[0:00] This is a hook and this is a hook. I've
[0:03] spent hundreds of hours scouring the
[0:05] internet to find the best hook
[0:06] strategies and the results have taken my
[0:08] views from this to this. In today's
[0:11] video, I'm going to break down how you
[0:12] can use hooks to get the same results.
[0:14] By the way, this video is sponsored by
[0:16] Story Blocks. More on them later. There
[0:18] has been a huge shift when it comes to
[0:19] how successful creators, keyword
[0:22] successful, have been approaching their
[0:23] hooks. And the shift is this. They are
[0:25] no longer thinking about hooks as a
[0:27] catchy sentence. Instead, they're
[0:29] thinking about hooks like a moment. So,
[0:31] it's a mixture of words, visuals, and
[0:33] pacing, which is designed to grab your
[0:35] audience's attention. Now, I'm not going
[0:37] to spend loads of time talking about why
[0:38] hooks are super important, because at
[0:40] the end of the day, you know why they're
[0:41] important. They take up those precious
[0:43] first few seconds of your content that
[0:45] are designed to grab your audience's
[0:46] attention. And if you don't do it well,
[0:48] people will scroll past your content,
[0:49] and you will not get the views, the
[0:51] engagement, and genuinely the
[0:52] recognition that your content deserves.
[0:54] So, let's break down what thinking of
[0:56] your hooks as a moment actually means.
[0:59] There are now three core elements that
[1:00] make up a fantastic hook. And again, I
[1:03] say now because previously there really
[1:05] was just one element which was saying a
[1:06] really catchy sentence, which is
[1:08] definitely something I was guilty of for
[1:10] years. I'm going to show you some
[1:11] examples later. Don't you worry. We're
[1:13] moving on from it being one catchy
[1:14] sentence to it being a whole moment. And
[1:16] there are three elements which make up
[1:18] that moment. There are the words that
[1:19] your audience can hear within the first
[1:21] few seconds of your content. There are
[1:23] the visuals. So, these are the stuff
[1:24] that people see on your content. And
[1:26] there's the pacing. So, this is how
[1:28] quickly you actually get through your
[1:30] initial hook and video intro. Now, I
[1:32] want to break each of these elements
[1:33] down further so that you can truly
[1:35] understand how to utilize each to create
[1:37] an amazing hook. And later on in this
[1:39] video, I'm going to share real life
[1:40] examples of my own content when I've
[1:43] done it well and when I've done it not
[1:44] so well. So, let's talk about the words
[1:46] first. So, these are things that you're
[1:48] either saying on camera or just words
[1:50] that your audience can hear within the
[1:52] first few seconds of your video content.
[1:53] In order for the words that your
[1:55] audience are hearing to be effective,
[1:56] you want them to be specific,
[1:58] surprising, and hopefully create a bit
[2:00] of tension. For example, instead of
[2:02] saying, "Here are three tips to grow on
[2:04] Instagram, this is one that I'm pretty
[2:05] sure I've probably used in the past, and
[2:07] you know what? Maybe that worked in the
[2:08] past. I'll give myself some grace."
[2:10] Nowadays, those words aren't going to
[2:11] cut it. Instead, you might want to say
[2:13] something like, "Here's the reason
[2:15] nobody cares about your Instagram
[2:16] posts." Do you see how much more
[2:18] dramatic that alternative option is? You
[2:20] essentially want to give all of your
[2:21] words like a bit of a drama test. Are
[2:23] they dramatic enough? Could you be a bit
[2:25] more dramatic in what you're saying and
[2:26] in your delivery? Honestly, the more
[2:27] dramatic it is, the more likely it is to
[2:29] actually capture people's attention and
[2:31] stop them scrolling. The second element
[2:32] is the visuals. This is the element
[2:34] that's the most new when it comes to how
[2:37] hooks are working on social media
[2:38] nowadays. Previously, words are enough
[2:40] and now we've got to throw in visuals,
[2:41] too. A good hook will have visual
[2:44] elements appear on the screen that are
[2:45] designed to get your audience's
[2:46] attention. So whether that's captions,
[2:48] special effects, graphics, or maybe you
[2:50] just do something really interesting in
[2:52] the first few seconds of your video that
[2:54] gets someone's attention. A really great
[2:55] example of this is the foreshadowing
[2:57] trend. Do you guys remember that? Where
[2:58] people would basically take a clip of
[3:00] them doing something really embarrassing
[3:02] like maybe they fell over or something
[3:04] and they would frontend the video with
[3:06] that clip. So the first few seconds of
[3:07] the video would be them falling over and
[3:09] the rest of the video would be snippets
[3:10] which show the events which led up to
[3:12] them falling over. This trend worked so
[3:14] well, not only because it was super
[3:16] funny and interesting, but also because
[3:17] it had a hook built into its template.
