely an engaging way of promotion that allows users the chance to have greater interaction with your service or product.
Carousels on Facebook have 10 times more chances of getting clicked than static ads.
Video dimensions -
Minimum width - Not listed
maximum file size- 4 GB
maximum video length -240 minutes
Video formats -.MP4 or .MOV.
video dimensions -1080 x 1080 (Landscape and Square)
Framerate - 30 fps
aspect ratio - 1:1
Facebook Collection ads are a great way to show your products in detail with images and videos. This is perfect for showcasing multiple items or different colors of the same item! The Facebook Collection ads showcase multiple images and the main video above it.
Video dimensions -
video resolution - 1080 X 1080 (landscape and square)
maximum file size - 4 GB
maximum video length - 120 minutes
video formats - .MP4 and .MOV.
video dimensions - 1200 x 628 (landscape and square)
Minimum dimensions - 600 x 315 (1.9:1 landscape) or 600 x 600 (square)
framerate - 30 fps
aspect ratio - 1:1
Facebook Instant Experience ads provide advertisers with the opportunity to create a full-screen experience that will open up after the first click. These features can include multiple video experiences, including auto-play on loop for more engagement.
Video dimensions -
Maximum file size - 4 GB
Maximum video length - 2 minutes combined
video formats - .MP4 and .MOV.
video dimensions - 720 X 379 pixels (landscape) 720 X 720 pixels (square)
framerate - 30 fps
Minimum resolution - 720 p
aspect ratio - 1.9:1 (landscape) 1:1 (square) 9:16 (portrait with pillar boxing of all others uploaded)
These facebook videos are designed for advertisers that want to reach audiences with a slow internet connection. The only difference is there's an ad display of images or video rather than full-length video clips (similar to how normal ads look on the site).
Video specifications -
Maximum file size - 4GB
Maximum video length - 15 seconds
Video formats - .MP4 and .MOV
Resolution - 1200 X 720
Video dimensions - 1080 X 1080 ( landscape and square)
Framerate - 30fps
Aspect ratio - 16:9 (landscape), 9:16 (if video includes link, 16:9)
Facebook has added the Stories feature, which is a disappearing short photo or video update that can only be viewed for 24 hours. While most people share immediate & organic videos on their phones without worrying about specs and dimensions too much, guidelines while using this format are similar to those followed by paid/organic posts as well.
Video specifications -
Maximum file size - 4 GB
Maximum video length - 15 seconds
Video formats - .MP4 and. MOV
Video dimensions - 1080 X 1080
Aspect ratio - 1.91 to 9:16
Primary text - 125 characters
Headline - 40 characters
Facebook has created full-screen ads that can be used in mobile apps rather than users having to click out of the app. This new type of ad is similar looking at regular newsfeed Facebook Ads, but when clicked it opens up and covers an entire screen allowing advertisers to deliver a "microsite experience". This can bring products to life on mobile and give an interactive and immersive experience. The specifications are -
Maximum file size - 4 GB
Maximum video length - less than 240 minutes
Video formats - . MP4 and .MOV
Minimum dimensions - 600 X 315 (1.9 : 1 - landscape) or 600 X 600 (square)
Video resolution - 1200 X 628 ( Landscape and square)
Aspect ratio - 16:9 (landscape) , 1:1 (square)
Frame rate - 30 fps
When users engage with Canvas ads, they view an autoplay video that plays in-ad for a minimum duration set by advertisers. Usually, this is around 5 seconds or more but can differ based on brand preferences and user behavior.
Maximum file size - 4GB
Maximum video length - less than 120 seconds
Video formats - . MP4 and. MOV
Minimum dimensions - 600 X 315 ( 1.9:1 landscape) or 600 X 600 (square)
Framerate- 30 fps
Aspect ratio - 16:9( landscape), 1:1 (square)
Instagram is uniquely built to allow video sharing of any type: landscape, square and vertical. This characteristic makes it perfect for organic outreach on a predominantly mobile social network. Let us look at the specifications for In-feed videos on Instagram.
Minimum width - 500 pixels
Maximum file size - 4GB
Maximum video length - 60 seconds
Video formats - . MP4 and .MOV
Minimum resolution - 600 X 315 (Landscape), 600 X 600 (square) , 600 X 750 (vertical video)
Aspect ratio - 16:9 (landscape), 1:1 (square), 4:5 (vertical)
Frame Rate - 23- 60 fps
Resolution - 1080 X 1080
The character limits for Instagram In feed Videos are -
Primary text recommendation - 125 characters
Maximum number of hashtags - 30
Like Facebook’s Carousel Ads, Instagram offers this feature as well. On top of allowing users to see more about a product or detail than one photo or video, carousel ads also come in the form of videos with up to 10 cards that include a full-width call to action at the bottom for your audience. The specifications for these are -
Minimum resolution - 600 X 600
Maximum resolution - 1080 X 1080
Maximum video length - 60 seconds
Aspect ratio - 1:1
Maximum file size - 4 GB
Video formats - .MP4 and .MOV
Frame rate - 23- 60 fps
The number of images or videos in one scrolling carousel video ad is 2-10.
