When posting photos and videos on Facebook, it’s important to compress your files to optimize them for upload and viewing. Large, uncompressed files can be slow to upload and download for users. Luckily, compressing files for Facebook is easy with just a few simple steps.
Why You Should Compress Files for Facebook
Here are some key reasons to compress your media before posting on Facebook:
- Faster upload speeds – Compressed files take less time to upload to Facebook’s servers.
- Quick loading times – Smaller files load faster for viewers scrolling through their feeds.
- Reduced bandwidth usage – Compressing files reduces data consumption for you and your audience.
- Higher quality appearance – Optimized files suffer less pixelation and artifacts during upload.
- Takes up less storage space – Smaller files free up room in your image folders and on Facebook’s servers.
The bottom line is that compressed files provide a better experience for you and your viewers on Facebook.
Facebook’s Recommended File Specifications
When preparing your files for Facebook, aim for their recommended image and video specifications:
Images
- Resolution: At least 720px on the shortest side
- File size: Less than 30MB
- Format: JPG or PNG
Videos
- Resolution: At least 1280px on the longest side
- File size: Up to 4GB
- Format: MP4 or MOV
- Aspect ratio: 9:16 or 16:9
- Frame rate: 30fps
- Length: Up to 240 minutes
- Bitrate: 30-90 Mbps
Aim to compress your files to fall within these ranges for best results.
How to Compress Images for Facebook
Here are the steps to optimize your images for Facebook:
- Open your image file in an editing program like Photoshop, GIMP, or PicMonkey. Free online compressors like Optimizilla also work.
- Check the resolution and resize if needed to be at least 720px wide or tall.
- Adjust the image quality slider to 80-90% quality. Higher quality means larger files.
- Save and close the image as a progressive JPG.
- Reopen the compressed image and check that the file size is less than 30MB.
- If needed, lower the quality more and re-save to reach 30MB target.
This process strikes a balance between visual quality and file size for social media. Some extra tips:
- Crop to key focus areas to allow more compression on non-essential areas.
- Use tools like the Magic Wand to select and compress backgrounds.
- Remove EXIF data which adds hidden bloat to files.
How to Compress Videos for Facebook
Optimizing video files takes a few extra steps. Here is a workflow:
- Import your video into video editing software like Premiere or Final Cut.
- Resize/crop clips to fit in a 9:16 or 16:9 aspect ratio.
- Set the playback resolution to at least 1280px wide.
- Export using H.264 video and AAC audio codecs.
- For bitrate, use CBR at 8-12 Mbps.
- Set the target filesize under 4GB.
Like images, you may need to render videos multiple times, lowering the bitrate until the file is small enough. Other tips:
- Lower the frame rate to 24fps if quality loss is noticeable.
- Trim longer videos into 15-60 second segments.
- Use proxy media to edit higher resolution footage.
Best Practices for Compressing Files
Follow these best practices when optimizing media for Facebook:
- Start with the highest quality master copy available.
- Compress JPG images with 80-90% quality.
- Export videos with CBR bitrates 8-12mbps.
- Stick to recommended resolutions, aspect ratios and frame rates.
- Double check file sizes stay under limits.
- Break large files into segments under the limit.
- Use proxies and compression tools to preview quality loss.
- Remove unused channels like excess audio and metadata.
- Render to multiple target file sizes for optimal quality.
Finding the optimal balance between quality and file size may take trial and error. Using proxies in your workflow helps preview results before rendering full-size files.
Free Tools to Compress Media for Facebook
Here are some of the best free tools for compressing media files for Facebook:
| Tool | Formats | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| HandBrake | Video | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| Avidemux | Video | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| Optimizilla | Images | Web |
| TinyPNG | Images | Web |
| GIMP | Images | Windows, Mac, Linux |
For batch processing, tools like HandBrake offer queue features to automate compression across multiple files.
Paid Tools for Compressing Media
There are also many premium tools with more advanced features for optimizing media:
| Tool | Formats | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Media Encoder | Video & Images | Windows, Mac |
| Squeeze | Video | Windows, Mac |
| FileOptimizer | Images | Windows |
| JPEGmini | Images | Mac |
| Compressor | Video | Mac |
These give finer control over compression settings and often integrate with Adobe’s workflow tools. The cost may be worthwhile for professional use cases.
Conclusion
Compressing media for Facebook helps improve your viewers’ experience and frees up storage space. With the platform’s image and video specifications in mind, use both free and paid tools to find the optimal balance of quality and file size.
Common techniques include resizing to recommended dimensions, exporting with efficient codecs, and iteratively reducing quality until small enough. Proxies help preview results before compressing high-res masters.
Remember to compress each file format according to its own parameters. Images should be JPGs under 30MB with at least 720p resolution. Videos can go up to 4GB with resolutions above 1280px and bitrates of 8-12 Mbps. Breaking large videos into segments also helps reduce file size.
With the right workflow and compression tools, you can deliver media that looks great and performs well on Facebook.