How to Write Better Hooks for LinkedIn and Social Media

Have you ever stopped scrolling just because a sentence grabbed your attention?

That is the power of a good hook.

According to a recent study by ProfileTree, users spend only about 1.3 seconds scanning each post in the feed before deciding whether to leave or keep reading.

This means if your first line doesn’t hook them, the rest of your content will be useless. And that’s a problem. Most people write good content, but only a few know how to hook their audience. If your opening line is just not attention-worthy, no one will read your quality content.

So, how do you write a good hook?

That’s what we will discuss in this guide. We will see what a good hook is and then learn some practical tips for hook writing.

What makes a good hook?

If your audience doesn’t see themselves in your first line, they’re gone. That’s why the best hooks don’t start with your product or service, they start with the audience. Their struggles, goals, interests, or fears.

So, if you want to grab attention, say something they’re already thinking. Or better, say it in a way they have never seen before.

Use one of the following things in your hooks to attract your audience.

• Make a claim or promise

For example, I made $10,000 from just a single email

• Induce curiosity or tension

For example, if you keep driving like this, your engine will fail

• Ask a relevant question

For example, do you feel dizzy even after taking a long nap?

• Create an emotional trigger

For example, Everything changed after I realized wasting 5 years of my life on the wrong dream.

Your hook does not have to be clever. It has to be clear, specific, and emotionally on-point. Because if a hook applies to everyone, it applies to nobody.

7 practical tips for better hook writing on LinkedIn and other social platforms

Now that you know what makes a hook line, let’s break down how you can write better hooks for LinkedIn posts and other social platforms step by step.

1. Understand your platform and audience

As relevancy is the most important thing for a hook sentence to work, you need information for that. Information about the audience you are planning to target and the platform you are going to use.

LinkedIn is more professional. In fact, it is the best platform for B2B marketing, according to 84% of marketers. Instagram is about visuals and storytelling, and X demands wit and punch.

So, before you start writing a hook, learn about your target audience’s intent on the platform and then make a move.

Claiming in your headline will work better on LinkedIn, while emotional triggers are more likely to attract people on social media, like Instagram and TikTok.

2. Pick a topic of interest

Finding a topic of your audience’s interest is also crucial to grab their attention. No matter how clever your hook is, it won’t work if the topic itself is boring or irrelevant to your audience.

Do some research and pick something your audience actually cares about. Like a pain point, a trending issue, a bold opinion, or even a personal story with a lesson.

For example, on LinkedIn, people love to read about real career struggles, wins, and practical advice. So do it accordingly.

If the topic hits the right point, even a simple hook can do wonders.

3. Select your angle of approach

Once you have a relevant topic, you are not done yet. You still need a unique angle to approach your readers, a generic statement will not work.

So, look for unique perspectives that you can bring here. You can approach the topic with a bold opinion, a surprising stat, a “what-not-to-do” story, or even a controversial idea.

To make a choice, you need to read others' work in your niche. See how they have done it. Then look for hook ideas that can make you stand out.

For example, instead of saying, “5 tips to improve productivity,” try “How working less made me more productive.” Same topic, but a different angle makes it more interesting.

4. Use power words in it

Using some specific words in your headlines or hooks can improve their effects significantly. According to OptinMonster, power words can improve your conversion rates by 12.7%.

Words like secret, proven, shocking, brutal truth, instantly, or unexpected spark interest in readers because they create anticipation. These aren’t just simple words; they’re tested language tools that are known to trigger attention.

For example, compare the following sentences.

• How I improved my writing
• The brutal truth about how I fixed my writing

The second one uses power words to add emotion and drama. That’s what makes people want to read more.

5. Do not lie in your hooks

Some people start exaggerating their results in order to make claims and hook their readers. But let me tell you, misleading hooks will hurt you more than help.

If your hook promises something shocking or unbelievable, your remaining content must deliver on that promise. Otherwise, people will feel tricked, and that damages trust.

A hook should excite people to read, not deceive them into clicking. That’s clickbaiting, a scam.

Stick to the truth, but tell it in a way that grabs attention.

6. Complement your hook with attractive visuals

A strong hook with a powerful visual works much better than a hook alone. Whether it’s a bold graphic, a behind-the-scenes photo, or even a short video, visuals improve the effects of your hook and make your message unique.

On platforms like LinkedIn, posts with images receive 2x higher engagement than text-only ones.

So don’t just write a good hook, show it. Match your words with visuals that support your message and reflect your brand personality.

And if you have an image online or from your own gallery that says exactly what you need, but it’s all text inside a graphic. You can use an image-to-text converter tool to extract it.

Try the free image to text tool which lets you upload an image and get the readable text in seconds. You can extract the text instantly from any image and use it to create a catchy caption or modify it into a better hook.

Imagetotext.online works with OCR technology that instantly extracts text from images and offers you an easier way to work. This amazing option helps you not only avoid hiring writers but also repurpose text efficiently.

7. Do A/B testing on different hooks

Hook writing isn’t just a creative process, it’s also a science. You learn more when you treat it as a trial-and-error process.

One hook might get a few clicks, while another, on the same idea, could go viral. That’s why A/B testing is so important.

So, don’t settle for the first hook you write. Instead, create multiple variations and test them out to see which one performs the best for you.

To make this easier, I recommend using a free hook generator tool. This tool at sentencerewriter.net helps you come up with several engaging hooks from a single idea. It saves your time and increases your chances of hitting your audience with the right point.

Furthermore, various modes, such as formal, diplomatic, creative, and more are just a click away, helping you generate amazing hooks instantly. This saves time and energy while providing dozens of hooks you can use for LinkedIn or other social media platforms.

Conclusion

If your hook doesn’t work, nothing else will. That’s the hard truth about writing on LinkedIn and other social platforms.

When users give barely a second of attention to your posts, your opening line has to do the job for you. It must grab their interest, spark emotions, and make them stop scrolling.

So learn to write better hooks. It is the only way to make your whole content work.