How to Write Digital Marketing Content That Converts
Subhasree Nag, 19 hours ago
Social media is continuously evolving. New sites are coming up; existing sites are upgrading, updating their algorithms, and adding new features to keep up with the best social media practices.
According to data derived from Instagram, there are more than one billion monthly users and more than 500 million stories daily. Over 90% of accounts have at least one business account they follow on Instagram. This is one of the main reasons why Instagram is one of the leading choices for any business.
Instagram stories are here to stay. They are not going anywhere anytime soon. So, if you are taking your business to Instagram, make sure you also have a strategy for Instagram stories. This is where the concept of Instagram story dimensions comes in.
Instagram image dimensions are 1080p x 1920p. The stories are 1080 pixels in width and 1920 pixels in length, popularly known as 1080p.
The aspect ratio of the story is 9:16. 500 pixels is the minimum width, and you can post videos that can be 15 seconds long at the max. You can post videos in GIF, MP4, and MOV formats.
If you try to shoot a video on Instagram, the dimensions will likely be 1080×1920, and resizing is unnecessary. However, if you use any other camera or custom setup, you will need a video editing app to ensure the video has the correct dimensions.
It might seem like you are doing a lot, but it is important for a seamless user experience, just like knowing the best time to post reels or content on Instagram. This ensures that your story gets maximum engagement.
Instagram has fixated on these sizes and dimensions to ensure your story has the maximum reach and quality possible.
These dimensions are perfect for almost all major devices, guaranteeing that the image and video show up properly across all systems with different resolutions. Using the dimensions has some advantages as well.
If you try some other dimensions, you won’t be able to upload the entire picture or the video. It gets cut off from the edges, and the content will not be uploaded as you wanted.
That is why you should pre-size the videos and images before you upload them to Instagram with the help of an Instagram photo editing app. Now, let’s look at the Instagram story image size, which is similar to the video size.
The Instagram images you put up in stories have the same dimensions as the videos. It is 1080x 1920 pixels with an aspect ratio of 9:16.
The platform allows GIF, PNG, and JPEG formats. There are Instagram layouts for collaging and posting multiple photos as well.
You can add 10 photos to your story at once. If you post an image, a video, or both together. However, you must ensure the content stays in a “safe zone” where the picture will not be hidden or cut off.
The safe zone is the area in the Instagram story that does not obstruct the content or cause the story any risk of being cut off. Instagram shows blue lines instantly when you try to move the content out of the safe zone, especially if you are adding GIFs or stickers.
So, if you want to add a timestamp and then try to move it upward or downward to the edge, Instagram will not allow it, as it will cover the profile picture if you move it upward. The platform also provides guidelines for aligning the elements perfectly.
While posting personal stories, it is common for people to open the front camera and click selfies that are not aligned, or the face gets cut off. However, the scenario is different when it comes to posting business stories.
You ensure that the videos are perfectly shot and the item you are promoting takes center stage. If you add stickers or polls, leave space in the frame to add these so that nothing gets obstructed.
Related: 5 Ways To Get More Instagram Story Views In 2024
People who actively use Instagram do not find it difficult to post pictures or videos as stories. However, it is not the same for a newbie or if you are handling a business account.
Here are a few tips for posting Instagram stories.
While uploading the images, Instagram compresses them, so a pixelated and grainy image will get worse, as its quality will reduce. Before you add a picture to Instagram, make sure that the image’s resolution is at least 72 ppi.
Dimensions of Instagram stories are something the platform is quite strict about. When you upload a vertical video or image from your phone, Instagram automatically formats it, and you do not have to worry about the dimensions.
However, in the case of horizontal dimensions, Instagram will crop the image to fit into the dimensions. It will automatically zoom in, zoom out, or crop the photo, ultimately changing the image. This will reduce the quality of the images and the videos. So, maintaining the 9:16 aspect ratio is important.
Photo editing apps will help you control the quality to ensure the right dimensions. Different tools can help you edit different photos.
This tool is the perfect one for editing photos for Instagram stories. It has templates that are specifically designed, keeping the dimensions of the Instagram story in mind. They have both free and paid plans.
This makes video editing easy for Instagram stories. Once you start making the video, you can choose the right dimensions from this platform. This software also has both free and paid versions.
Adobe Spark makes image and video graphics creation seamless for Instagram stories. You can make your own story with the imagery and typography in mind. Here, you also get free and paid plans.
Even though Instagram posts are quite flexible in dimensions and orientation, Instagram stories work better when put in vertical format. It works better if you post your story in the vertical format. If the content is horizontal, try changing the orientation before publishing it.
Check the file size before posting the story. Instagram only accepts 30 megabytes. This will give you a lot of space to upload high-quality content. If the quality doesn’t look right and the image seems blurry, then Instagram might have compressed the content, or there are some problems with the aspect ratio and dimensions.
Instagram stories help businesses and marketers. When you post regularly and add stories, this will result in better ROI. The time, effort, and resources you put in will bring back results.
However, to get the maximum engagement, you must abide by the Instagram story dimensions. Insta stories can improve the brand reputation, discoverability, and brand awareness. It is going to help the business grow.
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A self-proclaimed Swiftian, Instagram-holic, and blogger, Subhasree eats, breathes, and sleeps pop culture. When she is not imagining dates with Iron Man on Stark Tower (yes, she has the biggest crush on RDJ, which she won’t admit), she can be seen tweeting about the latest trends. Always the first one to break viral news, Subhasree is addicted to social media, and leaves out no opportunity of blogging about the same. She is our go-to source for the latest algorithm updates and our resident editor.