How to Bold Things on LinkedIn

You’ve written a great LinkedIn post, but it looks like a wall of text. Trying to find the bold button in LinkedIn’s editor feels like a lost cause because there isn't one. This guide will show you exactly how to make your text bold, italic, and otherwise stand out to stop the scroll and get your message across. We’ll cover the simple copy-and-paste method and the strategic reasons why good formatting is one of the most underrated ways to grow your brand on social media.

Why Bolding Your LinkedIn Posts Matters

In a sea of uniform text, formatting is your secret weapon. The LinkedIn feed is a fast-moving, competitive space. Everyone is posting advice, case studies, and career updates. If your content doesn't immediately grab attention, it gets ignored. Bolding text isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s a powerful tool for clarity, engagement, and brand building.

Think about how people use social media, especially on their phones. They aren’t reading every word with careful attention, they’re skimming. They glide through content, their eyes scanning for anything interesting enough to warrant a pause. Bold text acts like a visual speed bump. It hooks the reader's eye and guides it to the most important parts of your message.

Here’s what strategic bolding accomplishes:

• It improves scannability. Walls of text are intimidating. Bold headings and key phrases break up your post into shorter, more manageable sections that are easier for your audience to digest.
• It highlights your key takeaways. A reader should be able to skim only the bolded text in your post and still understand the main point. This "skim test" is a great way to check if your formatting is effective.
• It increases reader engagement. When a post is easy to read, people are more likely to spend time on it. Longer dwell time signals to the LinkedIn algorithm that your content is valuable, which can lead to better reach.
• It emphasizes your call-to-action (CTA). You want people to comment, click a link, or send you a message. Making that final instruction bold - like "DM me for the template" or "What are your thoughts?" - makes it unmissable.

Well-formatted posts look more polished and professional. It shows you’ve put thought into the reader's experience, which subtly builds trust in your brand and authority. It’s a small detail that makes a big impact.

How to Bold Text on LinkedIn (The Simple Way)

Since LinkedIn's post editor doesn't have a built-in formatting toolbar, you need to use an external tool to generate formatted text. It sounds technical, but it’s really just a simple copy-and-paste process.

These tools use something called Unicode, which is a universal character encoding standard. They replace standard letters (like 'B') with special Unicode characters that happen to look bold (like '𝗕'). To LinkedIn, it's just text like any other character, which is why you can paste it directly into a post. It's the same principle that allows people to use fancy fonts in their profiles and bios.

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding Bold Text

Follow these quick steps to format your next LinkedIn post:

1. Write your post first. It's always best to draft your content in a separate document. This lets you focus on the message without getting distracted by formatting. Once you have your final draft, decide which words or phrases you want to emphasize.
2. Open a Unicode text converter. Open a new browser tab and search for terms like "bold text generator," "LinkedIn text formatter," or "Unicode text converter." You’ll find several free, web-based tools that all do the same thing.
3. Enter your text. In the generator tool, you’ll see an input box. Type or paste the words you want to make bold into this box.
4. Choose your style and copy it. The tool will instantly generate your text in various styles: bold (serif), bold (sans-serif), italic, and sometimes even more decorative fonts. Find the clean, professional bold style you like and click the "Copy" button next to it.
5. Paste it into your LinkedIn post. Go back to your LinkedIn draft and paste the formatted text where you want it to appear. You should see the bolded characters immediately. You can do this on desktop or mobile.

That’s it! You can use this method for posts, comments, articles, and even in the "About" section of your profile to add structure and visual interest.

Best Practices: How to Use Bold Formatting Strategically

Now that you know how to make text bold, the next step is learning when and where to use it for maximum impact. The goal is to enhance readability, not create a visually chaotic mess. Too much bolding can be just as bad as none at all.

Do: Use Bold for Section Headers

If you’re writing a longer post, especially a list-based or "how-to" piece, use bold text to create clear subheadings. This is the single most effective way to turn a dense block of text into an approachable, skimmable article. It helps readers navigate your content and find the information that's most relevant to them.

Example without formatting:

Growing on LinkedIn requires a clear strategy. First, you need to optimize your profile. Make sure your headline clearly explains what you do and for whom. Next, you must post consistently. Aim for at least 3-5 times a week to stay top of mind. Finally, engage with others. Don't just post and ghost, spend time commenting on other people's content to build relationships.

Example with bold headings:

Growing on LinkedIn requires a clear strategy.

1. Optimize Your Profile
Make sure your headline clearly explains what you do and for whom.

2. Post Consistently
Aim for at least 3-5 times a week to stay top of mind.

3. Engage with Others
Don't just post and ghost, spend time commenting on other people's content to build relationships.

See the difference? The second version is much easier to scan and understand at a glance.

Do: Emphasize Key Metrics and Takeaways

Did you help a client achieve a surprising result? Are you sharing a statistic that reinforces your point? Make it bold.

When you present data, the bolded numbers grab attention and give your claim instant credibility. Instead of "Our new campaign improved lead generation," try "Our new campaign improved lead generation by over 300% in just 60 days."

Do: Make Your Question or CTA Stand Out

Every post should have a purpose. Usually, that purpose is to get the reader to do something. You might be asking a question to spark conversation or directing them to take a specific action. Don't let your CTA get lost at the end of a long paragraph. Bolding the final sentence makes it clear what you want your audience to do next.

• Example: "We're opening up five spots for our coaching program this month. DM me 'GROWTH' to see if it's a fit for you."
• Example: "That's how I approach client onboarding. What’s the one step you would add to this process?"

Don't: Overdo It

When everything is bold, nothing stands out. Bolding adds emphasis because it creates contrast with the plain text around it. If you bold entire paragraphs or every other sentence, you lose that effect. Your post will look overwhelming and, frankly, it feels like you're shouting at the reader. Use it sparingly for the most important elements only.

Don't: Mix Too Many Font Styles

Unicode generators offer a wide range of styles, from simple bolds and italics to cursive scripts and circled letters. Sticking to one or two complementary styles (like bold and italics) is your best bet. Using multiple fancy fonts can make your posts look unprofessional and difficult to read, especially on smaller mobile screens.

A Quick Note on Accessibility and SEO

While Unicode formatting is great for visual appeal, it’s important to be aware of a couple of potential drawbacks.

First, accessibility. Screen-reading software, which is used by visually impaired individuals, may not interpret these special characters correctly. Instead of reading a Unicode-bolded word like "Results," a screen reader might spell it out letter by letter or announce it as a symbolic character, which can be confusing. For this reason, avoid using Unicode formatting for long passages of text or critical information.

Second, search. It's unclear exactly how LinkedIn's internal search algorithm treats these special characters. There is a possibility that it may not recognize a Unicode-formatted word the same as its plain-text equivalent. For important keywords you want to rank for in LinkedIn search, it might be safer to keep them as standard text.

The best approach is to use formatting to improve the reader experience for the majority of users while being mindful not to over-rely on it for critical information.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to bold things on LinkedIn is more than just a formatting trick, it's about being a more thoughtful and effective communicator. By using generators to create styled text, you can make your posts easier to read, guide your audience to key points, and create a more professional brand presence that stands out on the platform.

We built Postbase to streamline exactly these kinds of small but important workflow details. Instead of jumping between a doc, a formatter, and the LinkedIn platform, you can draft, format, and schedule everything from one clean calendar. We know that managing social media is a juggle of countless small tasks, and our goal is to give you a tool that handles the friction so you can focus on creating great content.