PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/LinkedIn post

How to Cite a LinkedIn Post in APA 7

An APA 7 reference for a LinkedIn post gives the name on the account (with no credentials after it), the date in parentheses, up to the first 20 words of the post in italics as the title, a note about any attached image, video, or link in square brackets, the description [Post], LinkedIn as the site name, and the post's URL. The in-text citation is the author and the year: (American Nurses Association, 2026).

The format

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Up to the first 20 words of the post [Image attached] [Post]. LinkedIn. URL

PERRLA APA Experts · Updated October 21, 2026
Checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Add a LinkedIn post by hand: PERRLA's reference search reads LinkedIn pages and profiles, but not individual posts. Choose Social Media, then A social media post. For an organization, use the Group Author (Organization) role and type its name. For a person, use Username (screen name), type the first and last name in First and Last, and leave Name empty, since LinkedIn has no @handles. Paste the post text in Post Content (PERRLA keeps the first 20 words), describe any attachment in Description of attached content (Image attached, Video attached, or Thumbnail with link attached), type Post in Name of Platform Posts and LinkedIn in Platform Name, pick the date, and paste the post's URL. Leave Retrieval Date empty for a post.

Citing a company page or a profile? Paste its link (like linkedin.com/company/american-nurses-association) into the reference search, and PERRLA sets up the page reference: Home as the title, [LinkedIn page] or [LinkedIn profile], LinkedIn, and today's retrieval date. Two things to check. The search adds the end of the page's web address as a handle, like [@american-nurses-association], and LinkedIn pages have no handles, so remove the author and add the organization again as a Group Author (Organization). And for a person's profile, make sure the name came in without degrees and credentials.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.

The parts of the reference

1. Author

Use the name on the account. An organization's page gets the organization's name. A person gets last name and initials. Leave off the degrees and credentials many people add to their LinkedIn name, and end with a period.

American Nurses Association.

Mensik Kennedy, J.

LinkedIn shows Jennifer Mensik Kennedy PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. The reference keeps her two-part last name together and drops PhD, RN, NEA-BC, and FAAN. LinkedIn has no @handles, so there's nothing in square brackets after the name, and the end of a profile's web address isn't a handle.

2. Date

Give the year, month, and day of the post, in parentheses, followed by a period.

(2026, October 16).

Open the post itself to find its date. In October 2026, LinkedIn showed dates like Oct 16 on this year's posts (no year means the current year) and Aug 20, 2019, on older ones. The newest posts may show only a time like 23h, and comments still show ages like 7yr. If all you can find is how long ago it went up, work out as specific a date as you can, like (2026, September). APA Style's own LinkedIn examples do this.

3. Post text as the title

Use the post's own words as the title: up to the first 20 words, in italics, exactly as written. Keep the spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, and stop at word 20 even in the middle of a sentence.

Nurses stand beside patients through the fear of a diagnosis, the uncertainty of treatment, and every step toward recovery. Your

A link, a hashtag, an @mention, and an emoji each count as one word. Don't italicize emojis. LinkedIn hides long posts behind "…more," so open the post to see where the text really goes.

4. Attachment

If the post includes an image, a video, or a link preview, say so in square brackets after the title: [Image attached], [Video attached], or [Thumbnail with link attached]. A post that shares someone else's post gets a short description of that too. A text-only post skips this part.

[Image attached]

5. Description

Next comes the word Post in square brackets, then a period.

[Post].

6. Site name and URL

Name LinkedIn as the site, then give the post's own link: the one with /posts/ and the word activity in it.

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/american-nurses-association_nurses-stand-beside-patients-through-the-activity-7516939885040132096-BHES

To get it, open the post's menu (the three dots) and choose Copy link to post. Drop anything after a question mark, like ?utm_source=share. A /feed/update/ link opens the same post and works, too. Don't put a period after the URL, and don't add a retrieval date for a post.

Examples

A post from an organization, with an image

The American Nurses Association's National Mammography Day reminder, posted with a breast cancer awareness graphic. The title cuts off at word 20, the first word of the second sentence.

  • Parenthetical citation(American Nurses Association, 2026)
  • Narrative citationAmerican Nurses Association (2026)

A post from a person with credentials in their name

ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy on receiving the American Association for Men in Nursing's President's Award. Her LinkedIn name ends with four credentials, and the reference drops all of them. Her last name is two words, so both go in the Last box.

  • Parenthetical citation(Mensik Kennedy, 2026)
  • Narrative citationMensik Kennedy (2026)

A LinkedIn company page

To cite an organization's LinkedIn page rather than one post, cite the tab you used. The tab's name (Home, About, Posts, Jobs, Life, or People) is the title, followed by [LinkedIn page]. Pages change, so the reference gets n.d. and the date you looked at it. A person's profile works the same way, with [LinkedIn profile].

  • Parenthetical citation(American Nurses Association, n.d.)
  • Narrative citationAmerican Nurses Association (n.d.)

