Creating relevant and engaging social media ads is a huge part of digital marketing, but to ensure return on your investment you need to make sure they adhere to the platform-specific ad specifications (specs) and design guidelines. These include size specs for image, video and story ads; best aspect ratios; file types and sizes; even maximum durations – just to name a few!

Why are ad specs important?

Not adhering to spec guidelines for social media ads can mean your ad simply will not upload, causing frustration (right at that pointy end when you’re about to launch that big campaign!). In other cases, your ad won’t give viewers the best experience they could have of it on that platform. With paid social media now such a critical part of a robust digital marketing strategy, do you really want to risk that?  

You’ll be surprised by the small tweaks you can make in the design and file export stage that can lift your ad’s performance across different platforms. With there being so many social media ad formats across the rising range of social media channels, it’s easy to feel lost, or not even know where to look for the very latest specs! To help with this, we’ve compiled an up-to-date, complete guide to social media ad dimensions chock-full of live best practice examples!

How to use this ad specs guide

Bookmark this guide and download the platform-specific infographics as you go. These are your holy cheat sheets for cross-checking specs for social media ad creative across the major social media platforms below. Look out for tips to ace best practice ad design along the way.

Facebook Ad Specs

Download: 2022 Facebook Ad Spec Cheat Sheet

Facebook Feed Ads

Facebook feed ads are great for driving traffic to your website. They occupy the largest piece of real estate on Facebook. This helps you reach more conversion-friendly desktop users who follow-through more often than their mobile counterparts. 

Feed ads are a cost-effective way of driving new users to your website who aren’t as familiar with your brand. They have a higher click-through rate and lower cost-per-conversion than right column ads.

Facebook Image Feed Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1200 x 628 px
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 to 16:9
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG

Facebook Feed Ad Guidelines

• Preview your ads with Creative Hub to experience your ads as your audiences will across devices
• Focus your message; learn the best practices. 

Facebook Feed Ad Character Limits

• • Headline: 25 characters
  • Link description: 30 characters

Facebook Video Feed Ads

Facebook Video Feed Ads attract serious attention. In fact, viewers retain 95% of a video’s message compared to 10% when reading text. These are your holy grail when it comes to Facebook ads that cut-through.

You can upload most video file formats but – because of Facebook’s 4GB file size limit for video uploads – we recommend you optimize your video by converting it to either MP4 or MOV format, and compressing it. From the available aspect ratios, our ad experts recommend going with Square, Vertical or 4:5 (when it will work with your video content) because this takes up the most real estate on your mobile-first audiences’ screen! 

Facebook Video Feed Ad specs

• Upload the highest resolution
• Minimum dimensions: 600 x 315px (1.9:1 landscape) or 600 x 600px (1:1 square)
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 to 16:9 (Horizontal: 16:9, Square: 1:1, Vertical: 4:5 or 2:3 and Full Portrait: 9:16)
• Recommended formats: MP4, MOV
• Max video file size: 4GB
• Max video length: 240 minutes

Pro Tip: The ideal video ad length on Facebook is 15 seconds or shorter – way below the maximum possible duration of 240 minutes!

Facebook In-stream Video Ads

In-stream videos allow you to reach audiences with video ads before and during normal videos on Facebook. This clever ad placement sees a 5-15 second, non-skippable, mid-roll video ad play to people already watching Facebook videos. Similar to any other Facebook ad campaign, viewers of the same video may see different ads, depending on their interests, thanks to ad targeting.

Facebook In-stream Video Ad specs

• Upload the highest resolution
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Formats: MP4, MOV
• Max video file size: 4GB
• Video length: 5 to 15 seconds

Facebook In-stream Video Ad guidelines

• Include sound (as audiences mostly watch with sound on)
• Captions recommended

Facebook Right Column Ads

When used in conjunction with News Feed Ads, Right Column Ads result in three times more engagement. However, they are typically more expensive, aren’t as attention grabbing and don’t have a CTA button. If you’re not looking to only drive conversions, Right Column Ads are a cost-effective way to target an audience already familiar with your brand.

Facebook Right Column Image Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1200 x 628 px
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 to 16:9
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG

Facebook Right Column Character limits

• Text: 125 characters 
• Headline: 25 characters
• Link description: 30 characters

Facebook Instant Article Ads

Instant Articles are presented in a large, mobile-only format (essentially an entire web page) featuring fast-loading articles with images and video. They’re an affordable remarketing tool that adds another touchpoint for users in the Facebook sales funnel. These ads load 10 times faster than regular web pages which gives marketers the opportunity to earn more from impressions and clicks. As well as images and YouTube videos, tweets can also be embedded which adds to the immersive full-screen experience for users. 