Soon after Instagram Stories were launched, ads within the stories became prevalent. Brands are using Instagram Stories for ads to integrate with other Instagram users’ stories. These videos should be raw and unfiltered to avoid being too noticeable as an ad. The specifications for these are-
Maximum file size - 4 GB
Video Resolution - 1080 X 1920
Minimum dimension - 600 X 1067
Maximum video length - 2 minutes, 15 seconds (organic)
Aspect ratio - 16:9 to 4:5 and 9:16
Video Formats - .MP4 and .MOV
Instagram's "Reels" tool is a fun way to create engaging video content. Instagram users can record and edit together 15-60 second clips, set to music, and share them with their followers on Stories or the Explore Feed. You have two options when creating Reel - either film new ones live in camera mode or upload pre-edited videos from your library that are under 30 seconds long each for easy editing later!
Video Resolution - 1080 X 1080
Maximum video length- 15-30 seconds long
Maximum file size - 4GB
Video formats - .MP4 and .MOV
Aspect ratio - 9:16
Video dimensions - 1080 X 1350 or 4:5
IGTV is Instagram's new service that allows for long-form videos. With this, creators can upload 15 to 60-minute video content onto their channels and large accounts are able to create a channel too! IGTV exists so creators can create more compelling content to engage their audience, making it worth watching!IGTV allows advertisers to create organic content that can be used as a way to expand on their campaigns. Ads are currently being tested in some markets, so the details for paid ads is not yet available. Since there is a similarity between both types of IGTV posts at this time, it's likely they will have similar specs when official ad guidelines come out soon (similar look and feel). The specifications for IGTV are-
Maximum file size - 650 MB (less than 10 minutes), 3.6 GB(upto 60 minutes)
Maximum video length - 15 minutes(mobile), 1hour(web)
Video formats - MP4
Video dimensions - 1080 X 1920
Aspect ratio - 9:16 and 16:9
Minimum resolution - 720p
Twitter makes it easy for users to share in-feed video content by providing two formats- landscape and portrait. These specific formats are only available when uploading video directly onto Twitter, rather than sharing a YouTube or Vimeo link. However, the dimensions do change as bitrate alters depending on the format and device used. The video specs are-
minimum width-600 pixels (square video), 640 pixels (other ratios).
maximum video size - 512MB.
maximum length - 140 seconds
Video formats -.MP4 for web and .MOV for mobile.
Video dimensions - 1280 x 720 (landscape), 720 x 1280 (portrait), 720 x 720 (square)
Frame rate - 30 or 60 fps
Aspect ratio -16:9 (landscape or portrait), 1:1 (square).
YouTube is a great place to share videos on your brand. It is a great platform to promote, educate, and share video content around your brand. As YouTube continues to grow as a destination for video content, it hosts everything from short-form promotional videos to full-length movies and TV shows.
However, for organic or unsponsored types of campaigns (that don't include paid ads), all uploaded videos should follow 16:9 ratio dimensions but be 4:3 compatible so that it still fits in their player without any black bars appearing along the sides. The specs are -
Maximum size - 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.
maximum length - 12 hours (max)
Video format - .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, or WebM
Video dimensions- 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p), 1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
Aspect ratio - 16:9 and 4:3
To get started, you should know that YouTube display ads are displayed in users' search queries and sometimes appear on the right side of a video. These ads do not automatically play but once clicked, they follow the same guidelines as standard videos when clicked to expand it into full-screen mode for better viewability as well as overall user experience improvement. the video specs are -
Maximum size - 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.
maximum length - 12 hours
Video format - .MOV, .MPEG4, .MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.
Video dimensions- 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
Aspect ratio - 16:9
Shorts are a new feature on YouTube launched in 2020 that allows you to easily create and discover short videos. They can be captured or uploaded from your smartphone, making it easy to use Shorts no matter where you're located or what device is closest at hand. This is one of many ways that YouTube aims to provide more engaging user experiences globally by reaching wider audiences with its entertainment, education value propositions. The specifications include -
Maximum size - not listed
maximum length - 60 seconds
Video format - .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.
Video dimensions- 240×426 (240p), 360×640 (360p), 480×854 (480p), 720×1280 (720p), 1080×1920 (1080p), 1440×2560 (1440p), and 2160×3840 (2160p),
Aspect ratio - 9:16
Title character limit - Maximum of 100 characters
Video specifications -
Min dimension - 426 x 240.
