12 TikTok Hook Types That Stop the Scroll (With Examples)

The hook is the first 1–3 seconds of your video, and it determines whether someone watches or swipes. TikTok's algorithm measures watch time and completion rate - both start with the hook. A good hook doesn't just grab attention; it creates an open loop the viewer needs to close. These 12 hook types are the most effective formats tested across educational, entertainment, and business TikTok content in 2026.

Why hooks matter more than anything else on TikTok

TikTok users swipe within 0.5–2 seconds of a video starting if it doesn't immediately capture attention. The first frame and first spoken word carry more weight than any other moment in your video.

What the algorithm measures that your hook affects:

Metric	What It Measures	Hook's Impact
Watch time	Total seconds watched	A strong hook adds 5–15 seconds immediately
Completion rate	% who watch to the end	High completion starts with a compelling hook
Replays	How often video is rewatched	Hooks that cause confusion create replays
Shares	People sending to others	Hook frames the shareable premise
Profile visits	Viewers wanting more	A hook that establishes authority drives follows

The most important rule: Your hook should tell the viewer exactly what they'll get - or create enough mystery that they stay to find out.

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Hook Type 1: The Bold Claim

What it is: State something unexpected, counterintuitive, or boldly specific in the first sentence. No buildup, no context - straight to the claim.

Template: "[Specific claim that contradicts common belief]."

Examples:

• "Most people edit their TikToks completely wrong."
• "The silence in your videos is costing you followers."
• "I went from 0 to 100K TikTok followers in 30 days posting once a week."

Why it works: The brain is wired to engage with information that contradicts its existing model. A bold claim triggers a "wait, is that true?" response that delays the swipe.

Best for: Education, business, finance, marketing, fitness, and any niche where counterintuitive information is your primary value.

Caution: The rest of your video must deliver on the claim. A bold hook followed by weak content destroys trust and hurts retention.

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Hook Type 2: The Question Hook

What it is: Open with a direct question that the viewer can answer (or wants to know the answer to).

Template: "Have you ever [relatable experience]?" or "Do you know [specific thing most people don't]?"

Examples:

• "Have you ever spent 2 hours editing a TikTok that got 200 views?"
• "Do you know why your captions are hurting your watch time?"
• "Are you making this mistake every time you post?"

Why it works: Questions create an involuntary mental engagement. The viewer's brain automatically begins searching for an answer, which delays the swipe while they wait for the payoff.

Best for: Relatable problem content, how-to education, lifestyle, and personal finance.

Note: Yes/no questions work. "Why" questions work even better - they imply a revelation is coming.

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Hook Type 3: The Number Hook

What it is: Lead with a specific number - a list, a stat, a timeframe, an amount.

Template: "[Number] [things/reasons/ways] [to achieve/about/that] [specific outcome]."

Examples:

• "3 things that doubled my TikTok views overnight."
• "I edit 7 TikToks per week in 14 minutes total. Here's how."
• "85% of TikTok is watched on mute. This is why your videos are failing."

Why it works: Numbers create a concrete promise. "3 things" is more specific than "some things" - the viewer knows exactly how long they'll be watching and what they'll get. Numbers also signal research and specificity, which signals credibility.

Best for: List content, tutorials, data-driven insights, and any format where you're making multiple points.

Pro tip: Odd numbers (3, 5, 7) perform better than even numbers. 3 and 7 are the strongest.

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Hook Type 4: The Personal Story Hook

What it is: Start with a personal narrative detail that creates immediate human connection and curiosity.

Template: "I [did something / made a mistake / discovered something] and it [changed/cost/taught] me [specific outcome]."

Examples:

• "I deleted my TikTok account with 50,000 followers. Best decision I ever made."
• "I spent $3,000 on a camera before realizing my phone was better."
• "I posted every day for 90 days and nothing happened. Then this changed."

Why it works: People are wired to follow stories. A personal narrative creates empathy and a desire to see how it ends. The detail makes it believable; the outcome makes it worth watching.

Best for: Personal brand, entrepreneurship, life lessons, fitness transformations, creator journeys.

Caution: The story must be specific and true. Vague personal stories ("I've been through a lot...") don't create the same engagement as specific ones.

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Hook Type 5: The "How I" Hook

What it is: A results-first statement about something you personally achieved, followed by the method.

Template: "How I [achieved specific result] in [specific timeframe] without [common obstacle]."

Examples:

• "How I edit 5 TikToks per week in under 15 minutes."
• "How I got my first 10,000 TikTok followers without posting every day."
• "How I turned my podcast into 20 pieces of content per week."

Why it works: The "how I" frame is simultaneously a proof of concept (you did it) and a promise (here's how you can too). It's specific, actionable, and implies a method worth learning.

