How to Write a Hook for TikTok & Reels: 8 Formulas With Examples

You can spend an afternoon filming and still lose people in the first line. To write a hook for TikTok or Reels, find the one moment in your video a viewer would stay for, then lead with it in a short first sentence. Pick a style to shape it: Expert, Personal, Suspense, Hot Take, Chaotic, Call Out, Humble Brag or POV. Each has a fill-in formula below, with two real examples.

Below: the 8 formulas, a 5-step way to write any hook, spoken vs on-screen hooks, and how to check if your hook is working.

What a Hook Is on TikTok and Reels (and What It Isn't)

A hook is the opening of a short video: the first line you say, the first text on screen, or both. On TikTok and Instagram Reels it's what plays in the first seconds, while the viewer's thumb is still deciding whether to swipe.

This guide is about video hooks. If you came here for the opening sentence of an essay, that's a different craft with different rules.

A good hook is an honest preview of the best part of your video, moved to the front. If the video doesn't pay off what the hook promised, people leave, and that shows up in your watch time. Get the hook right and the rest of your video gets a chance to be seen.

Where These 8 Formulas Come From

Captain Hook keeps a set of 761 real hooks from TikTok, Instagram Reels and LinkedIn, each classified into one of 8 styles. 649 of them are TikTok and Reels hooks; the other 112 are LinkedIn posts, which this guide leaves out.

A few honest notes on method. Each hook is labelled by style, platform, delivery (spoken or on-screen text) and topic, and some hooks carry more than one style label. The set doesn't include view counts, so we don't claim any single example "went viral" or "performs best". What it does show is how real creators phrase each style, which is what you need to write your own.

The counts also tell you which styles are common (Expert) and which are rare (POV). That helps when you want an opening that doesn't sound like everyone else's.

The 8 Hook Formulas at a Glance

To choose, start from what your video already has: a lesson (Expert), a story (Personal), a reveal (Suspense), an opinion (Hot Take) or a result (Humble Brag). Here's each one up close. Want more than two examples of a style? Browse examples by style in our library of 589 real hooks.

1. Expert hooks

Expert hooks position you as the authority. This is the largest style in the set (170 hooks), and most of them are spoken.

Formula: [Number] [things] you've [seen/heard/used] but might not know how to [use/fix]. Or: [Problem]? The problem isn't [what they think], it's [real cause].

Real examples:

• "4 sound effects you've definitely heard of, but might not know how to use" (TikTok, spoken)
• "Hooded eyes? The problem isn't your eye, it's the curl" (TikTok, spoken)

How to write yours: name the thing your viewer already recognises, then point at the gap in what they know. The second example is a strong pattern: it names the viewer's problem in two words, then corrects a wrong assumption.

Watch out: "Here are 5 tips for..." is an Expert hook with the interesting part removed. Say what the tip fixes.

2. Personal hooks

Personal hooks build connection and feel real. 124 hooks in the set, split almost evenly between spoken and on-screen text.

Formula: I'm [situation], and [honest admission]. Or: Took me [time] to [learn/do something]. [Twist].

Real examples:

• "I'm single, and I think I'm the problem" (Instagram Reel, spoken)
• "Took me 10 years to learn this piece. You'll be scrolling on in 0.5 seconds." (TikTok, on-screen text)

How to write yours: put the admission in the first sentence, not the backstory. The violinist's hook works because it names the effort and then teases the viewer about the swipe they were about to make.

Watch out: long backstory openers ("Years ago, when I...") delay the point. Get to the moment.

3. Suspense hooks

Suspense hooks make people watch till the end. 123 hooks in the set, mostly spoken.

Formula: Nobody knows this about [topic]. Or: I wish I knew this sooner...

Real examples:

• "Nobody knows this about google" (Instagram Reel, spoken)
• "I wish I knew this sooner..." (Instagram Reel, on-screen text, over a video about poached eggs)

How to write yours: promise a reveal and hold it. Suspense hooks only work when the reveal is real and arrives before the video ends.

Watch out: the text alone doesn't say what the video is about. Pair it with a shot that shows the topic (here, poached eggs). On a vague shot it gives the viewer nothing to stay for.

4. Hot Take hooks

Hot Take hooks spark comments and debate. 112 hooks in the set, mostly spoken.

Formula: [Common belief] is officially dead. We're now in the [your view] era. Or: Unpopular opinion: [claim people will argue with].

