#1 Instagram Hook Formula that Will Stop the Scroll

Are you worried that you’re creating all this content on Instagram and people aren’t actually watching or listening? Do you feel like your engagement or views have gone down? If you resonate with either one of these worries, it might mean you need to work on your hook. In this post, I am sharing with you the #1 Instagram hook formula that will stop the scroll. Let’s get started!

 

 

With social media becoming more and more of a search engine, people are looking for more great and valuable content which means we need to get better at hooking people into our content. While social media as a whole can fall under this umbrella of SEO, I am going to specifically focus on Instagram. I narrowed it down to just this platform because it’s super important to nail down your content strategy there as more and more people are creating content there. 

With all the Instagram competition out there, we truly only have a split second to catch people’s attention. We need to make sure that split second is convincing enough to get people to want to watch or read our content because otherwise we’re creating all this content and no one’s watching–and that’s just a waste of time. 

 

 

Why is Having a Hook so Important?

Most of our marketing hinges on a good hook. How effective your content is–how compelling it is for people to click or not–really comes down to how good your hook is. But, how do you know what people will click on?

Do a quick search on Instagram and scroll through your explore feed. See which posts hook you in and why. Notice what words, phrases, images, etc. make you want to stop and learn more. Think about how you could use those and make them work for your content. 

Biz Pro Tip: Save the posts that have good hooks into a specific folder on your Instagram. Refer back to this folder when you want to create some good hooks, but are drawing a blank. (You don’t want to copy them, but you do want to use the idea of it to turn it into something that is true to your brand and will help your audience.)

Hooks should be used on the first slides of carousel posts, the first link in your caption, and in the headline of reels, and they can also be used in your stories. 

 

 

#1 Instagram Hook Formula that Will Stop the Scroll

Before we jump into the four parts of this Instagram hook formula, I want you to know that you don’t have to include all four parts in every single hook you create. But you need to think about all of them and how you can incorporate as many as you can in each hook. Include them where it makes sense rather than forcing all four parts in there and it turning into a jumbled mix of hooks. 

OK, with that caveat said, let’s finally dive into the #1 Instagram hook formula! 

 

Instagram Hook Formula Part 1: Be Specific

Your hook should be specific to the person you are talking to (your target audience), the problem they have, and their promise of transformation. The more specific you are, the more your person will feel like you are talking to them and will want to click on your content. 

For example, I talk specifically to business moms (not to all moms). So, I want to create a hook just for them. One would be, “What to do while your kids are napping to grow your business.” See how this is super specific to business moms? 

Let’s break this hook down, so you can see how each part is specified for business moms. 

“What to do while your kids are napping (problem) to grow your business (promise of transformation).” And the entire hook resonates with business moms. So, think about a hook you could create in your industry and keep it specific to your ideal person. 

 

Instagram Hook Formula Part 2: Spark Curiosity 

We don’t want to give everything away in that first line. We want them to have curiosity about the next step. So, using my example above, business moms will want to scroll through and read the rest of my post because they want to know exactly how they could grow their business while their kids are napping. 

Sparking curiosity is a huge part of this Instagram hook formula, but sometimes it can be hard to do because we just want to give our people the information we know they are looking for. But, sometimes your people don’t even know they are looking for it until they first read your hook. 

 

Instagram Hook Formula Part 3: Be Social

An easy way to hook people in is to include them in a decision you need to make. This could be anywhere from what outfit to wear to an event to weighing in on an important issue that could affect your business. You get to decide when and how you want to ask your audience’s opinion. 

These types of hooks should show up more on your stories and captions rather than on your reels or carousel posts. But people love when you ask them for their opinion on things because it makes them feel more connected to you and like you care about them–which you do–so this is a good way to show them that! 

 

Instagram Hook Formula Part 4: Solve a Problem

Your hook needs to solve a problem. So, when you’re creating your hook, think about what problem your person is having and how you can create a headline out of it. For example, I know my audience is sending emails and they are really tired of the open rate declining. So, I could use the headline, “10 tips to get your emails opened.” So, think about it for you and your industry. What problem is your person currently facing and what hook could you create that will promise a solution to it? 

 

 

Bonus Tips for Creating a Scroll-Stopping Hook

Tip #1: Use numbers and lists – people like knowing exactly what to expect. When they are promised x amount of tips in the headline, they want to click and get exactly what they were promised. 

Tip #2: Deliver what you promise in the hook – no one likes untrustworthy clickbait. Always stay true to your word. Doing so will build credibility for your brand and trust in your community. 

Tip #3: Make it fun – people always need a little bit more fun in their lives. Adding fun to your content will always be one way to solve your person’s problem of enjoying life a little bit more! 

Tip #4: Be you – figure out who your brand is and show up in a true and authentic way. The world needs YOU. They don’t need you pretending to be something you’re not or a copycat of someone you admire. Your uniqueness is exactly what your people will connect with. 

 

Hook Example

Let’s say you are an influencer and you just bought a few new pairs of jeans that you want to try on and show your audience. You could do this in your stories, starting with telling your audience you need their help to know which pair of jeans look best. If you’re creating a reel, your headline could say, “7 Best Jeans for Mom Bodies” or something like that. That’s the hook because moms will see this and say, I’ve got a mom body, tell me what kind of jeans I should be wearing!

And then your caption could say, “I need your help, which jeans do you like best?” See how you’ve got multiple hooks in different places all pushing them to watch your reel? This is how you want to be thinking every time you post. 

You are probably already doing some of this work to create these great hooks. Plus, you can usually think of hooks pretty easily if you know what kinds of problems your audience is facing. This Instagram hook formula will just take your content a step further. This formula will help you resonate with even more people and become that much more compelling to people so they stop scrolling and view your content. 

 

 

#1 Instagram Hook Formula that Will Stop the Scroll

Alright, friend, I can’t wait for you to start using this #1 Instagram hook formula that will stop the scroll. And remember, the more you focus on making really good hooks for your content the better your hooks will be and the easier it will be to create them. I know you can do this! OK, if you found this post helpful, make sure to follow me on Instagram @iammichellegifford where I share the best tips and tricks for growing a successful biz online!  

P.S. Are you signed up for my FREE Business Mom School yet? I am sharing all of my biz secrets (like I shared in this post) with you via email where you will get my step-by-step tricks on how to grow a successful business from start to finish. Sign up HERE!