Hook
A hook is the opening 1–3 seconds of a video ad, designed to stop the scroll and compel the viewer to keep watching.
The hook is the single most important element of a short-form video ad. On TikTok, Reels and Shorts, users decide within 1.5 seconds whether to keep watching or scroll past — and if they scroll, your message is never delivered.
A strong hook does three things at once: it earns attention (visual or verbal pattern interrupt), signals relevance to the target viewer, and opens a curiosity loop that the rest of the video closes.
Common hook types include curiosity ("Nobody talks about this…"), problem-agitate ("Still dealing with X?"), social proof ("200,000 people switched to…"), stat drops, and direct promises. Testing 3–5 hooks against the same body is the single highest-leverage creative test you can run.
Related terms
CTR
CTR is the percentage of people who click your ad after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions times 100.
UGC
UGC is content created by real customers or creators rather than the brand itself, often used in ads because it feels authentic and native to social feeds.
Ad Creative Fatigue
Ad creative fatigue occurs when an audience has seen the same ad too many times, causing declining CTR, rising CPM and worsening performance.
B-Roll
B-roll is supplementary footage intercut with the main shot to add visual variety, context or product demonstration to a video ad.
Jump Cut
A jump cut is an abrupt edit within the same shot or angle, used in short-form ads to maintain fast pacing and hold viewer attention.