Professional or personal? How hybrid self-presentation shapes bridging and bonding social capital across social status on LinkedIn

Self-branding on professional social media is increasingly common, yet its adoption and benefits remain uneven. This study examines how users construct personal-professional hybrid identities through both posting content and linguistic style, and how these strategies relate to social capital building. Using 9,918 LinkedIn profiles and 86,160 associated posts, the study identifies dimensions of personal and professional self-presentation in content and linguistic style through automated text mining, including large language models. The findings show that content and linguistic style hybridity are asymmetric rather than interchangeable. Sharing professional content in a personal style is more conducive to bridging social capital by helping users reach broader networks, whereas combining personal content with a personal style is more helpful for bonding social capital by fostering closer ties. These patterns also vary by users’ online and offline status, including gender. The study advances theory and offers practical insight into visibility, trust, and connection online.