Quick Tip 01 - Export Settings for Social Media
FPS, Mbps, resolution, Rec.709, field order, file size… do you really need to know all that? Nope.
What makes exporting and uploading so frustrating for most people is its technicality. But if we strip it down to a few core principles, you can forget the rest (at least if your goal is simply to upload to social media).
My Export Settings
First things first. Below are my export settings that I use for all my social media edits. Copy them and you are good to go! The screenshots you will see below are from Adobe Premiere Pro. It doesn’t make a difference what you are using tho. Same settings and principles apply everywhere.
If you want to get a deeper understanding of how the technicalities behind exporting work you can just scroll down, more in depth explanations below.
File Format & Codec
MP4, H.264 or H.265. Never upload MOV files.
Frame Size/Aspect Ratio
Reels 1080×1920p (9:16) or 1920×1080p (16:9)
Carousels 1920×1080 (16:9) or 1200×1600 (3:4)
Stories 1080×1920p (9:16)
Frames Per Second
30FPS (60FPS works too, I just prefer the motion blur of 30FPS)
Frame Size and Frame Rate Settings
File Size
I never go over 50MB. Sure, Instagram lets you upload up to 4GB, but 50MB works best in my experience. For longer videos, you can push it to 100MB or more without too much compression. Just remember: the bigger the file, the more Instagram will compress it to play back smoothly.
Bitrate
I max out the Mbps until the file hits about 50MB. For an 8-second clip, that’s around 45Mbps. If you can’t set bitrate manually, just choose “high/max bitrate” and you’re set.
Bitrate Setting (varying from edit to edit)
Audio Settings
Format: AAC
Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz
Bitrate: 256 kbps
Channels: Stereo
Okay now that we have the quick settings out of the way, let’s dive a little deeper. Not interested in technicalities? Don’t worry, the above settings will work perfectly fine even without understanding them fully!
Why You Should Always Export 30FPS
I get it, 24FPS is cinema, everyone screams about it. I was an international cinematographer for the last 10 years, I was the one screaming the loudest..
The problem is that common social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook are optimized for 30FPS. If you upload in 24FPS, you run the risk of having your video converted into a 30FPS file. For the best possible quality, you want as little compression as possible, so I recommend only uploading in the platform’s native FPS.
And honestly, I’ve yet to meet anyone who can tell the difference between 24 and 30 FPS on Instagram haha. Happy to be proven wrong!
Social media best-practice is as follows: Shoot in 30FPS or 60FPS and export in 30FPS.
File Format vs. Codec — What’s the Difference?
File Format
Think of the file format as a box that holds your video. Common formats are .mp4 or .mov.
Inside the box, you can have video, audio, subtitles, and metadata. The format just determines how everything is packaged together.
Codec (the compression method)
A codec is short for coder–decoder. It’s the actual technology that compresses and decompresses your video data.
Examples: H.264, H.265, ProRes 422 HQ.
The codec decides how the video inside that box is stored, how big the file is, and how much quality you keep.
How they work together
You can have the same .mp4 format but with different codecs like H.264 or H.265. Same format, different codec. Important to know that not all .mp4’s or .mov’s are the same!
The container doesn’t really affect quality — the codec does.
Quick analogy
The file format is the suitcase.
The codec is the way your clothes are folded and packed inside.
You can have the same suitcase packed neatly (efficient codec like H.265) or stuffed messily (less efficient codec).
What is Bitrate?
Bitrate is the measure of how much data is processed for every second of video or audio, usually expressed in Mbps (megabits per second) for video.
Higher bitrate: More data per frame → higher image quality, larger file size.
Lower bitrate: Less data per frame → smaller file size, but possible compression artifacts (blocking, banding, noise).
Constant Bitrate (CBR): Keeps bitrate the same throughout the video, predictable file size but less efficient.
Variable Bitrate (VBR): Adjusts bitrate depending on scene complexity, more efficient, better balance between size and quality. I mostly use VBR 1 Pass for my exports.
Gear
Music & SFX
Looking for the perfect music or premium sound effects for your project?
Check out Musicbed! I get everything I need from them, so if you want to try it out yourself, you can sign up for the free 14-day trial below!
I’ve even got a playlist if you want to check out the music I use for my edits!
A Final Note
Thanks so much for being here, I genuinely appreciate every single reader.
If you ever have questions or ideas for future issues, feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram!
Until next time,
Stefan
Minimal tools. Maximum creativity.
This post contains affiliate links, using them supports this newsletter at no extra cost to you. Win–win. 🫶🏼