Facebook Instant Article Image Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1200 x 628 px
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 to 16:9
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG

Facebook Instant Article Video Ad specs

• Upload the highest resolution
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 to 16:9
• Formats: MP4, MOV
• Max video file size: 4GB
• Max video length: 240 minutes

Facebook Instant Article Ad character limits

• Headline: 25 characters
• Link description: 30 characters

Facebook Marketplace Ads

Marketplace ads are an affordable way (even more so than Google) of targeting users with purchase intent. Ads feature side-by-side with products and services, which make them a great option for locally focused services and brick-and-mortar businesses to target customers. The downside  is Facebook Marketplace doesn’t gain as many interested users compared to competitors like Amazon and eBay, which results in a smaller pool of impressions for your ad.

Facebook Marketplace Image Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1200 x 628 px
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 to 16:9
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG

Facebook Marketplace Video Ad Specs

• Upload the highest resolution
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 to 16:9
• Formats: MP4, MOV
• Max video file size: 4GB
• Max video length: 240 minutes

 

Facebook Marketplace Ad Character limits

• Text: 125 characters 
• Headline: 25 characters
• Link description: 30 characters

Facebook Carousel Ads

Carousel Ads allow businesses to display up to 10 images or videos to communicate their message, product, or service. They include headlines and CTA links which support a seamless purchase journey. Carousel Ads accumulate click-throughs with a lower price per acquisition, compared to ads on other platforms that can total to 128 times more. If you have a smaller marketing budget, Carousels are ideal for you.

Facebook Carousel Ads are available with six different ad positions: 

• Facebook Feed (Image and Video)
• Facebook Right Column 
• Facebook Instant Articles 
• Facebook Marketplace 
• Facebook Audience Network native, Banner and Interstitial 
• Facebook Messenger Inbox

Facebook Image Carousel Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080px
• Aspect ratio: 1:1
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG
• Max image size: 30MB

Facebook Video Carousel Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080px
• Recommended formats: MP4, MOV
• Max video file size: 4GB
• Max video length: 240 minutes
• Minimum 2 cards and maximum of 10 cards per Carousel Ad

Facebook Carousel Ad Character limits

• Text: 125 characters 
• Headline: 40 characters
• Link description: 20 characters (optional on Instant Articles)

Facebook Collection Ads

Facebook Collection ads are a mobile-only format designed to maximise mobile user experience.  Powered by Instant Experience, the new and improved version of ‘Canvas Ads’, users are taken to a fullscreen, immersive ad experience to learn more about the ad offer. Pairing media with relevant products, Instant Experience includes a number of design options, re-engagement functionality and analytics capabilities.

Some of the design options include ‘Instant Lookbook’ which is ideal for ecommerce businesses, and the highly popular ‘Instant Storefront’, which mimics the a magazine layout. Find all the specs for Collection Ads below.

Facebook Collection Image Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1200 x 628px
• Aspect ratio: 1:1 (square) and 16:9 (landscape)
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG
• Max image size: 30MB

Facebook Collection Video Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1200 x 628px
• Recommended formats: MP4, MOV
• Max video file size: 4GB
• Max video length: 120 minutes
• Recommended length: less than 2 minutes

Facebook Collection Ad Character limits

• Text: 90 characters 
• Headline: 25 characters

Facebook Lead Ads

Leads ads make it super easy to collect customer information via forms that appears natively in feeds, so customers don’t ever have to leave the social network! This ad format is a great opportunity to collect leads across all devices, improve the quality of leads and retarget people showing high intent. The easier your lead form is to fill out, ie. the fewer questions, the higher your completion rate will be.

Facebook Lead Image Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080px
• Aspect ratio: 1:1
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG

Facebook Lead Video Ad specs

• Aspect ratio: 4:5 (vertical)
• Recommended formats: MP4 (container ideally with leading moov atom, no edit list)
• Max video length: 15 seconds
• Video: H.264 video compression, high profile preferred, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan 

Facebook Lead Ad Character limits

• Text: 125 characters 
• Headline: 25 characters
• Link description: 30 characters (image)

Facebook Messenger Ads

Facebook Messenger Ads are private messaging tools that allow you to build customer relations in a highly direct and personalised way. There are three types: 

• Direct Messenger ads: appear directly in the Messenger home screen alongside the other message in your target audience’s inbox
• Sponsored messages: deliver a message to anyone that you have an existing conversation with in Messenger
• Click-to-Messenger ads: appear in the regular Facebook News Feed or on Instagram, with a CTA reading ‘send message.’ This CTA will then open a Messenger chat with your business.

