A hook is the opening of a video meant to convince the viewer to stay. With content in an endless scrolling feed, the decision is made in the first seconds, during which it must be clear what the video is about and why it is worth watching. What works is a question the viewer is already asking themselves, a specific promise of a result, a surprising claim, or a glimpse of the ending right at the start. What does not work is a greeting, an introduction of yourself, a jingle, and an opening about how important the topic is – all of these are seconds during which people leave. The hook must match the content of the video; a misleading opening will boost the first seconds but will drag down overall retention. The same applies to corporate video as to entertainment video, it is just violated more often.
See also: Viewer retention, Vertical video, Video thumbnail and title.
