How top videos hook people

How top videos open

Five openings carry 86% of top videos. A direct question, a common piece of hook advice, opens only 1%.

Which openings ran furthest

Visual spectacle ran +33% against the creator’s typical top video, and relatable callouts +19%. Controversy trailed at -30%.

The hook types, explained

What each one is, with an example line we wrote to show the shape.

Curiosity gap28% of top videos

Opens a question in the viewer’s head and holds the answer back.

Example: “I tried the one thing every barber told me never to do.”

Pattern interrupt18% of top videos

Something unexpected in the first second that breaks the scroll.

Example: Walking into a quiet library in full hockey gear.

Bold claim17% of top videos

A strong statement the video then has to prove.

Example: “This $4 tool replaced half my kitchen.”

Relatable callout12% of top videos

Names a moment or feeling the viewer knows from their own life.

Example: “When your boss says ‘quick call’ at 4:59.”

High stakes10% of top videos

Something real to win or lose, set up right away.

Example: “If this cake falls, I owe my sister $500.”

Visual spectacle2% of top videos

An image you have to stop and look at before anything is said.

Example: A car-sized pancake hitting the pan.

Middle of the action2% of top videos

Starts in the middle of the action and explains later.

Example: Opening mid-sprint, already being chased.

Question1% of top videos

Asks the viewer a question directly.

Example: “Have you ever wondered why airline food tastes different?”

Controversy1% of top videos

Takes a side people will argue about.

Example: “Pineapple belongs on pizza, and I can prove it.”

How long top Shorts run: 27 seconds in the middle

55% of top YouTube Shorts ran under 30 seconds and 91% under a minute. Short enough to finish, long enough to pay off the hook.

Sponsored videos held their own

9% of the top videos were brand deals, from 14 creators, and they ran at their normal for views, the same as everything else. What brands pay for them.

Put it to work on your own videos

How we counted

• 1,239 top-performing videos from 18 creators we work with or study, with more than 2.5 billion views combined, on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Each one was analyzed from the video itself by an AI model, as part of our team’s research on these creators.
• Each video was put in one hook type by how it opens. Types used by fewer than 3 creators count under other openings.
• Views are compared with the same creator’s typical top video, so a big account does not outweigh a small one. All of these were already top videos; the comparison shows which openings ran furthest among them.
• Length covers the 335 YouTube Shorts with a length on file.
• No creator, video or brand is named. We add videos as we study them and date every update.

Questions people ask