Use These 7 Video Hooks to Captivate Your Viewer

When it comes to social media videos, there’s one major key to success: you want to grab your viewer’s attention immediately. That’s why we’ve put together a list of video hooks to captivate your viewer.

When it comes to social media videos, there’s one major key to success: you want to grab your viewer’s attention immediately. Why? It’s pretty simple. Research has proven that our attention spans just keep getting shorter and shorter. In fact, it’s decreased significantly over the past 15 years. And now, as a whole, humans have an attention span shorter than that of a goldfish — a whopping 8.25 seconds.

And nowhere is this short attention span more obvious than on social media. That’s why you need a strong hook at the very beginning of your video. When you’re creating a social media video, your goal should be to have something attention-grabbing on the screen within the first 3 seconds. We’ve put together a list of the best video hooks to captivate your viewers that you can start using right now.

Use These 7 Video Hooks to Captivate Your Viewer

1. “99% of your niche won’t do this…”

Let’s start with one of the best video hooks that we don’t see many content creators using. Which is one of the best parts about this hook — if you use it, you’ll be one of a few instead of one amongst thousands. For this hook, use on-screen text that reads “99% of (your niche) won’t do ____. If you want to be in the 1%, here’s what to do: ____.”

The opportunity to be one of the minority that stands out in a saturated market is undeniable, and is basically guaranteed to give you increased views, along with viewers that stay all the way until the end and possibly even watch the video multiple times.

2. “Don’t buy that… buy this.”

Whether you’re an influencer/content creator or a commerce business marketing your own products, this is a fantastic video hook to captivate your viewer. Just use on-screen text that says “Don’t buy that… buy this instead” or “Instead of buying this, buy this”. You can then use the video to show off your favorite products or products from your own business that are better than some other alternative on the market.

This is a great opportunity for creators on Instagram or TikTok to tag their favorite companies and possibly score sponsorships. For brands, you can easily use this video hook to drive more traffic to your website and increase sales conversion. You can even use this hook as part of a series and create new videos on a regular interval (say, once a week) highlighting your favorite products.

3. “Come with me to…”

Again, this video hook can work for both businesses and individual creators. Just use on-screen text that reads “Come with me to ___” and then use video that shows you going to do… anything, really! The point of this isn’t so much what you’re doing. You could film yourself doing something exciting, like going on a day trip, getting a tattoo, etc. Or it could be something entirely ordinary, like a daily routine, an errand you’re running, or a BTS look of you working.

This hook is less about showing off something amazing, and more about fostering a connection with your audience. If you’re a brand, this can be especially useful since it allows you to put an emphasis on the face (or, at least, a face) behind the company.

4. “Here’s a simple hack to help you…”

Everybody loves a good hack! That’s why tip videos are so popular on Instagram and TikTok. This hook draws your viewer in instantly and ensures that they’ll keep watching, as long as you’ve promised a hack to a problem or pain point that’s relevant to your target audience. For this one, you can use on-screen text that says “Here’s a simple hack to help you ___”. You can also state the same thing on-screen or in a voiceover.

5. “Here’s how I achieved…”

This is a great video hook, especially if any part of your brand is built on sharing personal knowledge or teaching people how to do something you’ve already done. For this one, make sure you provide a pretty detailed on-screen hook, including the exact accomplishment and the amount of time it took you.

For instance, your on-screen text could read “Here’s how I got 1 million followers on TikTok in 6 months.” Including such specific statistics serves to impress your audience and draw them in, so they can learn how to accomplish what you’ve already done.

6. “I tried every ____ so you don’t have to.”

This video hook is effective for a couple of reasons. For one, you’re telling your audience exactly what you’re going to be covering in your video. And it has added appeal because the implication is that you’re saving them precious time (and possibly money). This is an easy hook to customize, no matter what your industry or niche. For instance, if you’re a video creator, your on-screen text could read “I tried every ring light, tripod, video editing app, etc. so you don’t have to.”

7. “You need this free tool…”

It doesn’t get much simpler than this last video hook… everybody loves a good tool. And they love it even more when it’s free. So use this hook to share your favorite free tool that you use in your business, your personal life, etc. Or, if you have a freebie or a free app that you’ve created… here’s your opportunity to promote it!