Formatting LinkedIn Posts: Bold, Italics, Underline – Expandi

LinkedIn formatting is an art.

Do it right, make sure your bold and italic text stand out, and your LinkedIn post will gather a whole different kind of attention.

Meanwhile, if your LinkedIn posts look like a novel, don’t be surprised when it doesn’t get any engagement.

Whether you want your text to be more engaging or simply stand out more, there’s quite a lot of different ways you can format your posts.

From rich text formatting to some clever copywriting tricks that can be applied to LinkedIn posts just as well, we’re about to cover it all in this ultimate guide to LinkedIn text formatting.

While you can’t format text inside your LinkedIn posts, there are a couple of workarounds and tips and tricks you should know.

Below, we’ll be covering everything you need to know about LinkedIn formatting:

• 5 Different Rich Text Formatting For LinkedIn and When to Use Each
• How to Bold Text in LinkedIn Post and Use Rich Formatting 
• 8 Best LinkedIn Post Text Writing Practices To Communicate Your Message

What Are The Different Types Of LinkedIn Posts Format?

If you’re planning to create a lot of content on LinkedIn, it’s important to know the different types of LinkedIn formatting.

This is different from the LinkedIn posts format we’ll cover below.

So, if you’re wondering just how to bold in LinkedIn posts, jump ahead to the next section.

The different kinds of LinkedIn posts you can create are as follows:

• Text only posts – Probably the most popular type of LinkedIn posts.This is also where you’ll be using most of your LinkedIn formatting (emojis, bold text, italics, etc.).
• Single image posts – There are many different ways you can use images on LinkedIn. You could share an example of what you’re talking about or use a more personal image to stand out.
• Multiple image posts – Whether you want to show multiple examples or highlight a narrative, you can also use multiple images in one post.
• LinkedIn carousels – Carousels are a great way to tell a story. There are also many opportunities for LinkedIn formatting. Though, keep in mind, LinkedIn carousels are based on a PDF, which you can create with Canva or any other LinkedIn post formatter tool.
• Video posts – Videos also allow you to come across as more personal in your content. Keep in mind, if you’re posting a video, you’ll want to grab attention within the first few seconds so people watching don’t scroll away.
• LinkedIn articles – LinkedIn articles are different than regular text posts. But they come with a built-in LinkedIn post formatter that lets you bold and italicize text, use bulletpoints, quotes, and more – for a smoother editing and publishing experience.
• Celebrations – Celebrations can also be a great way to show your personal side on LinkedIn. This probably won’t get you leads, but you can use it to update your network about a new project you’re working on.
• LinkedIn polls – Polls are tricky. They might not seem very important at first, but the idea is that you can use them as a conversation starter by messaging people who voted for a certain option.

Now, let’s take a look at the different kinds of LinkedIn formatting options you have on the platform.

5 Different Rich Text Formatting For LinkedIn and When to Use Each

Everyone can write great content and LinkedIn posts.

But with nearly 800 million users across LinkedIn worldwide, capturing attention can be challenging.

It’s not that you’re directly competing for the attention of all those users, but you have to consider the behavior of your connections when they’re scrolling through their feed.

You may only have a couple of seconds at most if you want to capture their attention.

Before we cover how to format text in your LinkedIn content, let’s take a look at the different kinds of rich text, what they represent, and when to use them.

Then, we’ll show you how to use them on LinkedIn.

The different LinkedIn posts format options you have are as follows:

• Bold text.
• Italics.
• Underlined text.
• UPPERCASE TEXT.
• And emojis.

Some of them might be obvious, but let’s take a quick look.

How to bold in LinkedIn posts

Bold text is mainly used for emphasis.

It’s used to capture your audience’s attention, highlighting main keywords and essential phrases.

You should use bold text whenever you feel like you want to emphasize something.

As you might have noticed from this article, we’re using bold to highlight important phrases or keywords.

Some people have a habit of over-emphasizing everything, leading to too much bold text and doing more harm than good.

In short, use your LinkedIn post bold text sparingly. Most people will be skimming your text, so you should use bold to make sure they see at a glance what’s important.

How to use italics for emphasis in LinkedIn posts

Italics are often used in a conversational type of sentences, dialogues, quotes, or names.

