Captioning
Hook (short-form video)
The opening 1–3 seconds (audio + on-screen text) of a short-form video, which determines whether feed viewers swipe past or watch through. Most platforms' algorithms weight the first-3-second retention rate heavily.
In short-form video, the hook is the opening 1–3 seconds — both the audio (what the speaker says) and the on-screen caption (what the viewer reads while the video loads). Platform algorithms (TikTok, Reels, Shorts) appear to weight first-3-second retention disproportionately to the rest of the video, meaning a weak hook tanks an otherwise-strong clip. Common hook patterns include: specific-number + counterintuitive claim, three-things + payoff, belief-reversal ("I used to think X. Then…"), and question-as-opener. Hook A/B testing — generating multiple hook variants per clip and comparing watch-time — is increasingly standard for high-volume creators.
Related terms
Captions / Subtitles
On-screen text rendered over short-form video showing what the speaker is saying. Critical because most feed traffic pla…
Retention (video)
The percentage of viewers who keep watching at each point in a video. Platform algorithms use the retention curve — espe…
A/B hook testing
Generating multiple opener variants for the same short-form clip, publishing them as separate posts, and feeding the win…