How to Resize Video for Social Media (aka Square Format Video)

Incorporating stock footage into your social media accounts can add an element of professionalism that sets your brand apart. But, apps like Instagram and Facebook can sometimes make it difficult to upload because of their video size restrictions. Don’t let that stop you—we’re sharing some of our favorite tutorials that show you how to resize video to fit Instagram and Facebook’s video size specs.

There’s no need to compromise on quality. Your brand will develop a reputation for its professionalism and social media savvy, all while you sharpen your video editing skills. Being able to utilize all social media features (no matter how restrictive) will be helpful in promoting your brand and generating loyal followers.

How To Create Instagram Stories In Any Editor

If you manage your brand’s social media accounts but maybe aren’t that familiar with video editing software, this tutorial is still incredibly easy to follow. The tutorial focuses specifically on resizing video for Instagram’s “Stories” feature, but the techniques can apply to creating square videos as well. You would just have to adjust the dimensions when creating a new project (this is covered at the 2:33 minute mark).

It can be difficult to work within Instagram’s video requirements, but there are a few simple ways to work around these restrictions. This tutorial covers three different options: uploading landscape video, rotating video, and cropping video.

The landscape option allows you to display the full width of your video while adding a background to the extra space at the top and bottom of the frame. This can be especially useful if you want to write a message in your story but don’t want to cover any of the video.

If you want your video to fill the whole frame, but you don’t want to crop any of the action, you can also rotate the video. Users will have to turn their phones to watch the story, but you can decide if this is still the best option for your brand.

One of the biggest problems that all Instagram users face is that the app automatically crops landscape video when uploading to Stories. The app only crops to the middle of the frame, which often means that your subjects are cut in half (or they are left out completely). This tutorial shows you how to selectively crop any video so nobody gets left behind (or chopped up).

How To Create A Facebook Cover Video For Your Page

Facebook recently debuted its cover video function—combined with professional stock footage, this is an impressive feature that can increase your page’s professionalism. Facebook has very specific size restrictions though, so this tutorial shows you how to resize your video to meet those specifications.

Note: The tutorial goes into more detail than you might be looking for, but the resizing portion starts at the 4:56 minute mark.

How to Create & Export a Square (1:1) Video to Facebook in Premiere Pro

Finally, this tutorial shows you how to resize and export square-format video to Facebook. Facebook and Instagram can accommodate standard- and square-format video, but square video remains popular on both platforms.

This tutorial is incredibly easy to follow, so there’s no reason not to experiment with square video on your social media accounts! Square video can also provide some variation to your feed and sometimes works better with specific footage.

Are you ready to become a social media savant? Get your video ready for vertical viewing for Instagram stories and Snapchat next!

Check out our library of professional stock footage to compliment your brand’s sleek social media accounts.

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