Picture this: You’ve poured time and resources into crafting the perfect social media post. The visuals are striking, the message is spot-on, but when you preview it on your phone, the text is so tiny you can barely make it out. Sound familiar? You’re not alone.
As an advertising agency, we see it all the time—content designed on desktops looks flawless, but on mobile devices, where most people scroll through social media, the text becomes practically invisible. The consequence? Your audience moves on without a second thought. In today’s fast-paced digital world, readability isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a must for driving engagement and conversions.
The good news? There’s a straightforward solution: getting your font sizes right. In this article, we’re sharing our agency’s proven cheatsheet for optimal font sizes on Instagram and LinkedIn, ensuring your content doesn’t just catch the eye but gets read.
Understanding the Mobile Challenge
Before we jump into the specifics, let’s unpack why text behaves differently on mobile devices. Modern phones boast higher pixel density than desktop screens, packing more pixels into every inch. This makes images crisper, but it also shrinks text. A font size that looks perfectly legible on your computer can turn into a strain-inducing blur on a smartphone. And let’s face it—your audience isn’t going to zoom in to read your message; they’ll simply keep scrolling.
Our Font Size Cheatsheet
For Instagram posts, whether you’re working with the standard 1080x1350px format or the square 1080x1080px layout, the key is scaling your text appropriately within your graphics. Here’s what we recommend:
- Headlines: 95–150px
- Body text: 36–60px
- Captions/Footnotes: 27px
These sizes are designed to keep your text clear and readable on mobile screens, no zooming required. They’re starting points, of course—depending on your design, you might need to adjust slightly—but sticking within these ranges will set you up for success.
A Quick Note on Captions
These recommendations apply to text embedded in your images or graphics, not the captions you type below the post (like on Instagram). For in-image text, such as in carousels or promotional graphics, these sizes are spot-on.
Applying the Principles to LinkedIn
While our cheatsheet is built with Instagram in mind, the same logic applies to LinkedIn image posts. With similar dimensions often used for visuals, adopting these font sizes ensures consistency and readability across platforms. Whether you’re promoting a campaign or sharing thought leadership, legible text keeps your audience engaged.
Tips for Readable Text
Font size is just the beginning. To truly optimise your social media content, consider these additional best practices:
- High-contrast colours: Pair your text with backgrounds that make it pop—think white on dark blue or black on yellow.
- Simple fonts: Skip the ornate scripts; clean, bold typefaces are easier to read on small screens.
- Concise messaging: Mobile users have short attention spans—get to the point quickly.
- Test on mobile: Always preview your designs on a phone or use tools like Canva or Adobe Spark with mobile simulation features to see the real-world result.
Engagement That Soars
In the cut-throat arena of social media advertising, every detail matters. Optimising your font sizes removes a major hurdle to engagement, making it more likely your audience will stop, read, and act on your message. At our agency, we’ve seen firsthand how this small tweak can transform campaign performance—higher click-throughs, more shares, and better brand recall.
Implement these guidelines in your next post, and you’ll likely see the difference in your metrics. Don’t let ant-sized text shrink your impact—make your content unmissable.
Let’s Talk
Have you ever struggled with text readability in your social media campaigns? Tried tweaking font sizes and seen a shift in engagement? We’d love to hear your experiences—drop a comment below or connect with us for more insights.
And Dreams Digital is a leading advertising agency specialising in digital marketing and social media strategies. With a passion for data-driven creativity, we help brands cut through the noise and connect with their audiences in meaningful ways.
