The Importance of TikTok Ad Hooks (The First 3 Seconds)

Did you know that 63% of all successful ads on TikTok convey its main message in the first three seconds?

With attention spans reducing and audience’s standards increasing, if you don’t hook your audience instantly, you risk losing them to the next swipe.

This article will guide you through the art of creating captivating TikTok ad hooks that keep viewers engaged and drive your campaign’s success.

In fact, TikTok users spend an average of 89 minutes per day on the app, rapidly consuming content and making quick decisions about what to watch next. This makes the first few seconds of your ad crucial for capturing and retaining their attention. Understanding the behaviour and preferences of your audience is key to crafting effective ad hooks.

Although you should get straight to the point with your TikTok ads, this can’t be at the expense of the story you tell. By all means, have TikTok ad hooks near the start of your tales, but your videos must depict an overall narrative.

What is an Ad Hook?

An ad hook is a short, informative and engaging, or even entertaining communication that marketers use at the start of their brand’s adverts, in the pursuit of quickly capturing their audience’s attention. You can present your ad hooks both in visual and audio forms. That’s right… You don’t even need words to convey your brand’s communication in an ad hook.

45% of people who watch the first three seconds of a video will continue watching it for at least another 30 seconds. These findings from Facebook demonstrate just how important the first 3 seconds of an advert are, in capturing your audience’s attention. Keeping them engaged in those first 3 seconds really can drastically improve your ad campaign conversion rates.

Effective ad hooks are able to speak to your audience’s needs, desires and emotions. They often also involve relatable situations and easily consumed information. Keep them simple. Keep them clear.

To understand more about the psychological strategies that drive engagement on TikTok, check out this article on Psychology Backed Strategies for Marketing on TikTok.

The Importance of the First 3 Seconds to Attention Spans

A few years ago, the journalistic media company, Time claimed that “You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish”. Time based their statement on a Microsoft 2015 study, claiming that the average human attention span had dropped to eight seconds, down from twelve in 2000. In comparison, goldfish have an attention span of nine seconds. However, you made it this far in the article, so this may not apply to you!

45% of people who watch the first three seconds of a video will continue watching it for at least another 30 seconds. These findings from Facebook demonstrate just how important the first 3 seconds of an advert are in capturing your audience’s attention. Keeping them engaged in those first 3 seconds really can drastically improve your ad campaign conversion rates.
Effective ad hooks speak to your audience’s needs, desires, and emotions. They often also involve relatable situations and easily consumed information. Keep them simple. Keep them clear.

Researchers at Princeton University and the University of California-Berkeley have likened our brain to being “like a theatre with a spotlight and house-lights, and it cycles between spotlight mode (attention focused on a single point on the stage), and house-light mode (attention is diffused over the audience).”

While the Microsoft study suggests that people have eight-second attention spans, that doesn’t mean that you can expect viewers to have that much patience when watching your TikTok ads.

That 8-second figure is an average, covering people of all age groups. TikTok’s users are typically younger. 25% of TikTok’s active users’ accounts in the U.S. are people aged 10-19, with a further 22.4% aged 20-29.

They are predominantly Generation Z and Millennials (with an increasing percentage of Generation Alpha each year). And these age groups have little time for ads. You have much less time to hook these people than the typical social media user or even a goldfish.

Placement Means Everything on TikTok

TikTok ads are full-screen and successful ones look just like any other TikTok video. They come across as natural and feel like they belong on the platform. Top View ads attract viewers’ attention as soon as they open the app. TikTok guaranteed millions of views within a 24-hour period.

Even more traditional in-feed ads can catch users’ attention. These are 5-60 second, full-screen vertical videos, again played with sound-on. You place them in your target audience’s ‘For You’ feeds, and they fit seamlessly alongside user-generated content. You can even improve their visibility by opting for an In-Feed One Day Max ad spot, which ensures yours will be the first ad users see, typically placed after the first three organic TikTok videos in a user’s ‘For You’ feed.

Here are the most common types of ads:

Top View Ads:

- - These ads appear when users first open the TikTok app.
  - They are full-screen videos with high visibility, guaranteeing millions of views within 24 hours.
  - Ideal for massive reach and brand awareness.

In-Feed Ads:

- - These ads appear within the ‘For You’ feed as users scroll.
  - They are full-screen, vertical videos that blend seamlessly with user-generated content.
  - Typically range from 5 to 60 seconds.
  - Played with sound-on, making them more engaging.
  - In-Feed One Day Max option ensures your ad is seen after the first three organic videos.

Branded Hashtag Challenges:

- - Encourage user participation and content creation.
  - Include a banner on the Discover page, leading to a challenge page featuring instructions and the brand’s website link.
  - Great for virality and user engagement.

Branded Effects:

- - Allow brands to create custom filters, stickers, and special effects for users to incorporate into their videos.
  - Enhances brand interaction and creativity.

Spark Ads:

- Enable brands to boost their organic content or partner with creators to sponsor their existing posts.
- Increase authenticity and relatability as they leverage native content.

By strategically using these ad placements and types, brands can effectively capture and retain the attention of TikTok’s diverse and rapidly scrolling audience.

Examples of Successful Brands – Utilising the First 3 Seconds

Unlike Facebook, every video begins with audio on. Sound plays a significant role in the success of videos on TikTok. And unlike some social apps, TikTok ads use a sound-on format. As a result, TikTok’s users enjoy their audio and expect exciting music and other sounds backing all their videos. You can include a combination of music, audio effects, voice-overs, and other reactions in your videos.

