Everyone talks about hooks but THIS is what they DON'T tell you

The competition for attention on TikTok is getting crazier, with more and more eye-catching content being uploaded every minute. On the other hand, users seem to have a no more than three-second attention span (raise your hand if you can relate ☝️). This means your job as a content creator is to make them stop scrolling in those three seconds: the secret ingredient here is a killer hook.

How to create scroll-stopping hooks?

A hook is nothing more than a sentence or a visual that helps you grab a viewer's attention and makes them watch the rest of the video. Here are 5 basic tips you should always follow:

1. Use YOU or I – it makes the viewer feel like you're talking directly to them.

2. Add subtitles! Communicating your hook via speech AND text will attract more attention.

3. Understand your target group, their interest and the issues they're dealing with.

4. Show value immediately: provide the reason why they should continue watching (To learn something new, laugh, stay on top of trends?).

5. Keep it snappy!

7 examples of great hooks

• The List: "Here are 5 things you didn't know about [enter your topic]"

• The Target Group: "If you [enter your target group's interest or characteristic], you need to hear this!"

• Fun Facts: "Did you know that …" or "Here's a fun fact about …" or "This will blow your mind!"

• Numbers: "Here's why 85% of people do this …" or "90% of people don't know that …"

• Hacks/Tips/Tricks: "This is a [your topic] trick you need to know!" or "This [your topic] hack changed my life."

• The Question: "Is it just me or …?" or "Did you ever ask yourself why …?"

• Stop Scrolling: "Stop scrolling if you …" or "Put your phone down if you want to see …"

Reasons your hooks don't work

Firstly, you must ask yourself why your hooks don't work. Maybe they're not snappy enough? Do the hooks contain enough "shock factor" to spark curiosity? Does the video look forced and inauthentic? Remember, the audience on TikTok doesn't like content that seems fake or tries to just sell them stuff.

However, if you only focus on hooks and then don't deliver interesting content in the rest of the video, your content will still not perform well because people will soon get bored or feel disappointed. The best hooks are somewhere in the middle: they say what the video is about in a few seconds and tease the user just enough to keep watching, but they don't overpromise!

If nothing else works ... try this.

In our experience, these 5 evergreen TikTok hooks always work like magic:

• Unexpected Visuals include exaggerated facial expressions, something breaking, and unpredictable behaviour, such as lying on the ground in rain, falling, or sliding something across the screen. 

• The Secret: "This is the number 1 secret to earning more money ..." or "This is the secret about TikTok algorithm no one will tell you ..." or "Famous musicians will tell you THIS is the secret to their success."

• Stories Behind the Results: "Do you want to know how I ended up here?" or "Here's how we achieved [enter result] …" or "This is how I gained 3 million followers in one year."

• How To: "This is the recipe for creating engaging content on TikTok", "If you want to stay motivated for a task, do these 5 steps", or "Let me show you how to create a killer outfit from clothes you already own."

• Adding a Title: Adding text to a video can help convey the message visually, not just verbally, because users will instantly know what type of content they can expect. However, the effectiveness also depends on other factors, such as text formation and how it's combined with visuals.

However, it's still essential to appropriately adapt the hook to the topic of your video and how you produce it. Sometimes, the devil is in the details, such as low video or sound quality or a hook that is one second too long. Keep practising, and you'll master it soon enough!

Pro tip: if you're not in a hurry (for example, you need to catch a trend wave or report from a live event), we suggest you wait a day or two before publishing. Edit the video, sleep on it, and watch it tomorrow with fresh eyes. It will help you see it from a new perspective and notice these little details which make or break a TikTok video. You can also use hyptT to help you analyse the performance of your TikToks to gain more insight into what works and what doesn’t!