LinkedIn Formatting Tips To Make Posts Stand Out

Most LinkedIn posts fail for one simple reason: they’re hard to read. Dense paragraphs, no spacing, and zero emphasis make even great ideas easy to scroll past. LinkedIn formatting fixes that by making your message clear at a glance.

With Valley, teams solve this problem by turning plain text into clean, scannable posts that hold attention without feeling overproduced. Better formatting means your ideas land faster and feel more professional.

In this guide, you’ll learn practical formatting techniques for LinkedIn posts, profiles, articles, and messages. Each tip is simple, fast to apply, and designed to help readers actually engage.

Basics Of LinkedIn Formatting

LinkedIn's text editor is a bit different from what you've probably used elsewhere. Knowing what you can and can't do with formatting helps your posts look cleaner and get noticed.

Understanding LinkedIn's Text Editor

LinkedIn's editor is super basic. No toolbar, no bold or italics buttons, just a big text box. You type straight into the box when you make a post. The editor doesn't show bold or italic text as you type, which is a little annoying.

As you write, the box expands. Hit Enter or Return to add line breaks and create some white space.

You can paste text from other places, but most formatting disappears when you do. You'll have to reformat using LinkedIn's supported tricks.

Supported Formatting Options

LinkedIn doesn't offer much in the way of native formatting. For bold text, put asterisks around words: bold. For italic text, use underscores: italic. Line breaks are your best friend. Press Enter once for a single break, twice for a bigger gap.

Want emojis? Copy and paste them, or use your device's emoji keyboard. They're great for breaking up text and grabbing attention.

Bullet points aren't automatic. You have to add them with symbols like • or -. Numbered lists work the same way; just type them out. Hashtags work when you type # followed by a word, no spaces. Tag people using @ and their name.

Common Formatting Mistakes

Using too many emojis just makes your posts hard to read and not very professional. Stick to two or three, tops. Long blocks of text with no breaks? People will just scroll right past. Break things up every couple of sentences.

Special characters from outside formatting tools often show up as weird boxes or question marks. LinkedIn doesn't always play nice with them.

Writing in all caps? Looks like you're yelling, and people don't love that. It also kills readability. Too many hashtags are just clutter. Three to five is plenty. Stick them at the end, not all over the place.

Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile Layout

A profile that's laid out well makes it easy for recruiters and connections to find what matters most. The structure you choose helps you tell your professional story your way.

Formatting The Headline And Summary

Your headline sits right next to your name in search results and at the top of your profile. You get 220 characters to tell people who you are and what you bring to the table. Forget the boring job title, show off what makes you different.

Try using vertical bars or bullet points to split up ideas in your headline. Like: "Marketing Manager | Content Strategy | Helping B2B Companies Grow." It's scannable and shows off multiple skills.

Your summary section gives you up to 2,600 characters to expand on your professional story. Break it into short paragraphs, two or three sentences each. Hit return twice for white space.

Start strong in your summary. The first couple of lines are what people see before clicking "see more." Use bullet points to list key achievements or specialties. This makes your summary easier to read, especially on mobile.

Arranging Experience And Education

List your work experience in reverse order, with your current or most recent job at the top. Each entry should have your title, company, dates, and a short description.

Use bullet points to lay out your responsibilities and achievements. Start each with action verbs: "managed," "created," "developed." Keep them short, one or two lines.

Show results with numbers when you can. "Increased sales by 30%" beats "Responsible for sales growth" every time.

For your education section, add your degree, school, and graduation year. Only include coursework or honors if they're relevant to your goals.

Highlighting Skills And Endorsements

You can list up to 50 skills, but your top three show up front and center. Pin your most important and relevant skills there, the ones employers actually search for. Put technical and hard skills near the top. Soft skills like "leadership" can go further down.

Ask colleagues who know your work to endorse you for specific skills. Five endorsements from real teammates mean more than 50 from random connections. Cut out skills that don't fit your direction anymore to keep things sharp.

Enhancing LinkedIn Posts With Formatting

Good formatting makes your posts easier to read and more likely to get noticed. White space, lists, and a bit of emphasis can help your content stand out.

Using Bullets And Lists

Bullets and numbered lists break up chunky text and make posts easier to scan. Sharing tips or steps? Go with a list instead of a wall of text. Start each item on a new line with a dash, number, or bullet symbol. Keep each point focused and brief.

Lists open up your posts visually. The extra space makes it easier for readers to process info without feeling overwhelmed. People can quickly spot what matters most to them.

Applying Bold And Italics

No built-in buttons for bold or italics, but you can use Unicode characters for emphasis. Bold draws attention to key phrases or numbers.

Don't go overboard. If everything's bold, nothing stands out. Pick a couple of phrases that really matter.

Italics are nice for subtle emphasis, questions, or new terms. Use them for quotes or testimonials, too. Mixing bold and italics helps create a visual flow without overwhelming people.

Incorporating Hashtags Effectively

Hashtags help LinkedIn figure out what your content's about and show it to the right folks. Three to five hashtags per post is the sweet spot. More just looks spammy and can hurt your reach.

Stick hashtags at the end of your post. Don't scatter them everywhere. Choose ones that fit your topic, not just broad stuff like #business or #marketing.

Mix popular hashtags with niche ones. Big hashtags get more eyeballs, but smaller ones connect you with the right crowd.