They’re a bit trickier than bold, and also more rare. Because bold text in LinkedIn post is highlighted and easier to spot, you can treat italics as weaker emphasis or to communicate what the reader might be thinking or feeling.

For example:

• “It is recommended to NOT use LinkedIn automation without first warming up your account.”
• “In our latest LinkedIn webinar Ian Naylor and Stefan Smulders covered the essentials of using hyper-personalization.”
• “Wait, this seems counter-intuitive, you might be thinking…”

And so on.

You get the point.

How to use underlined text on LinkedIn

Underlined text, you’ll find, is even more rare!

Because, oftentimes, it’ll stand out as a link.

• This is a link to our blog.
• This is a piece of sample text that’s underlined.

So, it’s not all too common on the web. It’s mainly used in text books or newspapers.

In the case of web writing, we recommend keeping this to a minimum. In the case your readers might think it’s a web link.

For the most part, italic or bold LinkedIn text will get the message across better.

When to use (and avoid) CAPITAL LETTERS on LinkedIn

CAPS LOCK text, or all uppercase letters usually mean shouting or screaming.

Even if you want to communicate some kind of extreme emotion, there are better ways to do this than making your text all uppercase letters.

You should only ever use this in the case of writing out acronyms. For example:

• “SEO – Search Engine Optimization.”
• “CR – Conversion Rate.”

How to use emojis appropriately on LinkedIn

Finally, emojis have been a somewhat new addition to online content and text.

Though they’re not technically rich text formatting, they’re still a great way to format your content and convey emotion.

This is something we’ve been seeing more and more, especially in LinkedIn posts.

So, our rule of thumb is as follows:

👉 As long as you don’t overuse emojis, they can be a great way to capture attention, stand out, and improve the flow of your content.

For example, consider replacing your bullet points with emojis and see how your text would look like.

Depending on the emojis you use, they can be a subtle attention grabber or obnoxious hard stops in your text.

Here’s how to insert emojis on LinkedIn or any other platform, for that matter.

• Mac: Press control + command + space bar keys on the keyboard at the same time.

• Windows: Press windows and “.” (period) keys together. Or right click and select emojis.

Now, let’s take a look at how to format text on LinkedIn, where specifically you can use this formatting, and other tips and tricks you should know.

How To Bold In LinkedIn Posts And Use Rich Formatting

As mentioned above, one of the most important things you should know here is that you can NOT use rich formatting natively from LinkedIn.

Meaning, when you’re creating new posts from your LinkedIn feed, you’ll find LinkedIn doesn’t offer the option to format your text from there.

The classic shortcuts like CTRL+B to bold text LinkedIn don’t work either. You can, meanwhile, use rich formatting when you’re creating a LinkedIn article though.

But the question remains – how to make bold text in LinkedIn post?

You can, meanwhile, use rich formatting when you’re creating a LinkedIn article though.

While LinkedIn doesn’t offer formatting for text posts, there is a workaround you should know about.

How to format your LinkedIn posts with bold, italic, and other text

Essentially, the answer to how to bold in LinkedIn is to format your text on other sites and paste it on LinkedIn.

Yes, it’s that simple.

All you have to do is simply look up text font generators to copy-and-paste, or use this LinkedIn text font generator tool.

Then, write your text within the tool and select the type of font you want to copy.

Then, open LinkedIn and paste in the text within your post.

The same applies to using bold text (or any other formatting) within your LinkedIn headline, summary, and so on.

For example:

Now, before you format your LinkedIn profile to be more aesthetic, there are a few important things you should keep in mind.

When to NOT use rich formatting on LinkedIn

While rich formatting might brighten up your profile, there are a few downsides to them we should cover first.

Here are some common problems with formatting text like this on LinkedIn:

1. The customer characters cannot be read by screen readers. This means they’re not good for accessibility.
2. They might not be displayed correctly on old devices and they may appear as rectangles instead.
3. The text might be unsearchable and cause some important parts of your profile to not be indexed properly. E.g. if your headline is with custom upside down, underlined text, LinkedIn’s search engine bot might not be able to render it.
4. Finally, it can look unprofessional. This will depend entirely on your audience, but as a general rule of thumb, you should never overdo bold text LinkedIn postor emojis.