[3:20] It literally forced you to open with the
[3:22] most exciting part. And in this example,
[3:23] that was something visual. Third element
[3:25] is pacing. During the first few seconds
[3:27] of your video, you need to bring the
[3:28] energy. Okay? You need to have some
[3:31] energy and some pacing in that video. We
[3:33] do not want a slow start. We do not want
[3:35] pauses unless they're used effectively.
[3:38] And again, I'm going to show you some
[3:39] examples of a pause being used
[3:40] effectively in just a moment. What we
[3:42] don't Oh, my dog's slipping. By the way,
[3:45] my dog just got neuted, so she's in this
[3:47] little outfit so that she doesn't bother
[3:49] her scar. They wouldn't give her a cone
[3:51] because she has too long of a nose.
[3:52] Anyway, what we want to do if we're
[3:54] using pauses is we want to use them for
[3:55] dramatic effect. What we don't want to
[3:57] do is use the millennial pause. Have you
[3:59] guys heard about the millennial pause?
[4:01] It's essentially when people, usually
[4:02] millennials, take this breath before
[4:04] they film. It comes back to us not
[4:07] growing up around video technology and
[4:09] therefore us not being used to being
[4:11] able to film each other. So we take this
[4:13] breath before we film because we want to
[4:14] check that the camera is actually
[4:15] recording. Whereas younger people like
[4:17] Gen Z and Gen Alpha grew up with the
[4:19] ability to film others. So when they
[4:21] film themselves, they immediately start
[4:22] talking because they trust that their
[4:24] camera is already filming them. Isn't
[4:25] that mind-blowing? I did a video on it
[4:27] on Tik Tok. It went viral. I got in the
[4:29] sun newspaper. Also got trolled quite a
[4:31] lot. It was a whole moment. So, when you
[4:33] combine the right words, visuals, and
[4:35] pacing, you will end up with an
[4:37] incredible hook. Now, before I show you
[4:39] some real life examples of hooks that
[4:40] have worked well and haven't worked so
[4:42] well, I do want to take a quick second
[4:44] to share a resource that you should be
[4:45] using inside your hooks to level them
[4:47] up. And that resource is Story Blocks.
