---
title: 'I studied 100+ hooks, this strategy will make you go viral'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=dNT7gd3ulAg'
video_id: 'dNT7gd3ulAg'
date: 2026-06-17
duration_sec: 0
---

# I studied 100+ hooks, this strategy will make you go viral

> Source: [I studied 100+ hooks, this strategy will make you go viral](https://youtube.com/watch?v=dNT7gd3ulAg)

## Summary

This video explains a modern approach to creating effective hooks for social media content, moving beyond a single catchy sentence to a multi-element 'moment' that combines words, visuals, and pacing. The creator shares personal examples, case studies, and actionable hacks to help viewers improve their content's engagement.

### Key Points

- **The Shift in Hook Strategy** [0:00] — Successful creators now think of hooks as a moment (words + visuals + pacing) rather than just a catchy sentence.
- **Three Core Elements of a Hook** [1:46] — Words must be specific, surprising, and create tension; visuals include captions, effects, or foreshadowing; pacing requires energy and no dead air.
- **Good Hook Example** [6:36] — A video starting with 'I cried over social media this morning' used emotional words, movement, synced captions, and fast pacing to perform well.
- **Bad Hook Example** [8:02] — A video starting with 'Instagram is constantly changing' failed because visuals were weak and words weren't audience-focused.
- **Hack 1: Effective Pauses** [10:42] — Using pauses for dramatic effect (not the 'millennial pause') can make hooks land better.
- **Hack 2: Dynamic Editing** [11:15] — Unexpected angles or mixing B-roll with voiceover can make hooks more engaging.
- **Hack 3: Creative Text** [12:39] — Writing every word on screen as spoken encourages reading along, boosting engagement.

### Conclusion

To create viral hooks, combine dramatic words, compelling visuals, and energetic pacing. Use specific hacks like effective pauses, dynamic editing, and creative captions to capture and hold audience attention.

## Transcript

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