The opening 1–3 seconds of a video or first line of a post — designed to stop the scroll and earn the next 5 seconds of attention.
Last verified · 2026-05-29 · by Moe Ameen
Hooks decide whether content gets watched. On Reels, TikTok, and Shorts, the first 1–3 seconds determine 60–80% of the retention curve. A weak hook produces a 30% three-second view rate; a strong hook pushes it to 70%+. Same content, completely different reach.
Common hook patterns that work: a controversial claim ("Most coaches are lying about this"), a visible result ("I made $14k in 30 days — here's how"), a curiosity gap ("This one setting on your phone is leaking your data"), a pattern interrupt (unusual visual or first frame). Common hook patterns that don't work: greetings ("Hey guys, welcome back"), context-setting ("So in this video we're going to talk about"), throat-clearing of any kind.
Kompozy's Persona Brief includes a "reference posts" section specifically to capture the hook patterns the user's voice naturally produces, so generated content mirrors them.
A hook is the opening 1–3 seconds of a video or the first line of a post, designed to stop the scroll and earn the next 5 seconds of attention. On Reels, TikTok, and Shorts, the first 1–3 seconds determine 60–80% of the retention curve.
A weak hook produces roughly a 30% three-second view rate, while a strong hook pushes it to 70% or more. Same content, completely different reach, because the early view rate drives whether the algorithm keeps pushing the video.
Hooks that work include a controversial claim ('Most coaches are lying about this'), a visible result ('I made $14k in 30 days — here's how'), a curiosity gap ('This one setting on your phone is leaking your data'), and a pattern interrupt such as an unusual first frame.
Avoid greetings ('Hey guys, welcome back'), context-setting ('So in this video we're going to talk about'), and throat-clearing of any kind. These waste the first seconds that decide most of the retention curve.
Kompozy's Persona Brief includes a 'reference posts' section specifically to capture the hook patterns your voice naturally produces, so generated content mirrors them rather than defaulting to generic openers.