So, if you want to play it safe and don’t want to use custom text formatting, here are some best practices you should keep in mind when creating your LinkedIn posts that don’t use rich text.

8 Best LinkedIn Formatting Practices To Better Communicate Your Message

Rich formatting and LinkedIn post formatter tools are great ways to add personality or make your content stand out.

But if you’re serious about your content strategy, you should also be following general best writing practices for LinkedIn.

Whether you’re creating regular text posts or LinkedIn carousels to generate leads and grow your network, you should always be following best LinkedIn formatting practices such as:

• Starting with a strong hook to grab attention.
• Using AIDA to make sure your post has a logical flow.
• Structuring your paragraphs in a way that’s easy to skim.
• Using emojis appropriately.
• Writing for a specific audience in mind.
• Using the PAS formula to structure your posts.
• Keeping things simple.
• Ending with a strong CTA.

Now, let’s take a look at each LinkedIn posts format best practice with examples in detail.

1 . Start with a strong hook

The hook is probably one of the most important parts of your LinkedIn posts.

People use that first one or two lines to decide if the rest of your post is actually worth reading.

So, they use a lot of clickbait or attention-grabbing hooks that makes the reader curious.

Some of the hooks you can try include starting your post with shocking statistics that will scare them or make them think.

Another great tactic is to start with a thought provoking question or a fact that will cause a strong emotional reaction.

For example:

• “Don’t waste time! You’ve done the hard work of building a network and brand on LinkedIn. Isn’t it time to reap the benefits?”
• “Everything you know about LinkedIn lead generation is wrong. Here are # things marketers get wrong every time.”
• “The exact #3 email templates that get me a 70% open rate. They work in every niche!”

Promising your readers something if they continue reading is another sure way to capture attention and get them to read more.

2. Use AIDA

AIDA is a classic copywriting formula that stands for:

• Attention.
• Interest.
• Desire.
• Action.

And you’ll find that this formula is ideal for regular LinkedIn posts as well!

Here’s an example from Sharon promoting one of our webinars that follows the above formula to a T:

Let’s break the post down:

• Attention– “Don’t waste time!” and the post also has an attached video of her talking to the camera.
• Interest – “You’ve done the hard work of building a network… Ever considered running an event on LinkedIn?”
• Desire – “Untapped promotion strategies, 1000+ people to register for your event, improve promotions by 10x”, etc.
• Action – “Spaces are limited, save your seat, sign up now!”

3. Structure your paragraphs and use white space

Another great way to format your text is by following this best user-experience practice of making your text skimmable.

This is something you might have noticed in this article, but it applies to LinkedIn content just as well.

Essentially, the goal is to use plenty of white space and paragraph breaks and optimize for readability.

This is something that many LinkedIn influencers do quite often as well. Sometimes going as far to use only 1-2 lines per paragraph at most. And this works especially well with storytelling content.

4. Use emojis the right way

Overdoing emojis makes your posts stand out in the wrong way.

Emojis are noticeable. But if you overdo them, they’re just going to stand out like a sore thumb.

LinkedIn is a professional channel after all, but that doesn’t mean your post can’t have some personality.

Most people use them to replace bullet points when listing multiple things. Though, just make sure you stick to one emoji and you’re using them sparingly.

🔥 Point #1

🔥 Point #2

🔥 Point #3

Like so.

5. Write for your audience

This may sound obvious, but it’s also one of the best ways to level up your LinkedIn posts.

The goal of structuring and formatting text on LinkedIn posts is to help grab attention.

But at the same time, your content needs to be up to par as well if you want to gather engagement.

Because, grabbing attention alone is easy.

Then, you need to hold that attention, drive action, or have some kind of resolution at the end of your post.

So, the next time you’re creating content for your audience, think about their pain points, issues, what they want to read about, and how you can help them.

Then, use the same language as your audience and structure your LinkedIn posts with the best practices covered above.

If you’re not sure what are the pain points you could talk about, you have to go one step back.

Observe your target audience. Learn more about them.

Read their comments on other people’s posts. See if they have any questions.

Once you’re able to step into their shoes, you’ll know that you’re ready to create content from a different perspective.