Real examples:

• "The influencer era is officially dead. We're now in the creator-founder era." (TikTok, spoken)
• "Unpopular opinion: mat Pilates is harder than reformer pilates" (TikTok, on-screen text)

How to write yours: take a belief your audience holds and state the opposite, plainly. Keep it something you can defend in the rest of the video.

Watch out: a hot take you don't believe will get you comments and no trust.

5. Chaotic hooks

Chaotic hooks bring relatable, messy energy. 79 hooks in the set, and the style leans on on-screen text more than speech.

Formula: Everyone shut up, I just [found/unlocked something]. Or: For the next [number] days I need you to [over-the-top instruction].

Real examples:

• "Everyone shut up I just unlocked my new 2026 aesthetic" (TikTok, on-screen text)
• "For the next 30 days I need you to be as delusional as possible." (TikTok, spoken)

How to write yours: write it the way you'd text a friend. Chaotic hooks sound unplanned, even when they aren't.

Watch out: chaos still needs a subject. "OMG you guys" with no topic is just noise.

6. Call Out hooks

Call Out hooks hit a nerve. 74 hooks in the set, mostly spoken.

Formula: Things I [don't want to see / refuse to do] as a [role]. Or: Stop [common habit].

Real examples:

• "Things I don't wanna see in your resume in under a minute (as a recruiter)" (TikTok, spoken)
• "Things I refuse to do as a nail tech" (TikTok, spoken)

How to write yours: name your role, then name the behaviour. The role gives you the right to call it out.

Watch out: call out the habit, not the person. Shaming viewers loses them.

7. Humble Brag hooks

Humble Brag hooks show wins without being obnoxious. 48 hooks in the set.

Formula: [Time] of [progress] in [seconds]. Or: Watch me [do the thing you're good at].

Real examples:

• "3 years of back progress in 30 seconds" (TikTok, on-screen text)
• "Watch me SLAY this shade match for my client 👏" (TikTok, on-screen text)

How to write yours: let the result show on screen and let the hook frame it. The brag is in the footage, not in adjectives.

Watch out: if you can't show the result, you don't have a Humble Brag hook yet.

8. POV hooks

POV hooks pull viewers into the scene. This is the smallest style in the set (31 hooks), and every one of them is on-screen text.

Formula: POV: you [relatable moment].

Real examples:

• "POV: You're 300 pages into Dostoyevsky and he's still yapping." (Instagram Reel, on-screen text)
• "POV: You don't feel like cooking, but still want a home cooked meal" (Instagram Reel, on-screen text)

How to write yours: describe a moment your viewer has lived, in the second person. The video then shows what happens next.

Watch out: "POV" only works when the viewer can picture being there. "POV: my brand launch" is not a point of view.

How to Write a Hook in 5 Steps

The formulas give you a shape. These steps fill it.

Step 1: Find the tension

Ask what in this video would make a stranger stop scrolling. Tension comes from a contradiction ("everyone does X, it's wrong"), a surprise, a transformation, or a choice. The lash tech's "The problem isn't your eye, it's the curl" is a contradiction; "3 years of back progress in 30 seconds" is a transformation. Find yours before you write a word.

On TikTok, the hook is what strangers judge first; see how to go viral on TikTok.

Step 2: Lead with your best moment

It's common to script in order and use the first sentence as the hook, which buries the good part. Write the script first, then find the best line and move it to the top. Yes, even if it means cutting the intro you were proud of. Your real hook is often hiding in the second or third sentence.

Step 3: Open a loop

Give enough to make the viewer curious, and hold back the answer. "I changed one thing about my pricing" opens a loop. "I switched to value-based pricing" closes it.

Step 4: Be specific

Swap vague words for concrete ones. "A lot" becomes a number. "Recently" becomes "last Tuesday". "Some tips" becomes "the 3 mistakes". Specific details read as first-hand experience.

Step 5: Cut the first sentence short

Read it out loud. Cut greetings ("Hey guys"), context ("So today I want to talk about...") and qualifiers ("I think maybe").

There's data behind this one. In an internal Captain Hook analysis of 2,351 transcribed Instagram reels (plays compared within each creator, controlling for post age), reels whose first sentence was 8 words or fewer got about 19% more plays than similar reels from the same creator. The same analysis found no reliable effect, positive or negative, from opening with a question. It's a correlation from observational data, mostly from creator and marketing accounts, so treat it as a default, not a law.

Most TikTok and Reels hooks in our set run longer than that: the median is about 16 words, and only about 1 in 6 are 8 words or fewer. So it's an easy edit to try. Keep the first sentence to 8 words or fewer, and let the second sentence carry the detail.