Facebook Messenger Image Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1200 x 628px
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 to 16:9, crops to 1.9:1 with link 
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG

Facebook Messenger Ad Character limits

• Text: 125 characters 
• Headline: 25 characters

Facebook Stories Ads

Facebook Stories appear at the top of users’ news feed and allow brands to share photos, videos, and animations that disappear after 24 hours. Stories are a great way to authentically connect with your audience and build trust with frequent transparent updates and honest storytelling.

Facebook Image Stories Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1920px
• Aspect ratio: 1.9:1 to 9:16
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG
• Maximum file size: 30MB

Facebook Video Stories Ad Specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1920px
• Aspect ratio: 1.91:1 to 9:16
• Recommended formats: MP4, MOV
• Max video file size: 4GB
• Max video length: 15 seconds
• Video quality: H.264 compression, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan
• Audio quality: Stereo AAC audio compression at 128kbps+
• Supported Codec: H.264 and VP8 (video), AAC and Vorbis (audio)

Facebook Stories Guidelines

• Keep in mind, stories are shown for 5 seconds by default
• Captions are not available, they must be embedded in the video file

Instagram Ad Specs

Download: 2022 Instagram Ad Spec Cheat Sheet

Instagram Feed Ads

Instagram Feed ads are mobile-only placements that look like standard Instagram posts. They drive more qualified traffic and are a cost-effective way of generating brand awareness and getting click-throughs. Brands see engagement rates 10x higher on Instagram than they do on Facebook, resulting in huge marketing ROI opportunities.

Instagram Image Feed Ad specs

Instagram Video Feed Ad specs

Instagram Feed Ad Guidelines

• All image files are 30MB max. All video files are 4GB max.
• Max video length for all formats is 120 seconds.
• Video max frames is 30fps for all formats.

Instagram Feed Ad Character limits

• The recommended caption length is 125 characters (max is 2200 characters).

Pro Tip: Assess the performance of your Instagram Feed Ads using Instagram’s in-built insights tool. To compare all your adset and ad campaign performance metrics in a streamlined single view, connect to a dedicated social analytics platform like Digivizer.

Instagram Slideshow Ads

Instagram Slideshow ads allow marketers to choose up to 10 images and embed music to create a visually appealing, media-rich styled ad. They are best suited for businesses aiming to showcase an array of products/services without investing in high-quality videos. You can use them to: 

• Highlight product/service benefits
• Showcase multiple products and give a visual tour of your products 
• Display short demo images/videos – a great tool for SaaS companies
• Tell your brand story

Instagram Image/Audio Slideshow Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080px (minimum 600 x 600px)
• Aspect ratio: 1:1
• Recommended formats: WAV, MP3, FLAC & OGG (ensure you have all rights necessary!)

Instagram Slideshow Ad Guidelines

• Keep in mind the image duration it up to 50 seconds per image. 

Instagram Slideshow Ad Character Limit

• Caption can be up to 125 characters

Instagram Lead Ads

Leads ads on Instagram are enabled through a ‘sign up’ CTA feature on Instagram Ads. To create one of these bad boys, set up your lead ad in Ads Manager and we recommended you use automatic placements to give audiences the best experience of your ad, based on your objective and creative. Make sure your ad creative follows Instagram’s design requirements.

Instagram Image Lead Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080px or 1200 x 628px (standard Facebook image ad size)
• Aspect ratio: 1:1 
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG
• Max image size: 30MB

Instagram Lead Ad Guidelines

• Don’t forget to include your company’s privacy policy, as you will be collecting user information

Instagram Lead Ad Character Limit

• Caption can be up to 125 characters

Instagram Carousel Feed Ads

Carousel Ads on Instagram allow businesses to display images and videos in users Instagram feeds or stories. They include headlines and CTA links which support a seamless purchase journey. 

Instagram Stories have two types of Carousel ads: native or expandable. Native stories display three cards. Expandable stories display 1-3 cards that give people the option to swipe through the rest (up to 10).

Instagram Image Carousel Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080px
• Aspect ratio: 1:1 
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG
• Max image size: 30MB
• Instagram allows 2-10 images/card per ad

Instagram Video Carousel Ad specs

• Minimum resolution: 600 x 600px 
• Maximum resolution: 1080 x 1080px
• Aspect Ratio: 1:1
• Recommended formats: MP4
• Max video file size: 4GB per video/card
• Max video length: 60 seconds
• Instagram allows 2-10 videos/card per ad
• When creating a thumbnail image for your carousel video ads, we recommend you use a ratio that matches the 1:1 video aspect

Instagram Collection Ads

Similar to their Facebook equivalent, Instagram Collection ads are a mobile-only, full screen display, powered by Instant Experience. By pairing media with relevant products, they drive discovery and attention, facilitating a highly engaging user experience that often will nurture prospects all the way to your website, post-click landing page or app.