6. Use PAS formula

Everybody says that you should focus on your clients’ problems and pain points, but they don’t explain  how to do that.

Here’s a simple formula that works every time, no matter what  your niche is.

Problem 

The first line should be all about describing the problem of your target audience, in a way that makes them relate to you. You want them to feel like you understand them on a deep level.

Agitate

The second line is crucial. We want to use emotional words to make the problem seem bigger and more urgent.

You can do so by focusing on the future and mentioning negative consequences they’d have if they don’t solve this issue now.

Because you know – there are many people that are aware of the problem and looking for a solution, but it’s not yet a priority for them. They need that final push and we’re here to give it to them.

Solve

Now that you’ve got their attention, it’s time to explain how you can help them and share your solution to their problem.

See how this strategy is much more effective than starting the post talking about the solution you offer.

Nobody cares about your solution at first. You first have to gain their trust and then they’ll care about it.

7. Keep it simple

LinkedIn may be a business network, but at the end of the day, it’s still a social media platform.

So, do not overcomplicate things.

Write as you speak. Keep your sentences simple and concise. To the point. 

Remember that the goal is not to sound smarter than your audience and show off your knowledge.

The goal is to present it in a way that everyone can understand and read without difficulties. 

And no one wants to use the Oxford English Dictionary just to be able to understand your post.

8. Don’t forget a CTA

People often get stuck with creating LinkedIn content that doesn’t seem to convert.

They’ve done everything right: started with a hook, grabbed the attention of their audience, talked about their pain points, etc.

And yet, nothing happens.

That’s because you didn’t tell your audience what you want them to do next. 

And people get easily distracted and they could forget about your post, even if they liked it.

From now on, never finish your post without a call-to-action.

Here are some CTAs that perform best:

• Secret and Mystery

If you want to intrigue your audience, you can leverage words that give off a mysterious vibe.

People want to feel special, they want to feel like they have access to something that only a few selected individuals can access.

Let’s say you’re a graphic designer and you’ve created an online course.

So, the next time instead of finishing your post with a generic “Sign up for my graphic design course” write: “Unlock top secrets of graphic design” and observe what happens.

We guarantee you’ll get more sign ups!

• What’s in it for me?

Content marketers talking about giving value to your audience are onto something.

You have to give something to get something. Even in your CTA.

Add a little bonus or a gift for your clients.

Instead of finishing your post with “Buy now” try writing “Order today and get 20% off”. This subtle change will dramatically increase your conversion rate.

The final rule is that every post should have only one CTA.

Don’t ask people to do multiple things, because they might get confused and turned off from your offer.

Before writing any post ask yourself what’s the goal of that post and add an adequate CTA.

Remember that CTA doesn’t have to be about purchasing every time.

LinkedIn is a place to build your community and connect with people, before anything else.

That’s why one of the best CTAs is inviting your followers to comment and share their thoughts with you.

Conclusion

Now, to recap, let’s go over some of the most frequently asked questions about formatting LinkedIn posts:

• How to use bold in LinkedIn posts?

Through LinkedIn, you can’t add rich-text formatting in your posts or profile such as bold, italics, or underlines. You can, however, work around this by using LinkedIn text font generator or some other online tool as covered above.

• Can you bold text in a LinkedIn post?

Natively, no, you can’t bold, italicize, or underline text in a LinkedIn post. There is no feature to format your text when creating a new LinkedIn post. But as mentioned above, there are workarounds and you can simply paste formatted text onto LinkedIn if you want to bold text.

• How can you change up your LinkedIn posts format?

If you want your posts to stand out more and gather more engagement, proper text formatting is a must. Here are some best practices you should keep in mind when formatting text:

• Start with a strong hook.
• Use AIDA.
• Structure your paragraphs and use white space.
• Use emojis the right way.
• Write for your audience.

Now, if you’re looking to generate leads with your LinkedIn content marketing, you should know that lead generation and outreach are just as important.

You can automate your connection requests, follow-ups, and more.

Alternatively, you can also scrape all the people who commented on or liked your post with Expandi.

All this, on autopilot while following the best LinkedIn account safety practices.

Learn how and get started with a free, 7-day Expandi trial now! Or check out the live demo here!

Originally published on April 18, 2022, updated on December 5, 2022.