Spoken Hooks vs On-Screen Text Hooks

Of the 649 TikTok and Reels hooks in the set, 384 are spoken, 259 are on-screen text, and 6 use both.

• Spoken hooks carry tone of voice. Expert, Hot Take, Call Out and Suspense hooks are mostly spoken in the set.
• On-screen text hooks work with the sound off and sit on top of the visual, which means they still land for people scrolling on mute. POV hooks are always text, and Chaotic hooks lean text.
• Both at once is rare in the set, but simple: say the line and put the key words on screen.

Platform matters a little too. In the set, TikTok hooks are mostly spoken (274 of 436), while Reels hooks split almost evenly (110 spoken, 101 on-screen text). Either way, the first frame should show what the hook is about.

Common Hook Mistakes

Burying the lead. "So I've been thinking about this for a while..." Few viewers wait out a warm-up. Start with the point.

Being vague. "Want to grow your business?" fits everyone, so it lands with no one. Name the person and the problem, the way "Things I don't wanna see in your resume (as a recruiter)" does.

The "hey guys" opener. Greetings tell the viewer nothing. Your first word should be part of the hook.

Over-promising. "This one hack will change your life" gets a tap and then a swipe. Match the hook to what the video delivers.

How to Test Your Hook

Skip the guessing. Both platforms show you how long people watched.

• TikTok: open the analytics for a video and look at how long viewers watched and the average watch time. If most people leave in the first seconds, the hook is the first thing to change. (TikTok Newsroom)
• Instagram: open the insights on a reel to see watch time and average watch time. (Instagram Help Center)
• Try two hooks on the same idea. If your account has trial reels, Instagram shows the reel to non-followers first, so you can test an opening before your followers see it. That makes it a low-stakes place to try a style you'd normally avoid (how to post a trial reel; source: Instagram Creators).

Change one thing at a time. Keep the topic and the footage, swap only the first line, and post at a similar time of day. If you change the hook and the topic together, you won't know which one made the difference. And don't judge a style on one video; compare a few.

FAQ

How do you write a hook for TikTok?

Find the most interesting moment in your video, then say it or show it first, in a short opening sentence. Pick a style to shape it: Expert, Personal, Suspense, Hot Take, Chaotic, Call Out, Humble Brag or POV. Cut greetings and context, and keep the first sentence short.

What is a good hook for TikTok?

A good TikTok hook is short, specific, and true to the video. It tells the viewer what they'll get or makes them curious, and the video pays it off. "Hooded eyes? The problem isn't your eye, it's the curl" is a good example: it names the viewer, the problem and a surprise in one line.

What are good hook examples?

This guide quotes 16 real hooks, two for each of the 8 styles, from Captain Hook's set of 761 classified hooks. For more, see our hook examples.

What is a catchy hook?

A catchy hook is one viewers can't easily ignore. It usually breaks a pattern (says something unexpected), opens a loop (holds back an answer), or names the viewer directly. Take "POV: You're 300 pages into Dostoyevsky and he's still yapping." It puts the reader in the scene and says something unexpected, in one line. Catchy without honest is clickbait.

How long should a TikTok or Reels hook be?

There's no official length. Keep the first sentence short: in our reel analysis, first sentences of 8 words or fewer were linked to more plays for the same creator. You can add a second sentence for detail.

What's the difference between a hook and clickbait?

A hook makes a promise the video keeps. Clickbait makes a promise the video breaks. If your video resolves what the hook set up, it's a hook.

Write Yours Now

You have the formulas. When you're stuck in front of an empty caption box, the fastest way out is to write five versions of the same hook and pick the best one.

The Hook Generator gives you a head start. Pick TikTok or Instagram, choose spoken or on-screen text, and pick one of these 8 styles (or let Captain's pick choose). Type your topic and you get three hooks to start from. Treat them as first drafts and swap in your own words until they sound like you.

Expert, Chaotic, Hot Take and Personal are free, and the Free plan doesn't ask for a card. POV, Suspense, Humble Brag and Call Out are on paid plans.

Pair a spoken hook with a visual hook clip from the Hook Library, turn the hook into a full script, or see more hook examples. Writing for LinkedIn, where the hook is text above the "see more" cut? Read our LinkedIn hooks guide.

Ready to cast off? Open the Hook Generator →

Written by Shani from Captain Hook AI. Background in neuroscience + neurotech. Mildly obsessed with why content performs.