Instagram Image/Video Collection Ad specs

• Cover image/video must have a ratio of 16:9 or 1:1
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG for image and MP4, MOV for video

Instagram Collection Ad Guidelines

• We recommend using the Instant Experience templates.

Instagram Stories, Carousel Stories & IGTV Ads

So, we’ve covered carousels and Instagram stories. Now, let’s dive into InstagramTV! IGTV supports long-form, vertical, and full-screen videos and can range between 15 seconds to 10 minutes in length. They’re a fantastic tool to boost brand visibility and generate additional user traffic. 

They’re a great ad format to display tutorial and demonstration videos – one of the most popular types of video content. IGTV is a great tool to spark conversations, build community and educate your audience to develop higher engagement.

Instagram IGTV, Stories, Carousel Stories Image Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1920px (min. Resolution: 600 x 1067px)
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG
• Max image size: 30MB

Instagram IGTV, Stories, Carousel Stories Video Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1920px
• Aspect ratio: 9:16
• Recommended formats: MP4, MOV
• Max video file size: 4GB
• Max video length for carousel and stories: 15 seconds
• Max video length for IGTV: 10 minutes (must be at least 15 seconds long)
• Must have a resolution of 720p.
• Recommended Video Codecs: h.264, VP8
• Recommended Audio Codecs: AAC, Vorbis

Instagram IGTV, Stories, Carousel Stories Guidelines

• The best IGTV video size needs to be under the 650MB file size limit.
• Ensure key elements appear within a 1080 x 1420px title safe area
• Captions are currently available; all text must be a part of the image/ video
• Keep in mind the image content is visible for 5 seconds by default
• Remember you can set up your Instagram ads in Facebook Ads Manager to ensure all features are optimised. There is no instagram-only tool for creating your ad campaigns.

LinkedIn Ad Specs

Download: 2022 LinkedIn Ad Spec Cheat Sheet

LinkedIn Feed Ads

LinkedIn Feed Ads are a powerful way to reach and build lasting relationships with professionals in the LinkedIn network. It’s worth noting that content with larger visuals on LinkedIn tends to get up to 38% higher click-through rates. You can also leverage Lead Gen Forms in your LinkedIn ads to collect qualified leads. This feature automatically pulls LinkedIn personal profile data into a form that members can easily then submit with just a couple of clicks.

LinkedIn Image Feed Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1200 x 627px 
• Aspect ratio: 1.91:1 
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG
• Max image size: 5MB

LinkedIn Image Feed Ad Character Limits

• Ad name: 255 max. characters
• Headline: 70 characters max to avoid truncation on mobile devices (200 max characters)
• Introductory text: 150 max characters for mobile (desktop max of 600 characters)
• Description: Use approximately 100 characters to avoid truncation on mobile (300 max characters). Varies for ads that appear on third-party sites served through the LinkedIn Audience Network.
• URLs length: URLs with 23 characters are automatically converted into short links.

LinkedIn Video Feed Ad specs

• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080px
• Aspect ratio: 1:1
• Recommended video file types: MP4 only
• Max video file size: 200MB
• Max video length: 30 minutes
• Recommended audio file types
• : AAC or MPEG4
• Max video file size: 64KHz

LinkedIn Video Feed Ad Character Limits

• Ad name: maximum of 255 characters
• Headline: 70 characters maximum to avoid truncation on most devices
• Introductory text: use up to 600 characters 

LinkedIn Feed Ad Guidelines

• Video captions are uploaded in SRT format only 
• Destination URLs must include the “http://” “or https://” prefix and can include up to 2,000 characters for the destination link.
• To increase brand awareness, engagement, and discover new LinkedIn audiences more easily, use Audience Expansion to reach people similar to your target audience.
• You can also use the LinkedIn Audience Network to expand your reach beyond LinkedIn and engage your audience wherever they’re active online.

LinkedIn Carousel Ads

Carousel ads are a great tool to communicate your story in an interactive and inspired way that encourage your target audience to take action. Most carousel campaigns revolve around three main objectives: brand awareness, website traffic and lead generation.

LinkedIn Image Carousel Ad specs

• Recommended Resolution: 1080 x 1080px
• Aspect Ratio: 1:1
• Recommended file types: JPG, PNG and GIF (non-animated only)
• Max file size: 10MB
• Minimum of two cards can be used and a maximum of 10.

