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Hooks

The first few seconds of your video determine whether someone keeps watching or scrolls past.

12 principles6 min readTraining film

Examples from

The Jet Business

@thejetbusiness

A strong hook creates an immediate reason to pay attention.

It can come from what the viewer sees, what they hear, what you say, or ideally a combination of all three.

The examples here are from The Jet Business, a client whose films are on the showreel. Read them as a worked example: the principle is the same in your field, the specifics are yours.

On this page / 14

01Visual hooks
02Audio hooks
03Verbal hooks
04Curiosity
05Fear of missing out
06Social proof
07Surprise
08Authority
09Story
10Challenge
11Instant value
12Combine your hooks
—Name the hook
—Before you film

Visual hooks

Before someone has even processed what you are saying, they have already seen the first frame of the video. Use something visually interesting to immediately interrupt the feed.

In aviation, this could be:

Walking onto a Gulfstream
Opening an aircraft door
A close up of an unusual cabin feature
Standing beside a Bombardier Global
Entering a private terminal
An aircraft taking off behind you
Showing two aircraft side by side
Moving through a hangar
Showing something inside the cockpit
Revealing an unusual aircraft configuration

The visual should make someone think:

What am I looking at?
I want to see more of this.

Audio hooks

Sound can capture attention before the viewer has fully understood the visual.

This could be

01An aircraft engine starting
02The cabin door closing
03A sudden sound change
04A recognisable aviation sound
05Music beginning at an important moment
06A strong first sentence delivered immediately

The audio should support the content rather than distract from it.

Verbal hooks

Your opening sentence needs to immediately give someone a reason to continue watching.

Avoid slow introductions such as

Hi everyone.
Welcome back.
Today I wanted to talk about...

Start with the interesting part.

Instead of

Today I am going to explain the Gulfstream G700.

Try

This jet can fly from London to almost anywhere in the world without stopping.

Instead of

Today we are looking at private jet ownership.

Try

This is the mistake first time private jet buyers make most often.

Get into the subject immediately.

Curiosity

Give the viewer enough information to become interested without immediately revealing everything.

There is one thing most people never notice inside a private jet.
This aircraft has a feature you will not find on most jets.
There is a reason this Gulfstream looks different from almost every other aircraft.

The viewer should feel that continuing to watch will give them the answer.

Fear of missing out

Show the viewer that there is something important they may not know.

If you charter private jets regularly, you need to know this.
Most first time buyers only discover this after purchasing the aircraft.
Before you charter your next flight, check this first.

This works best when the information genuinely matters. Do not manufacture urgency where none exists.

Social proof

People naturally become interested when they know something is already valued by others.

This is one of the questions private jet buyers ask us most.
There is a reason this aircraft has become so popular with long range travellers.
This is one of the most requested cabin features we see.

Use real proof and genuine experience wherever possible.

Surprise

Challenge what the viewer expects.

The biggest private jet is not necessarily the one with the longest range.
This aircraft looks smaller, but it can actually fly further.
Flying private does not always save you as much time as you think.
The most expensive part of owning this aircraft might not be what you expect.

Surprise creates a gap between what the viewer believed and what you are about to explain.

Authority

Use your experience to give the viewer a reason to listen.

After working in private aviation for 20 years, this is the mistake I see buyers make repeatedly.
After seeing hundreds of aircraft transactions, there is one thing I would always check before buying.
I spend every day around private jets, and this is something most passengers never notice.

Authority works best when it comes from genuine experience rather than simply telling people you are an expert.

Story

Start with the most interesting part of what happened. Do not spend the opening explaining all the background.

Instead of

Last week we had a client who needed to travel from London to New York...

Start with

Twenty minutes before departure, our client's aircraft developed a problem.

We nearly lost this aircraft deal 24 hours before completion.
I flew across Europe to inspect this aircraft and immediately found a problem.

Give the viewer the situation first. Then explain how you got there.

Challenge

Give the viewer something to solve, guess or decide.

Can you tell which one of these jets costs more to operate?
Can you identify this aircraft from the window alone?
Which would you choose: Gulfstream or Bombardier?
Can you guess how far this aircraft can fly without stopping?

This turns passive viewing into participation.

Instant value

Tell the viewer exactly what they are about to learn.

Here are three things to check before chartering a private jet.
I will explain empty legs in 30 seconds.
Here is the easiest way to understand private jet range.
These are the three questions I would ask before buying an aircraft.

This works particularly well for educational content.

Combine your hooks

The strongest openings often use more than one type of hook.

For example:

A Gulfstream is already taxiing behind you.

That is the visual hook.

You immediately say:

This aircraft can fly for more than 14 hours, but range is not the reason I would buy it.

That creates the verbal hook and curiosity.

You are giving the viewer several reasons to continue watching at the same time.

Six openings, from the library and our clients' feeds

Watch only the first three seconds of each. Name the hook.

Name the hook

Twelve openings from this page. Read the line, name the hook, turn the card.

Before you film

Look at the opening of your video and ask

Call sheet

01Is the first visual interesting?
02Does the first sentence start immediately?
03Is there a clear reason to keep watching?
04Have we created curiosity?
05Are we revealing too much too early?
06Does the hook accurately represent what the video delivers?
07Could we remove anything before the interesting part begins?

The rule

Do not start with context.

Start with the reason someone should care. Then earn their attention for the rest of the video.

Got the rule?