6 techniques for crafting great social media hooks

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🖊️ Deep dive: 6 psychological techniques to help you write great social media hooks

We had expert writer Dana Nicole on the blog this week and she shared 6 techniques for crafting great social media hooks. And with LinkedIn posts that often reach tens of thousands of people, she’s well-qualified to give this advice.

But first, what’s a hook? A hook (or a “lede” in journalism) is the first few sentences of your post, like the first few sentences of an Instagram post or your first lines in a TikTok video.

Here are Dana’s techniques for writing great hooks:

• Open loops (or curiosity gap): This involves presenting a concept to your reader without fully exploring it until later in your caption. They’re effective because curiosity drives people, and quite honestly, the discomfort of not knowing entices people to stay engaged to get their answer.
• Bandwagon effect: This is the desire for people to do something because others are doing it. This type of hook works well when you want people to take action, like asking them to share a story. As more people share their stories, more will hop on the bandwagon to share their own.
• Storytelling: Humans are wired to crave, enjoy, and seek out stories — and the promise of an interesting story is often hard to resist. So, use your hook to do just that: promise an interesting story your audience won’t want to miss.
• Social proof: This technique is great for giving people a sense of direction during times of uncertainty. You can use it to reinforce why someone might want to read/engage with your social media post. It also works well when you’re trying to give advice (and want to seem credible) or when you want to promote an offer.
• Contrarian statements: A contrarian statement challenges popular beliefs. They might come across as shocking and, as a result, can capture the attention of people scrolling. However, write contrarian statements with care. Your goal isn’t to offend but simply to take a different stance that would catch someone off guard.
• Fear of missing out (FOMO): When people think they might miss out on something (such as losing out on vital advice if they scroll past your post), they may be more inclined to stick around, engage with it, and even save it for later. This type of hook typically works when you share advice dealing with your audience’s deepest fear or want to share something time-sensitive (like a limited-time sale).

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🤳 What's happening in social?

• Instagram's CEO confirmed that using third-party editing tools does not affect account reach — BUT if a watermark is added to your content, it will impact your account reach

• TikTok has launched Flip Stories feature to allow creators to add a second side to every story that can be unlocked with a flip.

• Facebook is rolling out a new Content Monetization Program for creators

• Threads is giving you more time to edit your posts

• YouTube makes several updates to Shorts, including the ability to upload videos up to 3 minutes long

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