LinkedIn Image Carousel Ad Character Limits

• Ad name: up to 225 characters
• Headline: maximum of two lines before being truncated
• Introductory text: use up to 150 characters to avoid truncation across most devices (255 max characters)

LinkedIn Carousel Ad Guidelines

• Destination URLs must include the “http://” “or https://” prefix and can include up to 2,000 characters for the destination link.
• 45 character limit for carousel ads that direct to a destination URL 
• 30 character limit for carousel ads with a Lead Gen Form
• Carousel campaigns are not eligible to use LinkedIn Audience Network

LinkedIn Text Ads

LinkedIn Text Ads feature on the right-hand side or top of the LinkedIn desktop feed. Fine tune your targeting options to place your business in front of audiences that matter most, to drive site traffic and high quality leads. Create PPC (pay per click) or CPM (cost per impression) bids to control spend your way and maximise ROI. Use LinkedIn’s own tips to maximize results with this versatile ad format.

LinkedIn Text Ad Specs Character Limit

• Resolution options: 300 x 250px, 17 x 700px, 160 x 600px, 728 x 90px and 496 x 80px
• Image size (optional): 50 x 50px 
• Headline: 25 characters 
• Description: 75 characters

LinkedIn Text Ad Guidelines

• Link to a destination (like a customised landing page) that matches the message of your ad.
• Install the LinkedIn Insight Tag on your website, so you can track conversions and enable demographic reporting on your website visitors.
• Define how to measure success for your business. Campaign Manager has robust reporting capabilities. Put them to good use by identifying your key metrics.

LinkedIn Dynamic Ads

Dynamic ads use LinkedIn member information to personalize the ads to each individual. They appear in the right side of a user’s feed and are categorised into two objectives: 

• Follow company ads (to increase the number of followers on your company page) 
• Spotlight ads (for custom CTAs and the possibility of linking to the advertiser’s landing page). 

Dynamic Ads are available in the following formats.

LinkedIn Follow Company Ad specs

• Logo size: 100 x 100px (min.)
• Primary CTA (below images): max 50 characters
• Secondary CTA (above images): max. 70 characters
• Company name: max. 25 characters 
• Choose a CTA button: “Visit company” or “Visit careers” button.

LinkedIn Spotlights Ad specs

• Logo size: 100 x 100px (min.)
• Primary CTA (below images): max 50 characters
• Secondary CTA (above images): max. 70 characters
• Custom background image (optional): 300 x 250px

LinkedIn Jobs That Might Interest You Ad specs

• Logo size: 100 x 100px (min.)
• Company name: max. 25 characters 

LinkedIn Picture Yourself Ad specs 

• Logo size: 100 x 100px (min.)
• Company name: max. 25 characters 

YouTube Ad Specs

Download: 2022 YouTube Ad Spec Cheat Sheet

All YouTube video ads must follow the standard specifications

• Resolution: 640×360 (19:9 aspect ratio) or 480×360 (4:3 aspect ratio)
• Video Codec: H.265, MPEG-1, MPEG-4
• Audio Codec: AAC, MP3
• Frame Rate: 30 FPS
• File Size: Max. 1 GB

YouTube Display Ads

YouTube Display ads are only available for desktop advertising and appear to the right of the video being watched, above the video suggestions list. You can use images or animations and they can be managed within AdWords, allowing you to double up with the Display Network for maximum reach. If you’re wanting to boost brand awareness and advertise to an audience that uses primarily desktop, then this ad format is definitely one you should consider! 

YouTube Display Ad Specs & Guidelines

• Recommended Resolution: 300 x 250px or 300 x 60px
• Recommended file types: JPG, PNG, GIF
• File size: Maximum 150KB
• Maximum length: 30 seconds
• Platform: Desktop

YouTube Overlay Ads

YouTube overlay ads appear like a banner on the bottom 20% of your video. You can use videos or images and text to advertise and even choose to set up a companion display ad with your overlay ad. If you’re running a reservation sponsorship campaign with the help of a Google sales representative, you can also set up overlay ads on partner videos.

YouTube Overlay Ad Specs & Guidelines

• Recommended Resolution: 480 x 70px or 728 x 90px
• Recommended file types: JPG, PNG, GIF
• File size: Maximum 150KB
• Platform: Desktop

YouTube TrueView Ads

These are the commercial-style, skippable ads that appear at the beginning, end, or in the middle of a video. Keep in mind viewers can skip after 5 seconds. These ads are one of the best ways to drive immediate customer engagement to elsewhere on your YouTube channel, sometimes by up to 500%! 

Remember, YouTube takes Google search history into account when serving ads, which essentially combines the audiences of the two biggest search engines on the web. Depending on whether you choose In-stream or Discovery TrueView ads, they can also appear on other publisher sites in the Display Network. 

