Export presets for every major platform

Publishing the same video everywhere sounds efficient until your captions get cropped on TikTok, your thumbnail looks letterboxed on LinkedIn, and your YouTube Short gets flagged for incorrect aspect ratio. Platform-specific export presets eliminate these friction points.

This guide covers optimal export settings for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, Facebook, and horizontal YouTube — including safe zones, subtitle styles, and a repurposing workflow using Vidquel export presets.

Why one-size-fits-all exports fail

Each platform renders video differently. TikTok fills the full screen with UI overlays at the bottom and right. Instagram Reels adds interaction buttons that cover the lower third. YouTube Shorts shows title text above the video on some devices. A subtitle positioned at the bottom center on a generic 9:16 export will be partially hidden on at least one platform.

Export presets encode these platform quirks as defaults: correct resolution, safe zone padding, recommended bitrate, and subtitle placement. You select "TikTok" instead of memorizing that TikTok prefers 1080×1920 at 30fps with captions sitting in the upper-middle safe zone.

The three aspect ratio families

• 9:16 vertical — TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Snapchat, Pinterest Idea Pins
• 1:1 square — Instagram feed, Facebook feed, LinkedIn feed posts
• 16:9 horizontal — YouTube main, LinkedIn video posts, Twitter/X, website embeds

TikTok export preset

TikTok's recommended upload is 1080×1920 pixels at 30fps. The platform re-encodes all uploads, so uploading at higher bitrates than necessary wastes file size without quality gains. Vidquel's TikTok preset targets the sweet spot: sharp text, smooth motion, reasonable file size for mobile upload speeds.

TikTok safe zones

Keep critical text and faces out of the bottom 250 pixels (comment/ caption bar area) and the right 120 pixels (engagement buttons). The top 100 pixels can be partially covered by the following tab on some devices. Center your hook text in the middle third of the frame for maximum visibility.

• Hook text: upper-middle third (pixels 400–900 from top)
• Subtitles: center or upper-center, never bottom edge
• Logo/watermark: top-left corner only
• CTA text: middle of frame, not lower third

TikTok subtitle styles

Word-pop and karaoke styles perform best on TikTok because they maintain viewer attention on muted autoplay. Bold white text with black outline ensures readability against any background. Avoid thin fonts or low-contrast colors — they disappear on phone screens in bright sunlight.

Instagram Reels export preset

Reels accepts 1080×1920 at 30fps, matching TikTok specs. However, Instagram crops slightly differently and the Reels tab UI covers more of the bottom edge on iOS. The Vidquel Reels preset adds extra bottom padding compared to the TikTok preset.

Reels vs. TikTok differences

Instagram audiences skew slightly older and engage more with carousel-style information density. Reels that perform well often include more on-screen text per frame than TikTok equivalents. Consider using larger font sizes and fewer words per screen for Reels exports.

1. Export at 1080×1920, 30fps using the Reels preset
2. Position subtitles in the center-upper zone
3. Use brand kit fonts for consistent feed aesthetics
4. Preview on an iPhone before scheduling — Android safe zones differ slightly

YouTube Shorts export preset

YouTube Shorts uses 1080×1920 vertical video but displays differently in the Shorts shelf vs. the subscription feed. The Shorts shelf shows a title overlay at the bottom. Subtitles should sit above this overlay zone — roughly the center third of the frame.

Shorts also supports horizontal video (1920×1080) in vertical player with letterboxing, but pure vertical outperforms letterboxed content in Shorts discovery. Always export native 9:16 for Shorts-specific content.

Shorts-specific optimization

• First frame must work as a thumbnail — no black frames or fade-ins
• Include a verbal and visual hook before any intro music
• End with a clear loop point or subscribe prompt in the final 2 seconds
• Use the Shorts preset subtitle style: slightly smaller font, higher placement

LinkedIn export preset

LinkedIn video appears in feed as 1:1 square (1080×1080) or 16:9 horizontal (1920×1080) depending on upload. Square performs better for feed engagement because it occupies more screen real estate on mobile. Professional content — thought leadership, case studies, hiring announcements — suits the 1:1 format.

LinkedIn content guidelines

LinkedIn audiences expect value-dense, professional content. Hook with a business insight, not entertainment. Subtitles are essential — 80% of LinkedIn video is watched without sound in office environments. Use clean, sans-serif subtitle styles from your brand kit rather than flashy karaoke effects.