Formatting For Visual Interest

Line breaks are essential. Hit enter twice between paragraphs for clear separation. Short paragraphs, one to three sentences, are way easier to read than big blocks.

Emojis can add some personality and help break up your post. One or two is enough to highlight sections or draw attention. Too many and it just looks messy.

Hook people in those first two lines before the "see more" cutoff. Ask a question, make a bold claim, or drop an intriguing fact to get them to click for more.

Crafting Visually Appealing LinkedIn Articles

LinkedIn articles need a clean structure and a smart mix of multimedia to keep people interested. Good formatting helps readers find what they need fast.

Structuring Article Headings

Headings are like a roadmap for your readers. Use H2 for main topics and H3 for subtopics. Keep headings short and specific. Instead of "Important Information About Marketing," try "3 Ways to Improve Your Email Open Rates." People want to know what they're getting into.

Make sure your headings follow a logical order. Readers often scan headings first to see if the article's worth their time. Stick to the heading hierarchy: H2, then H3, not H4. It keeps things tidy and easier to follow.

Embedding Multimedia Elements

Images break up the text and keep things interesting. Toss in a photo, chart, or graphic every 300-400 words to give people's eyes a break.

You can embed videos right in your articles. Videos explain complex stuff fast, but keep them under two minutes for the best results. Screenshots are great for step-by-step guides. Use arrows or circles to highlight what matters.

Infographics are perfect for stats and data. They turn boring numbers into something people actually want to look at. Just make sure your images are high quality and make sense for the topic.

Link Formatting Best Practices

Hyperlink your text instead of dumping raw URLs. Use clear anchor text like "read our pricing guide" so people know what they're clicking. Don't overload your article with external links. Three to five is usually enough.

If you can, set external links to open in new tabs. That way, your article stays open. Linking to your own LinkedIn articles keeps people on your profile longer. Always test your links before posting. Broken links look sloppy and frustrate readers. Check them again now and then to make sure they're still good.

Formatting Messages And Comments On LinkedIn

Direct messages and comments need clean formatting to keep things professional and actually get responses. How you structure these short-form messages shapes how people see you and whether they engage with you.

Writing Professional Messages

Keep your messages short and easy to scan. Break up longer ones into paragraphs, two or three lines max. Most people check messages on their phones, so make it easy for them.

Start with a personalized greeting using the person's name. Skip "Dear Sir or Madam." Get to the point in the first couple of sentences so they know why you're reaching out.

Use line breaks between different ideas. If you have a few points, use dashes or bullets:

• First point here
  
  
  

• Second point
  
  
  

• Wrap up

Don't send a wall of text. If your message is longer than three short paragraphs, it's probably time to trim it down or move to email or a call.

Formatting Comments For Engagement

Comments should actually add something to the conversation. Two to four sentences are usually perfect. "Great post!" probably won't get noticed.

Tag people with @ when you want to bring them in. It's especially good when you're adding expertise or asking a question. Emojis can add a bit of personality, but don't go wild. One or two is fine. Five or six is too much.

Break up longer comments into two short paragraphs. Make your main point, add a line break, then follow up with a question or extra thought. It's just easier to read and more likely to get replies.

Make Your LinkedIn Content Easier To Read

Good ideas get ignored when posts are hard to scan. Long paragraphs, weak spacing, and no emphasis push readers to keep scrolling. Clean LinkedIn formatting fixes this by making your message clear in seconds.

When formatting is consistent, your posts feel more credible and easier to trust. That’s where Valley helps by keeping your content readable, professional, and aligned without extra effort.

If your LinkedIn posts are being skipped, don’t write more. Format better. Start applying these techniques and turn attention into real engagement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does LinkedIn formatting matter so much?

Most users scroll LinkedIn quickly, especially on mobile. If your text looks dense or unstructured, it gets skipped. Clear LinkedIn formatting makes posts easier to scan, which increases read time and engagement.

Can you use bold or italics directly on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn does not offer built-in bold or italic buttons. You can still create emphasis by using Unicode text tools that convert normal text into bold- or italic-style characters.

What’s the best paragraph length for LinkedIn posts?

Short paragraphs work best. One to three sentences per paragraph keeps posts readable and mobile-friendly. Adding white space helps important points stand out in busy feeds.

How many hashtags should you use in a LinkedIn post?

Three to five hashtags is the sweet spot. More than that can look cluttered and reduce clarity. Place hashtags at the end of the post for cleaner formatting.

Are bullet points supported on LinkedIn?

Yes, but not automatically. You need to manually add symbols like dashes, dots, or asterisks to create bullet-style lists.

Does formatting affect LinkedIn engagement?

Yes. Posts with clear spacing, headings, and light emphasis are easier to read and hold attention longer. Better readability often leads to more comments, likes, and profile clicks.

Is it okay to use emojis in professional LinkedIn content?

Emojis are fine when used sparingly. One or two can help guide the reader’s eye or add tone, but too many hurt readability and credibility.

Can formatting improve LinkedIn messages and comments, too?

Absolutely. Clean spacing and short paragraphs make messages easier to read and more likely to get replies. The same rules apply to comments.

Should LinkedIn articles follow the same formatting rules as posts?

The principles are the same, but articles benefit even more from structure. Clear headings, short sections, and visual breaks help readers navigate longer content.