[4:50] Now, one of my favorite videos that I
[4:51] shared within the last few months is
[4:53] this one. And what you'll notice about
[4:54] this post is that I really nailed the
[4:56] visual element of this hook. All right,
[4:58] within the first few seconds of this
[4:59] post, you'll see some incredible videos
[5:01] pop up on the screen. Now, it may or may
[5:03] not surprise you to know that I did not
[5:05] capture that video footage. That video
[5:07] footage is actually stock media that I
[5:09] obtained from Story Blocks. Now, if you
[5:11] don't know about Story Blocks already,
[5:12] it's a stock media subscription service
[5:14] which gives you unlimited access to
[5:16] highquality videos, images, sound
[5:18] effects, audio, templates, and so much
[5:20] more. They're all about helping creators
[5:22] and businesses enhance their projects
[5:23] without any extra costs and with more
[5:25] peace of mind. Now, there's a couple
[5:27] ways that they do this, right? The first
[5:28] is by offering unlimited stock media
[5:30] downloads at one set price. So, this
[5:33] means that you have everything you need
[5:34] in one place. 4K video, HD video,
[5:37] templates, sound effects, images, and
[5:39] more. And this is all available to you
[5:41] at one predictable monthly cost. So, you
[5:43] don't have to worry about pay-per-click
[5:45] pricing or any hidden fees. Another way
[5:47] that they do this is by offering
[5:49] clearcut licensing. So, any of the
[5:51] assets that you use are actually covered
[5:53] by the highest legal coverage in the
[5:55] industry. so you can really focus on
[5:56] creating and not having to worry about
[5:58] things like copyright strikes. Their
[6:00] stock library is also frequently
[6:01] refreshed, which means it always
[6:03] contains high-quality, diverse content,
[6:05] which really reflects the human
[6:06] experience, which is very important when
[6:08] it comes to storytelling in the world of
[6:10] AI. I do actually have a special treat
[6:12] for you when it comes to joining
[6:13] Storyblocks. You can get three extra
[6:15] months for free when you sign up to
[6:17] their annual plan. Head to
[6:18] storyblocks.com/jadebon
[6:20] to take advantage of this limited time
[6:22] offer. Thank me later. All right, let's
[6:24] do some case studies. Let's compare some
[6:26] good hooks that I've used and some bad
[6:28] hooks that I've used. I'm actually
[6:29] really excited for this section cuz it's
[6:31] going to be incredibly exposing. Let's
[6:33] ease myself into this by starting off
[6:34] with an example of a good hook. This is
[6:36] a hook that I used on a recent post that
[6:38] performed really well for me. I cried
[6:40] over social media this morning.
[6:42] Embarrassing, I know, but I was going
[6:43] through my content and I was struck with
[6:45] this sudden thought. I'm flopping. Now,
[6:47] let's use the three core elements of a
[6:49] successful hook to actually break down
[6:51] why this worked. The first is the words.
[6:53] I actually started this video by talking
[6:55] about something that's quite emotional.
[6:56] Like I was talking about the fact that I
[6:57] had been crying over my content, which
[6:59] is embarrassing, but watch the full
[7:01] video for context. If you open a video
[7:02] with emotional words, exposing words,
[7:05] very vulnerable words, that is a great
[7:08] use of that element of your hook. It's
[7:09] going to grab people's attention. Now,
[7:11] let's look at the visuals, cuz there was
[7:12] a few things going on here. I was
[7:14] walking towards the camera, which
[7:15] created some movement. I had my captions
[7:17] appear on the screen in a very specific
[7:19] style, right? And you'll see this as a
[7:20] pattern. I basically had every word
[7:22] appear as I said it because this
[7:24] encourages my audience to read and
[7:26] listen along. Great for engagement,
[7:28] great for attention. I also had some
[7:29] screenshots and some graphics appear on
[7:31] the screen as well. In terms of the
[7:32] pacing, it was fast. There was no dead
[7:34] air. If I'm being honest, my pacing for
[7:36] all of these examples are pretty much
[7:38] the same. I feel like when you create
[7:39] content for 5 years, you do get to a
[7:41] point where you nail the pace of your
[7:42] content. So, that's pretty consistent
[7:43] across the board. A quick tip for me
[7:45] here before I give you an example of a
[7:46] hook that didn't work so well is I tend
[7:48] to do my hooks multiple times. So, I
[7:50] tend to film at least three different
[7:52] takes of my hooks, and usually the third
[7:54] take is the best take. I don't do that
[7:56] for the rest of my video content, but
[7:57] the hook is so important that I like to
[7:59] give it a little bit extra practice. All
[8:00] right, here's one that didn't work very
[8:02] well. Instagram is constantly changing.
[8:04] Here are a few things that you should be
[8:05] doing to make sure that you don't fall
[8:07] behind. This is actually a really good
[8:08] video. Like, all these videos are
[8:10] probably equally as valuable. One of the
[8:12] main reasons why it doesn't perform as
[8:13] well is simply because the hook wasn't
[8:14] as effective. Now, the words and the
[8:16] pacing of this video was totally fine. I
[8:18] think where this video fell down was on
[8:20] the visuals. There wasn't much going on
[8:22] apart from when I had the big words
[8:23] appear behind my face. Now, whilst
[8:25] that's engaging and interesting, we
[8:27] actually highlighted the wrong words.