Keep videos under 90 seconds for feed posts. Longer content works in LinkedIn articles with embedded video, but feed algorithm favors completion rate, which drops sharply after 60 seconds for most B2B topics.

Facebook export preset

Facebook Reels uses 1080×1920 vertical, similar to Instagram since both are Meta platforms. Facebook feed video supports 1:1, 4:5 (1080×1350), and 16:9. The 4:5 ratio is increasingly recommended for feed posts because it maximizes mobile screen usage without going full vertical.

Facebook Reels vs. feed strategy

1. Reels: export vertical 9:16 for discovery and new audience reach
2. Feed: export 4:5 for existing page followers and ad campaigns
3. Stories: export 9:16 with faster pacing and larger text
4. Groups: export 1:1 for community discussion-friendly format

Horizontal YouTube export preset

Main channel YouTube content exports at 1920×1080 (1080p) or 3840×2160 (4K). For AI-generated and template-based content, 1080p is the practical standard. Reserve 4K credits for content where visual detail genuinely matters: product close-ups, text-heavy tutorials, or client deliverables with quality requirements.

YouTube horizontal best practices

Horizontal YouTube allows more complex subtitle placement because there are no mobile UI overlays covering the video. Use lower-third subtitle styles for talking-head content and center subtitles for B-roll-heavy videos. Vidquel brand kits let you save subtitle styles per export destination.

• Thumbnail frame: export a separate 1280×720 thumbnail from your best scene
• Chapter markers: plan scene breaks at natural topic transitions
• End screen: leave 20 seconds of clear space for YouTube end screen elements
• Description timestamps: match export scene breaks for easy navigation

Subtitle styles across platforms

Vidquel offers multiple subtitle rendering styles: word-pop (one word at a time), karaoke (highlighted progressive), static block (full sentence), and lower-third (horizontal only). Each platform has a recommended default, but your brand kit can override these for consistency.

Choosing the right subtitle style

Word-pop suits fast-paced TikTok and Shorts content where energy matters. Karaoke works for educational content where viewers follow along with narration. Static blocks fit LinkedIn and professional contexts where readability beats flashiness. Lower-third is ideal for horizontal YouTube and webinar-style content.

Multi-platform repurposing workflow

The most credit-efficient approach: produce one master script, generate scenes once, then export multiple aspect ratios using presets. Vidquel's scene editor lets you reposition text and crop framing per export without re-generating AI content.

1. Create project in primary aspect ratio (usually 9:16 vertical)
2. Finalize script, voiceover, and scenes
3. Export using primary platform preset (e.g., TikTok)
4. Duplicate project and switch to square or horizontal preset
5. Adjust subtitle placement and text size for new safe zones
6. Export all variants in one session to minimize credit spend

Repurposing time estimates

A 30-second vertical video repurposed to square and horizontal takes approximately 10–15 minutes of editor adjustments — mostly subtitle repositioning and occasional crop reframing. Compare this to creating three separate videos from scratch: 60–90 minutes plus triple the credit cost.

Brand kits and consistent exports

Brand kits store your fonts, colors, logo placement, and subtitle defaults. Apply a brand kit before exporting and every video matches your visual identity across platforms. Agencies managing multiple clients maintain separate brand kits per client workspace.

When onboarding a new client, configure their brand kit first: primary font, accent color, logo position, preferred subtitle style. Every export preset inherits these settings automatically. This eliminates the "why does every video look different" problem that plagues fast-moving content teams.

Export checklist before publishing

Run through this checklist before every export batch to catch issues that presets alone cannot prevent.

• Hook text visible within platform safe zones
• Subtitles readable at phone screen size (preview on device)
• Audio levels consistent — no clipping or whisper-quiet sections
• First and last frames clean — no half-faded transitions
• Correct preset selected for destination platform
• File size under platform upload limits (usually 500MB–4GB)
• Brand kit applied and logo placement verified

Scaling exports with campaigns

Campaign mode in Vidquel lets teams queue multiple exports across projects and presets. An agency finishing a client batch selects all five Reels projects, applies the Instagram Reels preset, and exports simultaneously. Campaign analytics track which exports completed and flag any that need revision.

For creators publishing daily across three platforms, campaign exports turn a 45-minute manual process into a 10-minute batch operation. Set up your presets once, maintain your brand kit, and let the workflow handle the technical details while you focus on content strategy.