Best for: Education, business, creator tips, productivity, finance.

Variant: "How to [achieve specific result]" works similarly but is slightly less compelling because it lacks the personal proof element.

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Hook Type 6: The "Here's What Nobody Tells You" Hook

What it is: Frame your information as insider knowledge that mainstream sources hide or omit.

Template: "Nobody talks about [specific thing], but [it's extremely important]."

Examples:

• "Nobody talks about the one reason your TikTok captions hurt watch time."
• "What nobody tells you about going viral on TikTok in 2026."
• "The editing mistake every new creator makes that nobody mentions."

Why it works: This hook creates a sense of exclusive access and drives FOMO (fear of missing out). If everyone else is missing this information, the viewer doesn't want to be the one who skips past it.

Best for: Creator education, business tips, financial advice, health, and any niche with an "establishment" vs "truth" narrative.

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Hook Type 7: The Visual Hook

What it is: The hook is primarily visual rather than verbal - the first frame shows something that demands explanation.

Examples:

• Opening on a graph showing a massive spike in views
• Showing the before/after of a video transformation without explaining anything
• Holding up an object while saying nothing - making the viewer wait for context
• A split screen showing two wildly different outcomes

Why it works: On TikTok, the video starts playing before the audio kicks in (especially on mute). A visually compelling first frame catches passive scrollers who haven't even read the caption yet.

How to execute: Your first frame should contain visual contrast, movement, or an image that raises a question the viewer wants answered.

Best for: Fitness, food, travel, design, fashion, before/after content, and any niche where the visual evidence is more compelling than words.

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Hook Type 8: The Call-Out Hook

What it is: Directly address a specific type of person in the opening - "if you are X, this is for you."

Template: "If you [specific description of viewer], stop scrolling."

Examples:

• "If you're a creator who edits videos for 3 hours just to get 500 views, stop scrolling."
• "If you're a business owner who's been avoiding TikTok, this is for you."
• "If you have under 1,000 followers on TikTok, watch this entire video."

Why it works: Personalization. When a video directly addresses you by your specific situation, it feels like it was made for you. This increases watch time because the viewer believes the content is relevant to their exact problem.

Best for: B2B content, niche-specific audiences, and any creator whose value is tied to a specific audience identity (real estate agents, new moms, first-generation college students, etc.).

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Hook Type 9: The Controversy Hook

What it is: State a position that's likely to provoke disagreement - the controversy generates comments, which boost the video.

Template: "[Controversial statement about your niche]."

Examples:

• "CapCut is holding your TikTok growth back."
• "Posting every day is the worst advice for new creators."
• "Captions don't improve your TikTok views. Here's the data."

Why it works: A statement people disagree with creates an irresistible urge to explain why they're wrong - which means they watch the video, then comment. Comments are one of the strongest signals the algorithm measures.

Best for: Creator economy, marketing, business, and any niche with established conventional wisdom that can be challenged.

Caution: The controversy must be backed up by a real argument. Pure clickbait without substance will get you comments but also dislikes and early drops - both hurt long-term performance.

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Hook Type 10: The Transformation Hook

What it is: Show or state a before-and-after that creates aspiration or curiosity about the method.

Template: "[State of before] → [State of after]. Here's what changed."

Examples:

• "I used to spend 4 hours editing one video. Now it takes 8 minutes. Here's the workflow."
• "My videos got 300 views. Then I changed one thing. Now they get 100K."
• "Before: awkward silence, bad pacing, no captions. After: [shows finished clip]."

Why it works: The brain is wired to want to close the gap between before and after. The transformation creates a mental "how?" that the viewer wants answered.

Best for: Fitness, productivity, creator education, business, skill development.

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Hook Type 11: The Trending Audio Hook

What it is: Use a trending sound or audio clip as the hook - the familiar audio creates an immediate attention response for people who recognize it.

How it works: TikTok's sound-based discovery means trending audio hooks serve two functions: they hook the current viewer AND make your video discoverable to people searching for or saving that sound.

When to use it: When a trending sound is conceptually aligned with your content. Forcing a mismatch between the sound's cultural meaning and your content's topic looks forced and reduces credibility.

Best for: Entertainment, lifestyle, comedy, and cultural commentary where the trending audio selection itself communicates a point.

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Hook Type 12: The Data Hook

What it is: Open with a specific statistic or data point that contextualizes the rest of the video.

Template: "[Specific statistic]. Here's what that means for you."

Examples:

• "85% of TikTok videos are watched without sound. Is yours ready?"
• "The average TikTok viewer decides whether to watch in 0.5 seconds."
• "Creators who post with captions get 40% more watch time. Here's why."