In-text citations

An APA 7 in-text citation for a LinkedIn post gives the author and the year. Use the name from the front of the reference, without credentials.

  • Organization: (American Nurses Association, 2026) or American Nurses Association (2026)
  • Person: (Mensik Kennedy, 2026) or Mensik Kennedy (2026)
  • LinkedIn page: (American Nurses Association, n.d.)
  • Two posts by the same author in the same year: add a lowercase letter after the year, in the reference and in the citation, in the order the references appear on your references page: (American Nurses Association, 2026a) and (American Nurses Association, 2026b).

Posts have no page numbers. To quote a post, put the words in quotation marks and cite the author and year. A narrative citation names the author in your sentence: Mensik Kennedy (2026) used the award to highlight AAMN's work on the Men's Health Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice. More on social media citations across platforms: how to format APA citations for social media posts.

Common mistakes

  • Mensik Kennedy, J., PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. (2026, October 15).Mensik Kennedy, J. (2026, October 15).APA references never include degrees or credentials, even when they're part of the name someone shows on LinkedIn.
  • Kennedy, J. M. (2026, October 15).Mensik Kennedy, J. (2026, October 15).Some people have two-part last names. PubMed lists her last name as Mensik-Kennedy, so Mensik is part of her surname, not a middle name. Write it the way the account you're citing shows it: Mensik Kennedy.
  • American Nurses Association [@american-nurses-association]. (2026, October 16).American Nurses Association. (2026, October 16).LinkedIn accounts don't have @handles. The end of a page's web address isn't a screen name, and APA Style's LinkedIn examples have nothing in brackets after the name.
  • American Nurses Association. (2026, October 16). Nurses stand beside patients through the fear of a diagnosis, the uncertainty of treatment, and every step toward recovery. LinkedIn.American Nurses Association. (2026, October 16). Nurses stand beside patients through the fear of a diagnosis, the uncertainty of treatment, and every step toward recovery. Your [Image attached] [Post]. LinkedIn.The title is the first 20 words, not the first sentence. The attachment and [Post] each get their own square brackets.
  • American Nurses Association. (2026). Nurses stand beside patients…American Nurses Association. (2026, October 16). Nurses stand beside patients…Give the post's full date. Open the post to find it; if LinkedIn only shows how long ago it went up, narrow it to the month you can work out.
  • LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-nurses-association/posts/LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/american-nurses-association_nurses-stand-beside-patients-through-the-activity-7516939885040132096-BHESThe URL goes to the post itself. A page's Posts tab shows whatever the page posted most recently, so your reader would never find the post.

Quick checklist

  • The name on the account, with no credentials
  • Year, month, and day of the post, from the post itself
  • Up to the first 20 words of the post, in italics and exactly as written
  • [Image attached], [Video attached], or [Thumbnail with link attached] when the post has one
  • [Post], then LinkedIn, then the post's own /posts/ link
  • No handle in brackets; n.d. and a retrieval date only for a page or profile

Questions students ask

What if LinkedIn only says "2mo" or "1yr"?

Open the post itself by selecting the time stamp or the post's text. In October 2026, LinkedIn showed a date on the post's own page, like Oct 16 or Aug 20, 2019. If you still can only see how long ago it went up, work out the most specific date you can, such as the month and year, the way APA Style's own LinkedIn examples do.

How do I cite a LinkedIn article or newsletter?

APA Style hasn't published an example for LinkedIn articles. An article has its own title, unlike a post, so the closest APA model is a webpage: the author, the date, the article's title in italics, LinkedIn as the site name, and the URL. Check with your instructor if the assignment has its own rule.

How do I cite a repost?

Cite the original post, credited to the person or organization that wrote it. A repost only shares someone else's words. If the reposter added their own text, and that's what you're using, cite their post and add a note in brackets that it shares another post.

How do I cite someone's LinkedIn profile?

Cite the profile like a page: the person's name, (n.d.), the section you used in italics, [LinkedIn profile], LinkedIn, and a retrieval date with the URL. Profiles change all the time, which is why the retrieval date matters. For facts like where someone works, a source the employer publishes is usually stronger.

Can I cite a LinkedIn post in a nursing paper?

Yes, when the post itself is what you're writing about, like how a professional organization promotes screening, or what a nursing leader said about an award. For clinical evidence, cite the study or guideline the post points to. Check whether your instructor accepts social media sources.

What if the post is shorter than 20 words?

Use the whole post as the title. The 20-word rule is a maximum, so short posts go in complete, hashtags and emojis included.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 8.17, 9.8, 9.14, 9.16, 9.19–9.22, 9.34–9.35, and 10.15, and the APA Style website's LinkedIn references page. Example posts verified on LinkedIn on October 21, 2026: each post's text, author name, date, and image read from the post page and its published post data. Mensik Kennedy's two-part surname checked against her PubMed author record.

PERRLA builds the LinkedIn reference for you, text cut at 20 words, credentials left out, and [Post] in place.

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