Max dimension - 3840 x 2160.
Maximum size - 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.
Video length - Skippable video length - max 6 minutes (skippable after 5 seconds).
Non-skippable video length - 15 or 20 seconds ; 30 seconds in some regions(max).
Mid-roll video length - 30 seconds (minimum).
Bumper video length- 6 seconds(max).
Video format - .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.
Video dimensions-426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
Aspect ratio- 16:9
When you want to post a video on LinkedIn, there's one option: upload it as shared content. There are other ways to share YouTube links in posts and Pulse articles but this is the only way of uploading your own videos directly onto LinkedIn.
Maximum - 1920 x 1920 (square), 1920 x 1080 (landscape), 1080 x 1920 (vertical)
Minimum - 360 x 360 (square), 640 x 360 (landscape), 360 x 640 (vertical)
Maximum size - 5GBMaximum length - 10 minutes, minimum 3 seconds
Video format - .ASF, .AVI, .FLV, .MOV, .MPEG-1, .MPEG-4, .MP4, .MKV, and .WebM.
Frame rate - 60fps
Aspect ratio - 1:2.4 to 2.4:1
LinkedIn is a great tool to use for marketing. However, there are some things you need to know before creating video ads on the platform. First of all, being that LinkedIn now offers paid videos and they're different than shared videos so be sure what each one does when developing your campaign!
Maximum size -200 MB
maximum length -30 minutes but 15 seconds ads perform better
Video format - .MP4
Video dimensions
Landscape video: Minimum: 640 x 360, maximum: 1920 x 1080.
Square video: Minimum: 360 x 360, maximum: 1920 x 1920.
Vertical video: Minimum: 360 x 640, maximum: 1080 x 1920.
Frame rate - less than 30fps.
Landscape: 16:9
Square: 1:1
Vertical: 9:16
Videos are an important part of the story on Snapchat. They allow your business to communicate with customers and show them what is happening behind the scenes. This is a more common and popular way for users to communicate through Snapchat.
Video specifications -
Maximum size - 32MB.
maximum length - 3 and 10 seconds
Video format - .MP4 , .MOV.
Video dimensions- 1080 x 1920.
Aspect ratio - 9:16.
Audio specs - 192 minimum kbps, 16 or 24 bit only, 2 channels, PCM or AAC codec
Snapchat offers one main video format for ads, which is known as the long-form video. Snapchat offers a more creative video format for ads. Businesses must reach out to Snapchat for details on advertising, but the ad is shown between users’ stories and has multiple dimensions. The specifications are -
Maximum size - 1GB.
maximum length - 180 seconds.
Video format - .MP4 or .MOV.
Video dimensions- 1080 x 1920
Aspect ratio - 9:16 or 16:9.
The specifications for shared video on Pinterest are-
Maximum size - 2GB.
Video length - 4 seconds to 15 minutes, 6-15 seconds being considered the optimal range for ads
Video format - .MP4 or .MOV
Video dimensions - 240 pixels wide
framerate - 25 fps
Aspect ratio - standard video - 1:1 (square) or 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16 (vertical) ; max width video - 1:1 (square) or 16.9 (widescreen)
Video specifications -
Maximum size - 2GB.
Video length - 4 seconds to 15 minutes, 6-15 seconds being considered the optimal range for ads
Video format - .MP4 or .MOV
Video dimensions - 240 pixels wide
framerate - 25 fps
Aspect ratio - standard video - 1:1 (square) or 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16 (vertical) ; max width video - 1:1 (square) or 16.9 (widescreen)
In order to start creating content for TikTok, it's not hard at all. The platform is built around short videos that users can easily share with social media posts and in their stories on other platforms like Instagram or Snapchat. As such, the best way to get started here would be by simply using your existing video footage (or even just screenshots) from those sources and sharing them across any of TikTok’s many multimedia channels - including its website!
Video specifications -
Maximum size - 287.6MB
maximum length - 60 seconds
Format -MP4 or MOV recommended
Video dimensions-1080×1920
Aspect ratio - 9:16
Video specifications-
Maximum size - 500MB
maximum length - 60 seconds (9-15 seconds recommended)
Acceptable formats - .MP4, .MOV, .MPEG .3GP, .AVI
Video dimensions- 540×960, 640×64 or 960×540
Bitrate -516 kbps minimum
Aspect ratio - 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9
Start designing your video content campaigns using the best video editors. We hope this Social Media Video specifications sheet will help you in uploading optimized videos. You can optimize and edit your videos using our marketing video editor. Use the vast collection of templates and make changes according to your marketing goals. Let us know which form of videos works well for your business!
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