Why it works: Data provides instant credibility and frames the viewer's problem with specificity. A viewer who hears "85% of TikTok is watched without sound" immediately checks whether their own videos have captions.

Best for: Education, marketing, creator tips, business, and any niche where data builds authority.

Note: Your data should be accurate and sourced. Data hooks that feel made-up damage credibility faster than almost anything else.

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Hook Type Comparison Table

Hook Type	Best Niche Fit	Difficulty	Comment-Driving Power	Replays
Bold Claim	Education, business	Medium	High	Medium
Question	All niches	Easy	High	Low
Number	List/tips content	Easy	Medium	Medium
Personal Story	Personal brand	Medium	High	Low
"How I"	Education, business	Easy	Medium	High
"Nobody Tells You"	All niches	Easy	High	Medium
Visual Hook	Fitness, food, design	Hard	Medium	Very high
Call-Out	Niche-specific	Easy	Medium	Low
Controversy	Creator, marketing	Hard	Very high	Medium
Transformation	Fitness, productivity	Medium	High	High
Trending Audio	Entertainment	Easy	Low	Low
Data Hook	Education, B2B	Medium	Medium	Medium

How to combine hook types

The most effective TikTok hooks often combine two types simultaneously:

• Bold Claim + Number: "3 things every TikTok creator gets wrong about captions." (claim + list)
• Call-Out + Question: "If you've been editing videos for hours, are you using this tool?" (personal + curiosity)
• Data + Call-Out: "85% of TikTok is watched on mute - if you're posting without captions, you're invisible." (data + direct address)
• Transformation + "How I": "I was spending 3 hours per video. Now it takes 8 minutes. Here's the tool I use." (transformation + method)

Two-type hooks are more memorable and give the viewer two reasons to stay rather than one.

How to deliver your hook effectively

Even the best-written hook fails if the delivery is off. Execution matters as much as the words.

Delivery rules:

• Start speaking immediately. No intro music, no "hey guys," no "so today I wanted to talk about." First word should be the hook.
• No silence in the first 3 seconds. Silence at the start of a video is an invitation to swipe. Use BlitzCut AI to remove any dead air from your opening.
• Add captions that match your hook's energy. Bold hooks need bold caption styling. Word-by-word highlighting on the hook words reinforces the impact for silent viewers.
• Look at the lens, not the screen. Direct eye contact in the first frame creates immediate connection.
• Speak faster than you think you should. TikTok's native pacing is fast. Your natural conversational pace is likely too slow.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a TikTok hook be?

The hook should be 1–3 seconds maximum - typically one sentence. Longer hooks lose viewers before the content starts. The hook's job is to make the viewer commit to watching the next 10 seconds; the rest of the video builds on that.

Should every TikTok video start with a hook?

Yes, every video should start with a hook. The alternative - a slow intro, music bed, or context-setting - consistently performs worse than immediate value delivery. Even casual lifestyle content benefits from a first-frame visual hook if not a verbal one.

Does the TikTok caption (text description) act as a hook?

The caption text appears below the video and can reinforce the hook, but it doesn't replace the video hook. Many viewers have captions hidden. The visual and audio hook in the first 1–2 seconds of the video itself is what matters most.

What makes a bad hook?

Bad hooks include: "Hey everyone, welcome back to my channel" (no value, assumes relationship), "So today I'm going to talk about..." (delays the point), vague teasers ("you're not going to believe this!") without substance, and hooks that don't match the video's content.

How do I test which hook works for my audience?

Post the same video with two different opening hooks - use TikTok's A/B test feature if available, or post a week apart and compare metrics. Watch time in the first 3 seconds (available in TikTok analytics as "average watch time by second") shows exactly where viewers drop off.

Does removing silence help the hook?

Yes. Dead air in the first 2 seconds of a video dramatically increases the swipe rate. BlitzCut AI removes all silence in one tap - ensuring your hook starts the moment your video does with no dead air before the first word.

The Verdict

The top 3 hook types for most creators:

1. "How I" + Transformation - proof-based, specific, actionable
2. Bold Claim - counterintuitive, high comment rate
3. Number Hook - reliable, easy to write, works in every niche

The most overlooked hook optimization: Removing silence before the hook lands. If there's a 0.5-second pause before your first word, many viewers are already gone. Use BlitzCut AI to ensure your video starts with zero dead air.

Download BlitzCut AI free - silence removal + captions in 2 minutes.

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Related: Talking Head vs B-Roll: Which Gets More Views on TikTok? · TikTok vs Instagram Reels vs YouTube Shorts · Auto Captions vs Manual Captions vs Burned-In Captions

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Last Updated: February 17, 2026 Guide Type: Content Strategy / Techniques Topic: TikTok Hook Types and Examples