[8:29] What we should have highlighted was
[8:30] Instagram because that's the thing that
[8:32] would have grabbed our audience's
[8:33] attention, right? So, I guess a pro tip
[8:34] for me on this one is to make sure when
[8:36] you're crafting your hook, you're doing
[8:37] it with your audience in mind. Another
[8:39] example of a video that worked really
[8:41] well, I had to share this one because at
[8:42] the time of filming, this one has over
[8:44] 11,000 likes. I have never had that many
[8:46] likes on an Instagram video before.
[8:48] Like, that's insane. And it's actually
[8:49] part of a new series that I'm doing
[8:51] because it was so wellreceived.
[8:52] Something weird is happening on
[8:54] Instagram right now. Trends are emerging
[8:55] which are helping creators blow up. Now,
[8:57] all three elements of this hook were
[8:59] just nailed if I do say so myself. The
[9:02] words, me starting off by saying,
[9:04] "Something weird is happening on
[9:05] Instagram right now." 10 out of 10. That
[9:07] is going to immediately grab my
[9:09] audience's attention. It sparks so much
[9:10] curiosity. It makes them think, "Hold
[9:12] on, what's happening on Instagram?"
[9:13] Right? That paired with the visuals, we
[9:16] had a fast zoom. We had the text which
[9:18] was synced with my speech. We had a
[9:20] quick snapshot of all the trends that I
[9:22] was about to break down. And we had the
[9:23] strong headline. This was all within the
[9:24] space of a few seconds, guys. And as I
[9:27] mentioned, the pacing is pretty much
[9:28] standard across the board, but this was
[9:30] a great example of a hook. Now, I feel
[9:32] responsible for sharing this final
[9:33] example because I'm pretty sure I would
[9:35] have given advice to create a hook like
[9:37] this in the past. And look, I'm not
[9:39] going to say I was wrong because this
[9:40] worked at one point in time. It just
[9:42] doesn't work anymore. 80% of adults
[9:44] consume content across multiple formats.
[9:46] This video is actually a cut down of a
[9:48] longer form video. And what that means
[9:50] as a result is that the initial words
[9:52] that were being said weren't that
[9:53] engaging. I led with a stat like 80%.
[9:56] Who cares about a stat? That's not
[9:57] interesting. There was virtually no
[9:59] visuals outside of my captions. And as
[10:01] always, the pacing was pretty decent.
[10:03] But the other two elements were not
[10:04] hitting. And I wanted to share this one
[10:05] because it brings up a really important
[10:07] tip. If you are going to repurpose your
[10:09] long- form videos into reals, you will
[10:11] probably need to film a separate hook
[10:13] for them. And that's okay. They're still
[10:15] worth repurposing. Do not get me wrong.
[10:17] It's just that most of the time when
[10:18] you're repurposing a long form video,
[10:19] you are going to find it incredibly
[10:21] difficult to find a snippet which
[10:22] actually starts with something that will
[10:24] actually be an effective hook in this
[10:26] day and age. Like, you're just going to
[10:28] find it difficult. So, you might need to
[10:29] film a separate one which nails those
[10:31] three elements. All right, I think we've
[10:33] gone pretty deep already, but I'm not
[10:34] going to leave you there. I do want to
[10:35] share some very specific hacks that you
[10:37] can copy from those hooks that I shared
[10:39] that will help you level up your content
[10:41] instantly. Hack one is probably the
[10:43] easiest of all of these hacks and it's
[10:44] to use pauses effectively. You know how
[10:47] earlier on in this video I spoke about
[10:48] not wanting to do the millennial pause.
