Hook
A hook is the opening of a short video: the first line or shot that gives a viewer a reason to keep watching.
- Also called
- opening hook, hooks, opening
What it means
A hook is how a short video starts. It can be a question, a statement or an image. Its job is to tell the right viewer that the video is for them, so they stay. In a short-video feed the next clip is one swipe away, so the opening has to give a reason to stay.
In clipping, the clipper chooses the moment that opens each clip. We review which opening hooks stand out, and the findings shape the guidance for the next campaign. We also share practical examples of what worked with clippers. In UGC, the hook is part of the format, and changing it creates a new sub-format.
A hook is not a title, a caption or a thumbnail. It sits inside the video. It is also not the format: the format is the structure of the whole video, and the hook is one part of it. In a UGC campaign we judge a hook by the interest it draws in the app, not by views alone.
Example
After Ali Alhamed's first campaign, we reviewed which topics, opening hooks and editing approaches stood out. Those findings shaped the second campaign.
Related terms
Format
A format is a repeatable structure for a short video that many creators can reproduce: a mother format is the core, and a sub-format varies it.
Brief
A brief is the document that tells clippers or creators what the campaign is about, which content to use and the rules a video must meet to be approved.
Clipping
Clipping is the distribution of short clips cut from existing long videos, posted by many independent clippers on their own pages and paid per view.
Tell us what you want to distribute
We read every application by hand and contact you directly if a campaign is a fit.