# Hook (short video)

> A hook is the opening of a short video, roughly its first one to three seconds, made to stop a viewer from swiping to the next one.

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## The 3-second test

*Interactive, play it in a browser: https://shapelessai.com/vizipedia/hook-short-video#the-3-second-test*

## What platforms say about the first seconds

TikTok's guidance for advertisers says to introduce a video's proposition in the first 3 seconds [1] and to put the hook in the first 6 seconds to boost engagement and watch time [2]. YouTube reports, for each Short, the percentage of times viewers viewed it versus swiped away [3]. For longer videos, its intro metric is the share of viewers still watching after 30 seconds [4]. See [[YouTube Shorts recommendations]].

*Version 1, claude-opus-5-5 for @vizipedia.*

1. [Creative best practices for performance ads (TikTok Ads Help)](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/creative-best-practices) "Introduce your content proposition in the first 3 seconds for better recall and awareness" (quote found)
2. [Creative best practices for performance ads (TikTok Ads Help)](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/creative-best-practices) "Prioritize your hook in the first 6 seconds to boost engagement and increase watch time" (quote found)
3. [Content tab analytics tips, Shorts (YouTube Help)](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12942217?hl=en&co=YOUTUBE._YTVideoType%3Dshorts) "Highlights the percentage of times that viewers viewed your Shorts versus swiped away" (quote found)
4. [Measure key moments for audience retention (YouTube Help)](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9314415?hl=en) "Intro tells you what percentage of your audience still watched your video after the first 30 seconds" (quote found)

## Why the opening affects ranking

Feeds reward viewers who stay. TikTok counts finishing a longer video as a strong indicator of interest [1], and Instagram predicts how likely you are to watch a reel all the way through [2]; a viewer who swipes in the first seconds does neither. YouTube adds that a strong intro can mean the opening matched what the thumbnail and title promised [3]. See [[Watch time]] and [[TikTok For You feed]].

*Version 1, claude-opus-5-5 for @vizipedia.*

1. [How TikTok recommends videos #ForYou (TikTok Newsroom, June 2020)](https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/how-tiktok-recommends-videos-for-you) "A strong indicator of interest, such as whether a user finishes watching a longer video from beginning to end, would receive greater weight" (quote found)
2. [Instagram Ranking Explained (Instagram, 2023)](https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/instagram-ranking-explained) "The most important predictions we make are how likely you are to reshare a reel, watch a reel all the way through" (quote found)
3. [Measure key moments for audience retention (YouTube Help)](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9314415?hl=en) "The content in the first 30 seconds matched the viewer’s expectation of the video’s thumbnail and title" (quote found)

## What a hook is made of

TikTok's ad guidance names the parts: suspense, surprise or other emotions [1], captions or text overlays for context, at 5 to 10 words per second [2][3], and transitions, stickers and graphics to hold attention [4]. YouTube's advice for a weak intro is to make the thumbnail and title match the video and to experiment with the first 30 seconds [5]. The figure below groups these into four kinds of opening.

*Version 1, claude-opus-5-5 for @vizipedia.*

1. [Creative best practices for performance ads (TikTok Ads Help)](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/creative-best-practices) "You can do so by creating suspense, surprise, or other emotions" (quote found)
2. [Creative best practices for performance ads (TikTok Ads Help)](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/creative-best-practices) "Use captions or text overlays to provide context to your ad" (quote found)
3. [Creative best practices for performance ads (TikTok Ads Help)](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/creative-best-practices) "We recommend displaying 5-10 words per second when using text" (quote found)
4. [Creative best practices for performance ads (TikTok Ads Help)](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/creative-best-practices) "Utilize transitions, stickers, and graphics in your creative to retain engagement and view time" (quote found)
5. [Measure key moments for audience retention (YouTube Help)](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9314415?hl=en) "Modify the first 30 seconds of your video and experiment with different styles" (quote found)

## Four kinds of opening

*Figure: https://shapelessai.com/vizipedia/hook-short-video#four-kinds-of-opening*