The Secret to Social Media Hooks

A great hook makes someone pause and promises quality content.

Written by Julia Giantomasi

Published on October 8, 2025

Stop the scroll! Although the average attention span of a human is 8 seconds, our brains are wired to filter through information in such a short period of time. By understanding the science behind this and learning how to craft a compelling hook, you’ll be able to grab attention and get your message across. Keep reading to learn the secret!

What Is a Hook?

A hook is the opening part of a piece of content and can be either audio or visual. It’s an important piece to grabbing someone’s attention as they consume information. The hook should stand out but never be misleading. A shocking headline that gets someone to click and learn more, only to find out the article is nothing about that or doesn’t support that headline, is clickbait. Creating clickbait will make followers lose trust in your content. You want to be able to craft a strong hook that sets up the value that your content will deliver once a scroller stops to consume it.

The hook isn’t the value a viewer will get out of your post. It’s the invitation to stay long enough to receive that value.

Why Does It Work?

According to psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s research in Thinking, Fast and Slow, our brains operate on two systems. The first system is fast, emotional, and automatic, whereas the second system is slow, deliberate, and logical. When we’re scrolling and see a video or a caption that grabs us, we’re using system one. Our split-second decision to watch the video or click the link is completely based on emotion and instinct, which is what the hook is targeting.

What Makes a Good Hook?

Here are some of the psychological factors that go into creating a hook that can cater to fast thinking and increase engagement:

• Use curiosity to pique interest with an “I need to know more” hook.
• Play to emotions and make an audience feel something.
• Use the bandwagon effect to play to people’s fear of missing out. If it seems like everyone else is on board with something, they’ll want to be too.
•  Pose a question as an instant call-to-action.
• Share a surprising fact or statistic.
• Use actual quotes from your patrons to show authenticity and resonate with your audience.
• Share a big win first. It creates positivity and shows what you can do.
• Know what your audience wants and speak directly to them.

How to Execute for Each Social Platform

You can always keep your audience in mind and control what content you create, but you can’t always control the way it is delivered. Here’s a simple chart from social media tool Buffer showing how the platform plays a role in making your hook work.

Examples of Compelling Hooks

A great hook makes someone pause and promises something worth sticking around for. The format of your hook can be text, video, a carousel of graphics, or audio. Here are some examples of compelling hooks to get you started:

• Teasing for a big reveal of a new display, program, or event – “Here’s a sneak peek of something BIG launching next week. Get ready!”
• Patron testimonial – “Researcher Jen B. says we have the most extensive genealogy collection! She was able to create a complete family tree during National Family History Month.”
• Fear of Missing Out – “Over 5,000 people have participated in our Library Equal Access Program free technology courses. Are you next?”
• Thought provoking question – “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word library?”
• Surprising statistic – “In last year’s attempts to censor library materials, 2,452 unique titles were challenged. Read for Your Rights this Banned Books Week.”

Looking for even more eye-catching phrases to kickstart your hook brainstorm? Check out this infographic of 30 engaging hooks.

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