[10:50] We don't want that. But at times you can
[10:52] actually pause for effect and it can
[10:53] work wonders for your content. I
[10:55] actually have not one but two examples
[10:56] of me doing this. I got ghosted like
[11:00] hundreds of times. We need to talk about
[11:01] Becca Bloom.
[11:03] As you can see, I very much use pauses
[11:05] for effects in both of those videos, and
[11:07] it helps me land what I was trying to
[11:09] say better, right? So, try using pauses
[11:11] in your next hook and see if it works
[11:13] for you. The next hack is definitely the
[11:15] most creatively challenging hack. And
[11:16] this one is about dynamic editing. Now,
[11:19] this one is honestly one of the hardest
[11:20] ones to implement because it requires a
[11:22] lot of time and effort. And that is
[11:24] coming from me, someone who only does
[11:26] the pre-production and the production of
[11:28] my content. I don't do the post-p
[11:30] production. So, I have different
[11:31] editors. I have an editor for my long
[11:33] form, an editor for my short form. I
[11:34] even have someone who helps me schedule
[11:36] and post all of my content as well. So,
[11:37] keep in mind that if I'm saying this is
[11:39] difficult to do, then if you are doing
[11:41] every element of your content creation,
[11:43] please know that this is probably going
[11:44] to be challenging, too. But it is
[11:46] creatively fulfilling. I will say that
[11:47] dynamic editing basically requires you
[11:49] to do something unexpected with the way
[11:51] that you're editing your content. And to
[11:53] be fair, this can also include your
[11:55] filming. For example, you could open
[11:57] with a unique angle like this one,
[11:59] right? This is not an angle that you
[12:01] often see on short form content,
[12:03] although you are seeing it more lately,
[12:04] and that increases the likelihood of it
[12:06] capturing people's attention because
[12:07] it's not something they're used to
[12:08] seeing. Another example, and one that
[12:10] can sometimes take a while to get your
[12:11] head around, is when you mix B-roll and
[12:13] a voice over to make you speaking to the
[12:16] camera a bit more interesting. Here's an
[12:17] example. I'm Jon. I became a full-time
[12:19] content creator in just 6 months. And
[12:21] this is my content to cash series
[12:23] episode 3. Did you notice how I opened
[12:25] with B-roll and then a voice over and
[12:28] then I opened my laptop and spoke
[12:29] directly to the camera? That is dynamic
[12:31] editing. That is something that is
[12:32] unexpected and that is something that is
[12:34] going to make your hook better. That
[12:35] video itself performed so well. It got
[12:37] tens of thousands of views. The final
[12:39] hack I want to share with you is about
[12:40] creative text. Now, I did mention this
[12:42] one previously, but it is worth saying
[12:44] again because it is one of the most
[12:45] effective ways to create an effective
[12:47] hook. This is basically when you get
[12:48] creative with your captions. So, it's
[12:50] about taking your autogenerated captions
[12:52] one step further and actually writing
[12:54] out every word that you say so that it
[12:56] appears on the screen as you say it.
[12:58] What this does is encourage your
[13:00] audience to read the words on the screen
[13:02] as they're appearing, which means that
[13:04] they're reading along as you're
[13:05] speaking. It is incredible when it comes
[13:07] to engagement. Like, think about how
[13:09] much more likely you are to soak in what
[13:11] someone's saying if you're reading what
[13:12] they're saying whilst you're hearing
[13:13] them speak those words to you. Like,
[13:15] it's just a different experience. Great
[13:17] for attention, great for engagement. I
[13:18] really recommend that you try it. If you
[13:20] found this video useful, I recommend
[13:21] watching this one. It's all about the
[13:23] five habits that every creator should do
[13:25] every single week if they want to grow
[13:26] their audience on any platform. Do not
[13:28] forget that you can get three whole
[13:30] months for free when you sign up to
[13:32] Storyblocks on their annual plan. Just
[13:33] head to storyblocks.com/jadebon
[13:36] or click the link in my description to
[13:37] make the most of this limited time
[13:39] offer. Thank you so much for watching.
[13:40] As always, I cannot wait to see you in
[13:42] my next video.