What is hook?

A hook is the opening line, image or first few seconds of a post or video that grabs attention and makes people want to keep reading or watching.

People scroll fast, so you have only a moment to stop them. A strong hook can be the difference between a post that gets ignored and one that gets watched, read and shared. On video networks, hooks are especially important because watch time affects how widely a video spreads.

Hooks can be a bold statement, a question, a surprising fact about your product, a clear promise or a striking visual. On TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts, they usually appear in the first few seconds, often with on-screen text. In written posts on LinkedIn, Facebook or Threads, the first line does the job before a "more" link.

Tell people right away what they will get from your post. Lead with your most interesting moment rather than a slow introduction. Test a few different hooks for similar content and see which ones keep people watching.

Example

A home organizer starts her Reel with "Three things in your kitchen drawer you can throw out today" while holding up a tangled cable.