YouTube TrueView In-stream Ad Specs & Guidelines

• Recommended aspect ratio: 640 x 360px (16:9) or 480 x 360px (4:3)
• Recommended file types: AVI, ASF, MP4, MOV, MPEG, Quicktime, Windows Media
• File size: Maximum 1GB
• Length: 12 seconds to 3 minutes (less than 30 seconds recommended)
• Platform: desktop and mobile 
• Google Ad policies apply

YouTube TrueView Video Discovery Ad Specs & Guidelines

• The video you want people to see must comply with YouTube’s recommended video specs and be uploaded to your YouTube channel.
• The discovery ad consists of: “A thumbnail, headline and up to two lines of description” that can be found in search results and watch pages.
• Thumbnail specs: When making this ad, you choose from four auto-generated thumbnails from your video. (To implement custom thumbnails, contact your YouTube rep!)
• Headline text: max 25 characters
• Description text: max 35 characters each

YouTube TrueView Companion Ad Specs & Guidelines

• Note: This is the thumbnail that will accompany your ad, usually on the side of the video player.
• Companion image resolution: 300 x 60px
• Recommended file types: JPG, PNG, GIF
• File size: Maximum 1KB
• If no companion ad is provided, a default 300 x 250px video wall (screenshot) will appear next to the ad.

YouTube Bumper Ads

Bumper Ads appear at the end of YouTube videos and are considered the most tolerable version of non-skippable ads. They last six seconds, so are ideal for targeting mobile users. If you’re after inspiration, check out YouTube’s leaderboard of the top 20 bumper ads based on views, click-through rate, and user creative ratings.

YouTube Bumper Ad Specs & Guidelines: 

• Recommended resolution: 640 pixels x 360 pixels, or 480 pixels by 360 pixels
• File types: AVI, ASF, MP4, MPEG, Quicktime, Windows Media
• Max animation time: 6 seconds
• Max file size: 1GB
• Platform: Desktop and Mobile

YouTube Bumper Companion Ad Specs & Guidelines

• Recommended Resolution: 300 x 250px
• Recommended file types: JPG, PNG, GIF
• File size: Maximum 150KB

Pro tip: Repurpose longer content that you use for non-skippable ads into a shorter six second bumper and re-market it to viewers who have seen the non-skippable version. 

YouTube Non-skippable Video Ads

YouTube Non-skippable Video ads are short, in-stream ads that allow you to reach viewers with your entire message. They’re paid for on a CPM basis, giving you more control over your ad spend – win! – and super effective for increasing brand exposure in specific target markets – win, win! Here’s some more info on how they work and design specs:

YouTube Non-Skippable Video Ad Specs & Guidelines

• Ad plays before (pre-roll), during (mid-roll), or after video.
• Mid-roll ads appear at the midpoint of 10 minute or longer videos
• Viewers don’t have the option to skip
• Plays in video player
• 15 or 20 seconds in length, depending on regional standards.
• Platform: desktop and mobile
• A view of your non-skippable ad won’t increment the video’s YouTube view count.

YouTube Sponsored Cards

Sponsored Cards feature to the right side of a video and can be used to advertise products or services mentioned in your video. This ad format is best suited if your main objective is to sell products affiliated with your video. Viewers will see a teaser for the card for a few seconds, then they can click to expand and browse the cards.

YouTube Sponsored Card Ad Specs & Guidelines

• Card sizes vary. See the picture above for two examples of cards!
• Recommended file types: JPG, PNG, GIF
• File size: 2MB maximum 
• Length: 15 or 20 seconds 
• Platform: desktop and mobile 

Twitter Ad Specs

Download: 2022 Twitter Ad Spec Cheat Sheet

Promoted Tweets

Promoted Tweets increase reach and drive traffic to your website and post-click landing pages which in turn, increases engagement, lead generations and sales. 

In terms of ad placement, advertisers pay for their ads to feature: 

• At the top of search results pages
• In promoted trends search results 
• On a user’s live Twitter feed (if it is relevant to that user) 
• On user profiles that fit that targeting qualifications for the ad campaign 

Promoted tweets are usually less expensive than other paid advertising options because Twitter is a less saturated ad space. 

Promoted Image Tweets

Promoted image tweets are the most common kind of Twitter ad. They’re the easiest to put together and they allow you to showcase your brand or product in a single image. Choose wisely!

Promoted Image Tweet Ad Specs

• Recommended resolution: min. width of 600 px, max. of 1200 px (any height is acceptable, however heights that exceed the width will be cropped to 1:1)
• Aspect ratio: any between 2:1 and 1:1 is acceptable
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG, GIF

Promoted Image Tweet Character Limits

• Tweet copy: 280 characters. Each link used reduces character count by 23 characters, leaving 257 characters for Twitter copy.

