13 March 2024

How to use hooks on social media?

I’m sure you’ve heard it before – grabbing your audience’s attention is the ultimate goal of your content.

In this article, we will cover the types of hooks that you can include in your content.

I will give you tips on how to incorporate them as well as hook ideas, that you can steal 😁

Usually, you can find 3 types of hooks on social media.

These 3 hooks are best combined if possible.

Audio hooks apply to Instagram, TikTok, but also YouTube.

This hook is the music you use in your posts and videos.

Use captivating music to engage your audience instantly.

When doing voiceovers or talking videos, use a captivating word or phrase to hook your audience from the beginning.

Create compelling titles, taglines, and captions that hook your audience from the very first word.

This is a movement or a captivating graphic to engage your audience.

Capture attention with stunning visuals that represent your message in an instant.

Make sure these visuals align with your branding and are in alignment with your content.

These visual hooks don’t need to be complicated and include extreme transitions or edits.

Read till the end to get 10 ideas for visual hooks.

We’ve already touched on it above, but there’s more to it than just writing some phrases you think will engage your viewers.

Music – choose a song or sound that goes well with the video.

Talking – edit your talking video to be engaging to your audience.

The best is to use short sentences and keep the video under 30 seconds.

The best is to use subtitles – not only for users to keep up with the video, but also for bots to know what your content is about.

The same rules go for voiceovers.

Any time you can add a video, add movement.

That will help engage your audience and get them to keep watching.

When creating graphics in Canva or Adobe, ensure they align with your branding and are cohesive.

The graphic should be eye-catching and relate to the content you’re providing.

Instagram reels and TikTok videos – use overlay text with captivating hooks.

Make sure the text is within the lines so nothing covers it.

Instagram posts – use engining text on the first and second slide to get your audience to keep reading.

LinkedIn post – make sure the first line is captivating and represents the feel of the post.

This is not a clickbait phrase!

It should be something that lets the reader know what your post is about.

Blog articles – even a blog should have a captivating title. This title is seen on Google as well as the meta phrase (the text below the title).

Both of these should include keywords as well as phrases letting users know what the article is about.

Both of these NEED to hook your audience and get them to keep reading.

Here are x things I wish I had known before I started [include your niche or industry].
Here are 3 things I couldn’t live without as a [_].
Here is what happened when I started [include a tip that could help your audience].
The top 5 tips to [add specific tips aligning with your niche].
How to make [_] work for you, not against you.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but [_]
5 mistakes I made so you don’t have to.
Here is why [_] works so well. (include something from your industry)
[_] explained. (Pick one jargon word or phrase from your industry and explain it to your audience.)
Here is what to do, when…

Sitting down behind your desk.
Opening a laptop.
Scrolling on the phone.
Walking – any type of movement is great and walking (especially if the camera follows you) is enticing for the viewer.
Selfie mode – start pointing to the ground and turn the phone around to face you for extra movement.
Sipping a beverage
Simple transition – film yourself inside vs outside.
Putting on lip balm/lipstick – simple but effective movement.
Mirror, mirror on the wall – still a selfie but gives your audience a different perspective.
Shopping – set the camera on the shelf and pretend it’s not there.