A video ad hook is its first few seconds: the moment the person decides to watch or keep scrolling. On YouTube, the Skip button appears after five seconds. On LinkedIn or Facebook, nothing holds the thumb back.
Here is why people drop off so fast, six hooks that work for a SaaS, and how to know which one to keep.
Why people drop off
Most ads lose their audience before saying anything. They open on a logo or on a line anyone could sign, such as “Save time with our solution”. Nothing tells the viewer the video is about them.
In a feed, every second without a reason to stay is a second too many. And an ad nobody watches past its opening still costs its impressions.
What a good hook does in a few seconds
It has two jobs, in this order. First, signal “this video is about you”, by naming a situation the person recognizes. Then promise the rest is worth it, with a result or a number.
It must do both without sound. On-screen text and the image do the work; the voice-over only helps those who turn it on.
Six hooks that work for a SaaS
The question that hits home
“Still chasing unpaid invoices by hand?” A precise question about a painful task filters the audience and stops the people who live it.
The result first
Show the end screen before the path: the filled dashboard, the report sent, the schedule done, the invoice paid. The viewer wants to know how you get there.
The true number
“4 hours saved every week” grabs attention, as long as it is true and you can prove it. A made-up number costs you later, in trust.
The product in action from the first frame
No intro: the video starts in the middle of a gesture in your interface, a click, a list filling up. Movement catches the eye before anyone reads.
A customer's own words
A sentence a customer really said, with their agreement, in large type on screen. Never an invented testimonial: it is easy to spot and ruins the credibility of the whole ad.
The contrarian line
“Stop holding status meetings.” A statement that goes against your audience's habit makes them want to hear the argument.
How to know which hook to keep
Make two versions of the same ad that differ only in their first seconds. Run them to the same audience, with the same budget, then compare the share of people who get past the opening. The platform gives you that number in its video statistics.
Keep the winner and test it against a new hook. That groundwork, more than the choice of platform, makes the difference on a campaign. The other rules are in our guide to video ads for SaaS, and the LinkedIn version in our LinkedIn video ads guide.
The mistakes that kill a hook
- The logo as the opening, or a brand animation lasting several seconds.
- A hook that only makes sense with sound.
- Text too small for a phone screen.
- A promise the rest of the video does not keep: people click, then leave disappointed.
The hook is only the first line of the script. To write the rest at the right pace, start from our 30-second script template.
Hooks to test with Genmotion.design
For the “Social media ad” goal, Genmotion.design opens the video on the hook from the very first frame, with animated on-screen text. The video is ready in under an hour: fast enough to prepare two versions and compare them before putting budget behind one.
Prices range from a few dozen to a few hundred dollars depending on the plan: one video at a time, or a subscription sized to the number of videos. Access opens first to the first 100 early stage sign-ups.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a hook?
The first few seconds, the time of one short sentence. On YouTube, everything must be said before the Skip button, which appears after five seconds.
Should you show the logo at the start?
Not first. Keep it for the end, or leave it discreetly in a corner throughout. Nobody stops scrolling for a logo they do not know yet.
Does the same hook work on every platform?
Often, if it reads without sound. But the audience changes: the precise question that works with a CFO on LinkedIn can fall flat on Instagram.
Does an ad need a voice-over?
It helps those who turn sound on and makes the video livelier. It simply must never carry the hook's message on its own.
In short
A video ad hook is won by naming, right away, a situation the person recognizes, with no sound and no logo. Write several, test them two by two, and keep the one your audience watches longest.
Your SaaS video, ready in under an hour
Paste your website address: script, voice-over, music and animation are made for you. Access opens first to the first 100 sign-ups.
Join the early stage