Promoted Video Tweets

Promoted video tweets tend to tell a story story in a short amount of time – kind of like tweets themselves. They’re easy to create. Remember that closed captions/subtitles are mandatory. 

Promoted Video Tweet Ad Specs

• Aspect ratio: 1:1 (always recommended as it will always render as square on desktop and mobile, timeline and profile)
• Recommended video length: 15 seconds or less (max 2 minutes and 20 seconds)
• File Size: 1GB
• File types: MP4, MOV

Thumbnail Ad Specs

• Aspect ratio: recommended to match sizing of the video
• Minimum size: 640 x 360px
• File types: PNG, JPG
• Max file size: 5MB

Promoted Video Tweet Character Limits

• Tweet copy: 280 characters (each link used reduces character count by 23 characters, electing 257 to Twitter copy)

Promoted Video Tweet Guidelines

• Branding is highly recommended throughout
• Prominent product placement is highly recommended for driving product consideration.
• Closed captioning or text overlays are strongly recommended to help explain your video with sound off
• Keep in mind that videos will autoplay in a user’s timeline and loop if the video is under 60 seconds.

Twitter Promoted Poll Ad

Promoted polls on Twitter are designed to build audience engagement. They’re essentially image ads, but interactive. Once you’ve written copy and added a hero image, you can add two to four custom poll responses to create your poll.

Twitter Promoted Poll Ad Image Specs

• Polls can be added to a single Promoted image
• Recommended resolution: min. width of 600 px, max. of 1200 px (any height is acceptable, however heights that exceed the width will be cropped to 1:1)
• Aspect ratio: 1.91:1
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG

Twitter Promoted Poll Ad Video Specs

• Polls can be added to a single Promoted Video
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Video length: videos will loop if theta re under 60 seconds

Twitter Promoted Poll Limits

• Tweet copy: 280 characters
• Poll options: You can add 2-4 custom poll responses
• Poll copy: 25 characters each (this does not count against the 280  you can include in the tweet copy)
• Poll duration: select a time between a minimum of 5 minutes and a maximum of 5 days

Twitter Carousel Ads

Twitter Carousel ads are the newest offering from Twitter. They’ve been tried a couple of times before but this time they seem like they’re here to stay. They’re similar to the carousel format on other social media platforms: essentially, you get 2 to 6 tiles of images to tell a story about your brand or product. 

Twitter Image Carousel Ads

• 2 to 6 image cards
• 280 characters in the Tweet copy, but the link may reduce this to 257
• 70 characters in the Website title, but 50 is recommended due to possible truncation
• One website or app destination for all cards

• 800 x 418 pixels for 1.91:1 aspect ratio
• 800 x 800 pixels for 1:1 aspect ratio
• Maximum image size of 3MB
• Maximum file size per card of 20MB
• PNG and JPEG file types recommended; BMP and TIFF are not accepted.

Twitter Video Carousel Ads

• File size must be below 1GB; Twitter strongly recommends below 30MB
• Videos up to 2:20 are supported, but 15 seconds or less are recommended
• Logo in the upper left corner recommended, closed captioning or text overlays are mandatory
• MP4 or MOV file types
• 1:1 aspect ratio is recommended, but any aspect between 2:1 and 1:1 is acceptable
  • Note that 9:16 will always render in 1:1 space
• 1200 x 1200 pixels recommended, 640 x 360 minimum if not 1:1 aspect ratio
• PNG or JPEG are supported for thumbnail files, should match aspect ratio of video

Twitter Summary Card

Twitter Summary Card Image Ad Specs

• Recommended resolution: minimum 120 x 120px (1:1) for default summary card or 300×157 (2:1) for large image summary card
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG, GIF
• Image size: 1MB max

Twitter Summary Card Character Limits

• Headline: 70 characters 
• Tweet copy: 280 characters
• Description: 200 characters  

Twitter Website Card

Website Cards give a snapshot summary of your website with the aim of driving site landing page traffic. Website cards are a great way to accelerate prospective customers through the conversion funnel, to establish an initial point of contact and nurture the relationship.

