Preparing video for social media
Platforms change their exact limits often, but the shapes they use are stable. Get the shape right and the rest is easy.
Platform limits on file size and length change regularly. Check each platform’s current help pages before a big campaign. This guide focuses on the parts that rarely change.
Three shapes cover almost everything
| Shape | Typical size | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 | Short-form vertical video: Reels, TikTok, Shorts, Stories |
| Portrait 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 | Feed posts that should take up more of a phone screen than a square |
| Square 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 | Feed posts that work on both phones and desktop |
| Landscape 16:9 | 1920 × 1080 | Standard video sites, embedded players, presentations |
One video, several platforms
- Film with the tightest shape in mind. If the video will end up vertical, keep the important action in the centre of the frame.
- Keep a full-quality master. Always crop and compress from the original, not from a version already exported for another platform.
- Crop to each shape with the cropper: 9:16 for vertical, 1:1 or 4:5 for the feed.
- Resize to 1080 pixels on the short side with the resizer if the crop came out larger.
- Compress only if needed. Platforms re-compress everything you upload. Giving them a high-quality file usually gives a better final result than a heavily pre-compressed one. Use Light or Balanced when a file exceeds the upload limit.
Safe zones
Vertical apps overlay buttons, captions and profile names on the bottom and right of the video. Keep text and faces away from the bottom fifth and the right edge, or they will be hidden behind the interface.
Messaging apps
Chat apps often compress videos heavily when they are sent as media. If quality matters, send the file as a document or attachment instead, after compressing it to a reasonable size: 720p Balanced is a good choice.
Frame rate and file size
Most social video is 30 frames per second, and that is enough. Recording at 60 fps doubles the number of frames the encoder has to describe, which typically costs 30–50% more data for motion that viewers on a phone will barely notice. Keep 60 fps only for gameplay, sport or anything where smoothness is the point. Short-form vertical platforms accept either, and they re-encode whatever you upload, so an unnecessarily heavy file mainly costs you upload time.
Text, captions and thumbnails
- Burned-in text survives every re-encode, but it is invisible to screen readers and cannot be translated. Use platform captions or a subtitle track when accessibility matters.
- Text size: assume the video will be watched on a 5-inch screen. Text smaller than about 5% of the frame height becomes unreadable after compression.
- Thumbnails: choose the cover frame yourself rather than letting the platform pick. A frame with a face and a clear subject performs better than a mid-motion blur. Use the thumbnail maker to export the exact frame.
- Captions burned at the bottom collide with platform captions. Leave the bottom fifth free and put burned text higher.
Aspect ratio changes without ruining the shot
Converting 16:9 footage to 9:16 means losing the sides. Before cropping, watch the clip once and note where the subject moves: if it drifts from left to right, a fixed centre crop will cut it. Two options are better than a blind crop: crop wider and accept some empty space, or reframe the original in an editor. Padding the vertical video with blurred bars is a third option that keeps everything, but it looks like a compromise and takes screen space that vertical platforms reward you for filling.
Checklist before uploading
- Is the shape right for the placement: 9:16 for short-form, 4:5 or 1:1 for the feed, 16:9 for a player?
- Is the short side at least 1080 pixels, without upscaling a smaller original?
- Is the important action clear of the safe zones at the bottom and right?
- Is the audio loud enough to hear on a phone speaker, without clipping?
- Is the file within the platform’s size limit, and was it derived from the original rather than from an earlier export?
Re-uploading an old post
Downloading a video from a platform gives you the version that platform already compressed, often at a lower resolution and bitrate than you uploaded. Re-posting that file works, but the quality drops another generation. If an old post is worth republishing, find the original export and upload that instead. The difference is most visible in dark scenes, where repeated compression turns gradients into visible bands.
If the original is gone, treat the downloaded file as the source and compress gently: a light pass before re-uploading is usually better than sending a heavy file that the platform will squeeze again.