Most TikTok users don’t consider the platform to be a passive experience. If a video attracts their attention (in those crucial first three seconds), it will drag them in. TikTok’s sound-on format amplifies its users’ connection and ensures maximum engagement.

Milk Bar Store’s TikTok Content Approach

Milk Bar chose to start its video with a question – “Have you ever been in love?” If you look closely, however, you will see a different question placed on screen; however, “Have you ever been best friends with a dessert person?” They then proceed to play romantic music and feature mouth-watering visuals of desserts.

@milkbarstore
Tag your dessert bestie #desserttiktok #fyp #dessert #foodtiktok #foodies
♬ cute sound – brett

Firestone’s TikTok Ad Strategy

Although most people connect the name Firestone with tyres, they have also brought people together through music since 1928. They have set up a stage at festivals across Europe in recent years. Firestone set up Lead Generation Ads in the U.K. and Spain to run a competition, offering the chance to win a pair of tickets to a music festival in each country.

They began their U.K. TikTok ad with a simple red screen, apart from the Firestone logo, a music wave pulsating to an electric guitar chord, the heading “Do you still recognise this?” and a Call to Action, “Tap to win 2 tickets to All Points East”.

The ad then made it more apparent what the sound was and changed the heading to “Ready for More Live Sounds?” This clearly struck a chord with its audience. The campaign has more than 38 million impressions, and 1,500 people entered their contact details for the competition.

Manchester United’s TikTok Content Engagement Strategy

As we previously discussed, Manchester United recently discovered that TikTok provides an excellent way to connect with their fanbase. They captioned one of their recent posts, “Feeling fresh”.

This video attracts Manchester United fans, emphasising popular players and the club’s current Adidas-supplied kit. The video begins with Edinson Cavani sitting in his new kit, highlighting the Manchester United logo. A catchy original sound plays in the background, pulling you in. This video only lasts ten seconds, but it focuses on five players in the new training kit.

The Adidas TikTok Strategy

It’s not just with their Manchester United kit that Adidas knows how to make an impression on TikTok, however. One of their Christmas TikTok ads came in at a comparatively-long 44 seconds video that depicts an engaging story. As with many TikTok videos, it features catchy music in the background. However, it is the snappy film editing that gains your attention this time. The video shows crucial moments when telling the story.

It begins with a man called Jeff (wearing a strategically placed Adidas-branded cap) sitting in a chair in front of a Christmas tree, with stockings hanging on the wall. Instantly, somebody off-camera throws a shoebox at him. By the end of three seconds, he has the shoes on his feet and is, in turn, wrapping a small shoebox for “Mr Squirrel”. This draws viewers into the story and makes them wonder what is going to happen next. A puppet called ‘Mr Squirrel’ ends up wearing the newly gifted sneakers and he goes on to conduct multiple activities, including playing basketball and riding on a chairlift at a ski field.

As demonstrated by Adidas, an entertaining ad hook and unique story can really be effective in capturing your audience’s attention and driving brand engagement.

To know more about how we can collaborate with you for your custom TikTok strategy.

4 Useful TikTok Ad Hooks to Capture Audience Attention

Obviously, every audience is different, and what appeals to one may go flat with another. Therefore, you should be willing to experiment to see what resonates with the viewers you are targeting.

However, first, you could try incorporating some of the following TikTok ad hooks and marketing techniques into your TikTok videos.

1. Tell People What Your Video’s About

You have only three seconds to attract viewers’ attention. Convey your core message immediately.
Start with a question like, “Want to eat the best ethically produced Vegan food?” or “How do you pick the best lipstick for your colouring?”
Pair your question with visually appealing images to pique viewers’ interest without needing to explain too much.
Avoid Clickbait and ensure you answer any question you pose to avoid misleading viewers.

2. Include Up-tempo Music in Your Video

More than half of all successful TikTok videos include music within the first three seconds. This auditory cue can capture attention even if the visual content alone does not.
Up-tempo and catchy music can keep viewers watching the entire video, increasing the likelihood of higher engagement rates.

3. Begin by Depicting Some Emotion

People respond quickly to emotional cues. While addressing pain points is common, happiness is more effective on TikTok. According to a SEMrush study, 58% of viral TikTok videos trigger happiness.
Happiness and surprise/shock are the most successful emotions for engaging viewers. Negative emotions like anger, sadness, fear, and embarrassment are less effective, with only 9%, 4%, 3%, and less than 1% of viral videos depicting these emotions respectively.
Humour is prevalent in 36.5% of viral videos, making it more impactful than TikTok dance moves, which appear in 21.9% of viral videos.

4. Consider Working with Animals

SEMrush found that 60% of viral videos feature a person visible on screen, with 51% depicting a person alone speaking directly to the camera. However, one in four viral videos feature at least one animal, with 46% showing dogs and 28% featuring cats.
Animals, especially pets like dogs and cats, have a broad appeal and can enhance the relatability and shareability of your content.

Don’t Ignore Those Crucial First 3 Seconds for TikTok Ad Hooks

TikTok is very different from more traditional video platforms such as YouTube. The level of engagement on TikTok is phenomenal. So when you do capture your audience’s attention, the results are by far more impressive. Despite this, TikTok ad hooks are crucial in the first three seconds of ads.

TikTok is the new frontier of social media marketing that you can leverage to push your brand to greater heights. You just have to be prepared to adapt to meet the sometimes picky needs of your target audience.

It’s incredibly important to use robust and performance-based creatives that get people talking and taking your desired actions. But, most importantly, you need to know how to push viewers past those crucial first three seconds so that they are still watching until the video’s conclusion.