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.
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.