Twitter Website Image Card Ad Specs

• Recommended resolution: 800 x 418px (1:91:1) or 800 x 800px (1:)
• Max image file size: 3MB
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG

Twitter Website Video Card Ad Specs

• Recommended resolution: 1280 x 720 (landscape) and 720 x 720 (square)
• Aspect ratio: 1:1 (always recommended as it will always render as square on desktop and mobile, timeline and profile)
• Recommended video length: 15 seconds or less (max 2 minutes and 20 seconds)
• File Size: 1GB, for optimal performance 30MB is recommended
• File types: MP4, MOV

Twitter Website Card Thumbnail Ad Specs

• Aspect ratio: recommended to match sizing of the video
• Minimum size: 640 x 360px
• File types: PNG, JPG
• Max file size: 5MB

Twitter Website Card Guidelines

• Branding is highly recommended throughout, if you choose to use a logo it should be placed in the upper left hand corner
• Prominent product placement is highly recommended for driving product consideration.
• Closed captioning or text overlays are strongly recommended
• Keep in mind that videos will autoplay in a user’s timeline and loop if the video is under 60 seconds.

Twitter App Card

App cards leverage Twitter’s Mobile App Promotion (MAP) product suite to enable advertisers to acquire high-quality users and re-engage existing app audiences. They feature a preview of your app icon, a description and even the price or rating of your content. Twitter users are renowned for using the platform to discover the latest trends and product updates,  so this ad format is a great way to showcase  your latest apps!

Twitter Image App Card Ad Specs

• Recommended resolution: 800 x 418px (1:91:1) or 800 x 800px (1:1)
• Max image file size: 3MB
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG, GIF

Twitter Video App Card Ad Specs

• Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1
• Video length: 2 minutes nad 20 seconds maximum
• File size: No limit, but under 1GB is recommended
• File types: MP4 or MOV

Twitter App Card Character Limits

• Tweet Copy: 280 characters
• Headline: 70 characters

Twitter Conversational Ad Card

Conversational Ads are Promoted Tweets with compelling images or videos that include CTA buttons with customizable hashtags. They prompt users to spread your message to their followers, which organically expands your reach. Conversational ads are not available by default for self-serve advertisers. To request access, file a support ticket with Twitter. 

Twitter Conversational Image Card Ad Specs

• Recommended resolution: 800 x 320px
• File Size: 3MB max
• Recommended formats: JPG, PNG, non-animated GIFs

Twitter Conversational Video Card Ad Specs

• Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1
• Video length: 2 minutes and 20 seconds maximum
• File size: No limit, but under 1GB is recommended
• File types: MP4 or MOV

Twitter Conversational Ad Character Limits

• Tweet copy: 280 characters
• Hashtag: 21 characters
• Pre-populated user tweet (once user clicks on the CTA): 256 characters
• Headline: 23 characters
• Thank you text (after user has tweeted out the tweet): 23 characters
• Thank you URL (optional): 23 characters

Twitter Direct Message Card

Direct Message Cards are the best way to: 

• Promote your brand’s chatbot
• Provide a personalized customer service experience
• Move conversations from public to private

A direct message card can have up to 4 buttons – each of which directs users to a different part of your chatbot. The welcome messages are a direct entry point with a pre-set message that people can respond to. Twitter recommends that the first message should greet and guide users to the best ways of interacting with the chatbot.

Currently, Direct Message Cards can be used in Promoted Tweet and video views objectives. Direct Message Cards are currently unavailable for self-serve advertisers. You can follow @TwitterBusiness for updates on when this feature will become available.

Twitter Direct Message Image Card Ad Specs

• Minimum resolution: 800 x 800px 
• Aspect ratio: 5:2 or 1.91:1
• Max file size: 3MB

Twitter Direct Message Video Card Ad Specs

• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Formats: MP4 or MOV
• File size: keep under 30MB for optimal performance. Max file is 1GB.
• Video length: 15 seconds or less

Twitter Direct Message Character Limits

• Tweet copy: 256 characters (24 characters used for the card)
• Call to action text: 24 characters

Twitter Direct Message Guidelines

• Branding is highly recommended throughout, if you choose to use a logo it should be placed in the upper left hand corner
• Closed captioning or text overlays are strongly recommended

Twitter Player Card

The player card allows you to play video from your website directly on Twitter. This card however requires approval from Twitter because you can use it on your website as well. See Twitter’s approval guidelines for Player Cards and how to test them. A popular way of leveraging this ad format is cross-promoting live streaming events!

Twitter Player Video Card Ad Specs

• Aspect ratio: 16:9 
• File types: MP4 or MOV
• Max video length: 2 minutes and 20 seconds 
• File size, under 1GB for optimal performance 

Twitter Player Card Character Limits

• Tweet copy: 280 characters
• Headline: 70 characters
• Description: 200 characters

That wraps up our complete guide to social media ad specs! To create top performing ads with a great return on your investment, follow our insights and best practice around the platform-specific ad specifications and design guidelines. Bookmark this guide and use it to check your specs when creating your next ad or paid campaign!

Download PDF: 2021 Guide to Social Media Ad Specs