Highlighting text in a Facebook post allows you to draw attention to key words or phrases. This can help emphasize important points or make parts of your post stand out. Highlighting text is easy to do from both desktop and mobile.
On Desktop
To highlight text in a Facebook post on desktop, follow these steps:
- While writing your Facebook post, select the text you want to highlight.
- Click the B formatting button above the text box.
- Select the Highlight option.
This will add a light yellow background highlight behind the selected text. You can adjust the highlighted text as needed before posting.
On Mobile
Highlighting text in the Facebook mobile app is very similar:
- As you’re typing your post, tap and hold on a word to select it.
- Drag the selector to highlight all the text you want.
- Tap the B formatting button.
- Choose Highlight to add the highlight background.
The mobile app will highlight the selected text in yellow. You can change the selection and adjust the formatting before posting.
Formatting Tips
Here are some formatting tips for highlighting text in Facebook posts:
- Don’t overuse highlights. One or two key phrases is usually enough.
- Highlight important keywords or critical points you want viewers to focus on.
- Use highlights sparingly. Too much will be distracting.
- Combine highlights with bold or italic text for added emphasis.
Keyboard Shortcuts
For desktop browsers, you can also use these keyboard shortcuts to highlight text:
| Shortcut (Windows) | Shortcut (Mac) | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + H | Command + Shift + H | Highlight selected text |
| Ctrl + Shift + U | Command + Shift + U | Remove highlight |
Simply select the text you want to highlight first, then use the appropriate shortcut.
Highlight Color Options
The default highlight color on Facebook is a light yellow. Unfortunately, there is no way to change the highlight color natively within Facebook’s formatting options.
However, you can install browser extensions or plugins to add highlight color options in your Facebook posts. Here are some options:
- Chromoji – Chrome extension with emoji highlights
- Facebook Highlighter – Chrome extension with color highlights
- Facebook Text Editor – Firefox add-on with text formatting
These extensions will add buttons to enable different color highlights. Keep in mind the highlights will still appear as yellow to anyone who views your post normally through Facebook.
Why Highlight Text?
Highlighting key points in your Facebook posts can:
- Draw attention to important words, phrases, or statistics
- Help break up long blocks of text
- Improve readability and scanning for readers
- Add visual interest to your posts
- Direct focus to your main message or call-to-action
Use highlights strategically to guide readers to your key content. Don’t overdo it, just a few well-placed highlights can be very effective.
Highlight Limitations
There are a couple limitations to keep in mind when highlighting text on Facebook:
- Highlights may not be visible on all platforms – mobile browsers preserve formatting but mobile apps may not.
- Highlight color can’t be changed natively, requires an extension.
- Highlights don’t work in Facebook Notes, only in posts and comments.
So highlights may not have the exact same appearance everywhere. But they will still help call attention to important text in most Facebook environments.
Examples of Highlighted Text
Here are a few examples of posts with highlighted text:
Breaking News: Stocks
Study finds drinking
Don’t forget to
Troubleshooting Highlights
If highlights aren’t working properly in your Facebook posts, try these troubleshooting tips:
- Make sure you select text first before highlighting. Highlights can’t be added freely.
- Double check that the B formatting toolbar is enabled above the post box.
- Highlighted text will appear shaded on desktop but may not on all mobile platforms.
- Try removing highlights and reapplying them.
- Copy-paste your text into a new post to remove any faulty formatting.
You may also need to disable browser extensions that conflict with Facebook’s formatting tools. Test highlights in a plain browser without add-ons enabled.
Conclusion
Highlighting important text is an easy way to draw attention to key messages in your Facebook posts. Use highlights sparingly with the native formatting tools on desktop and mobile. Consider extensions if you need more color options. Avoid overusing highlights, and test how they appear on different platforms.
With a few highlights, you can guide readers to your main point and boost engagement on your Facebook content.