Turn a product into scroll-stopping video hooks
A hook is the first 2–3 seconds, and it decides whether anyone sees the rest. TikTok: say the value in 3 s, finish the hook by 6 s (90% of ad recall happens in the first 6 s). Meta: a hook delivered through both picture and sound gives 1.5× the purchase intent. Billo's H1 2026 average Meta hook rate (3 s views ÷ impressions) was 25.44%: Health & Beauty 28.1%, Apparel 22.9%, Pets 21.3%.
But a hook only has to stop the right people. Barry Hott scaled ads with hook rates under 15%, and an ad with a 39.5% hook rate but 14.3% hold still burned money. Relevant beats loud. The hook must lead into the product.
1. Inputs (ask once)
- The product and the one thing it visibly does
- The buyer and their exact words about the problem (reviews, comments, Reddit). Copy phrases word for word.
- Where it runs (TikTok Shop, TikTok ad, Meta ad, organic) and what is provable
2. Write each hook as three layers
| Layer | What | Example (knee sleeve) |
|---|---|---|
| Visual (0:00) | What is in frame on the first frame | A woman, 55, stops halfway up the stairs, hand on her knee |
| Spoken | One line of 6–8 words, so it fits 3 s at about 2.5 words a second | "Knees crack on the stairs? Watch this." |
| Text overlay | The same promise in ≤8 words, inside the safe zone | "Knees crack on stairs? 👇" |
The three must agree. "Odd visual + caption + voiceover all saying the same thing" is how operators report 50%+ hook rates.
3. Pick hook types (vary the type, not the words)
Use at least 4 different types per batch. The full bank with 60+ lines is in references/hook-bank.md.
| Type | Template | Best stage |
|---|---|---|
| Callout / yes-question | "If you're over 50 and your knees crack…" / "Does your foundation slide off by 2 pm?" | Problem-aware |
| Payoff first | Open on the result (clean oven, clear skin, organised drawer) | Any |
| Problem and fix in one shot | The phone case shatters… then the same case saves the phone | Any (top TikTok Shop) |
| Late discovery | "Been shopping here for 7 years and I'm JUST finding this???" | Unaware |
| Compliment → reveal | "You look happier." / "Thanks, I found…" | Unaware |
| Gratitude | "I'll never forget the girl who told me the secret to…" | Unaware |
| Confession | "I was a hater of this. I was wrong." | Product-aware |
| Negative / warning | "Stop buying cheap phone cases until you see this." | Solution-aware |
| Exposing / testing | "Seeing if this $19 pan is actually worth it" | Solution-aware |
| Hidden culprit | "This is the real reason your skin sags after 50" | Unaware |
| Price anchor | "The big brand is $599. This is $49." (substantiate) | Solution-aware |
| Newness / restock | "It's finally back." | Most-aware (top Motion hit rate) |
| Reply to a comment | Video reply to "does it actually work on thick hair?" | Product-aware |
| Satisfying intro | Lid snap, foil peel, pour — sound on | Any |
| Destroy / stress test | Drop it, burn it, freeze it in ice and smash it | Any |
| Absurd alternative | The product used for something absurd | Unaware |
| Skeptical voice | "There's no way this works." | Product-aware |
| Street question | "What are you getting her for Christmas?" | Gifting season |
Motion's 2026 hit-rate order on Meta (578,750 creatives; includes Black Friday, so promo hooks are inflated): newness, sale announcement, price anchor, urgency, announcement, offer only, FOMO, new product, confession, exclusivity, curiosity.
4. Check every hook
- The product or the result is visible by second 2
- It leads into the product; no unrelated stunt
- Visual, spoken and text layers agree; text ≤8 words, inside the safe zone (out of the top 14%, bottom 35%, sides 6%)
- No claim you can't prove; no price unless it matches the live product page (TikTok Shop violations); no before/after that overstates results; no "Do you have [condition]?" on Meta (personal-attribute rule)
- Not a first-person result line for an AI person
- Different first frames across the batch (Meta groups ads with the same opening)
5. Make the hook clips (optional, costs credits)
For a hook that remakes an idea already viral for this kind of product (backyard-camera fail, torture test, gift reaction) as realistic phone footage, use varg-product-hook. Otherwise:
- Quote first with
estimate_costand wait for a yes. - First frame: a still from the real product photo (
nano_banana_2_1) or a frame of real footage. - Animate 3 s:
kling_v4_flashfor drafts,kling_v4orseedance_2_5for finals, the product photo as a reference on every clip. Keep the same character reference and scene baseline as the body, or the seam shows. - Voice the line (
eleven_v4) or record it. Not for TikTok Shop presenters (AI voices banned there). - Join each hook to the body:
ecommerce-video-edit§6 (scripts/hook-variants.sh), one MP4 per hook, named<product>_<angle>_h<NN>-<type>_v1.mp4.
6. When to make new hooks
- New hooks go on a winning body. A new concept comes first, hook swaps second: ten hook swaps of one video read as one ad to Meta.
- One winning body + 5 new openers: "one of those five will almost always outspend the others 30 to 1" (operator report).
- Cut the hook out of any reel that clears a 50% hook rate and keep it in a hook bank with its numbers.
Related
ecommerce-video-ads (the whole plan) · varg-product-hook (viral-style hook clip from product photos) · ad-creative-testing (how many, when to kill) · ecommerce-video-edit (join hooks to a body) · tiktok-shop-video