Video Ratios for Social Media and Where to Use Them

You’ve filmed a great video. Then you post it and the top of your head is cut off, there are black bars down the sides, or it looks like a postage stamp in the feed. Nine times out of ten, the problem isn’t the video. It’s the shape. That shape is called the aspect ratio, and getting it right is one of the easiest wins in social media.

What a Ratio Actually Means

• It’s width by height. 9:16 means nine parts wide, sixteen parts tall. 16:9 is the same thing turned on its side.
• Tall takes up more of the phone. Most people scroll on a phone held upright, so a taller video fills more of their screen and is harder to scroll past.
• The wrong ratio gets cropped or shrunk. The app will trim the edges or add bars to make it fit. Neither looks good.

The Four Ratios You Need

• 9:16 (tall, full screen). Reels and Stories on Instagram and Facebook, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. This is the one to film in by default.
• 4:5 (tall-ish). Facebook and Instagram feed posts. It takes up more room in the feed than a square without being cut off.
• 1:1 (square). The safe all-rounder. Use it for LinkedIn posts, carousel slides, and any time you’re not sure where a video will end up.
• 16:9 (wide). YouTube, your website, LinkedIn and presentations. Anywhere people watch on a laptop or TV.

Where Each One Goes

• Want new people to find you? 9:16 Reels on Instagram and Facebook, TikTok or YouTube Shorts.
• Posting a quick Story? 9:16 on Instagram and Facebook. YouTube has retired its Stories feature, so Shorts is its home for tall video.
• Posting to your feed? 4:5 on Facebook and Instagram.
• Posting on LinkedIn? 1:1 square is the safest bet, and it looks tidy in a carousel too.
• Putting it on your website or YouTube? 16:9.
• Adding it to your Google Business Profile? Either works, but keep it short and well lit.

Film Once, Use Everywhere

You don’t need to film the same thing three times. Here’s how I do it for clients:

• 1. Film tall on your phone. Hold it upright and shoot in 9:16.
• 2. Keep the action in the middle. Faces, products and text sit in the centre third, so nothing important gets cut when you crop.
• 3. Crop for each platform. Free apps like CapCut or Canva will turn one tall video into 4:5, 1:1 and 16:9 in a few clicks.

One video, every platform, and nobody loses the top of their head. For more on where each post type fits, see Reels or Stories? Which One, When.

Small business owners don’t have time to learn every platform’s rules, and they change often. As your outsourced marketing manager, I take your raw phone footage, cut it into the right shapes for each platform, and post it where it will actually be seen, so your videos look sharp everywhere without you thinking about it.

Frequently Asked Questions

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1 Day Marketing. One day at a time. Based in Ipswich, serving small businesses across Brisbane and beyond.