Let's Talk About Social Media Hooks

If you’ve been on Instagram lately, you’ve heard the word hook about a million times… but what actually is a hook, why does it matter, and how do you write one on social media that stops your ideal client mid-scroll?

In today’s short and snappy episode, I’m breaking it all down, in plain English, so you can finally feel confident creating hooks that work.

We’re chatting:
 • What a text hook actually is (and where to use it)
• Why hooks matter more than ever in 2025
• How to make your hooks clear, specific, and scroll-stopping
• Real examples for product AND service-based businesses
• The simple do’s and don’ts that instantly improve your content
• How to add text hooks inside the Instagram app (and why it helps your reach)

I’ll also walk you through some real hooks I’ve created for members inside Get Seen Get Sales, my mentorship for small business owners who want to grow with strategy, not stress.

If you’ve been posting gorgeous content but hearing crickets… this is the episode that will finally help your message land.

Hooks mentioned in this episode:
"(Ideal Client) are we all in agreement that xx? Yeah?"
example here

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hi, hello, welcome. I'm Amanda Hughes, your host of Small Business Growth Addicts. I escaped to corporate world after 12 months of a side hustle which turned into my full-time income. Fast forward 10 years and I'm running not my first but my second small business, and this time around it's with a passion to share all that I know, all that I've learned and all that I'm still learning with fellow small business owners. As the title of the show suggests, I am addicted to growing my business and I know you are too. Growth means different things to different people though, and that's why we talk about a whole host of subjects on growth addicts. Whether that's in a solo episode, just me or with one of my many awesome guests, between us we share advice, tips and real-life entrepreneurial experience. So grab a pen, a cupper, and a biscuit, obviously, and get ready to grow that small business of yours. This is Small Business Growth Addicts. Hello and welcome to another episode of Small Business Growth Addicts. Thank you so much for being here today, wherever you're joining us from, I hope you're having an awesome day so far. So today I've got a super bite-sized episode for you, and I want to talk about hooks. Now, small business owners out there are hearing a lot about hooks. If you're on Instagram in particular, even Facebook, TikTok, etc. etc., if you're promoting your small business on these social media platforms, you will have heard of hooks unless you've been hiding under a rock recently. There are social media strategists out there, myself included, who are sharing hooks for you to use. And you might see lines such as, you know, it's like got fill in the blanks sort of things. You might see something that's like, here's a good hook to use. This XX is for all the XX out there, you know, and then you have to sort of fill in the blanks. Now that's all well and good giving you examples of fill-in-the-blank hooks to use. But small business owners I'm chatting to are like, right, can we just like go back to the start here? What even is a hook? What is this all about? Why is it such a big deal just now? So that is what I'm going to get into in today's episode for you. If you know me by now, you'll know that I love social media. It's how I've grown my businesses and now I want to help you do the same. That's why I created Get Seen Get Sales, my mentor group for small business owners who want to get seen online and actually attract followers that convert to customers. Inside you'll get weekly content prompts, live workshops, and support on everything you need to grow confidently on social media. If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or just ready to do things differently, I've got you. Head to smallbusinessgrowthadicts.com to join us. Now, first up, I'm talking about text hooks today. What is a text hook? If you think of a text hook on social media like a newspaper, a magazine article, headline, think of it like a headline. A hook is generally the first line of text that your viewer is going to see. So say you've got a reel and it's you making a coffee, but you've put some nice bold text on top of the video that you can see instantly as you scroll. You just stop, you can scan, you can read it in seconds. That is a text hook. It's your headline for that post. Same as if you're making a carousel, but your first slide, whatever the image might be behind it, regardless, your text is nice and bold and clear and easy to read on the very first slide. That's your hook. Facebook, it might be the first line of your caption as you're scrolling in Facebook. You see the first line of your caption, that's your headline, that's your hook. So think of it as it's a scroll stopper, it's a headline, it's a line of text that you want to stop your ideal client in their tracks or on their scroll. You want them to see this line of text and have it pique their interest enough to stop and make them look. So that's what a text hook is. Now, on social media, I mentioned a few examples there. This can be text over video on a reel, it can be the first slide of your carousel, the first line of a caption, or if you're using stories, it could be a nice bold text on there. So there's a few ways to use it, but there's also a few do's and don'ts. So I want to get into that with you today as well. Now bear in mind if you want to go deeper on hooks, this is a massive part of what we do in Get Seen Get Sales, which is our incredible social media mentorship community. It's full of awesome small business owners who are just learning and experimenting and growing and thriving on social media. Aside from that, it's an incredible community as well. We talk about everything in there from if you've woke up with a spot and you've got a market the next day, how to get rid of that spot quickly. We talk about if you're having a wobble and you just want to burn it all down and throw the towel in. And or we're celebrating wins in there as well. If you've just seen a post that's really popped off and got you a hundred new followers, we're here for it. We're here to cheer you on, celebrate that with you. It's just an incredible place. But a huge part of what we do there is every week on a Thursday morning, a new content pack drops, which is full of content hooks and prompts and examples and caption starters and call-to-action ideas. It is an incredible resource. It really is. So if you're hearing this today and thinking, okay, but I know what you mean, I know what it is, but I'm going to need a bit more support with that, then you want to get yourself into get seen get sales. And the link is in the show notes today. Okay, so why are we using hooks? Why are we using text hooks on social media just now? The main reason social media is a busy place. I think it's the busiest it's ever been. We know that. And the images that you're sharing and the videos that you're sharing, listen, they're awesome and they're gorgeous. But so are the next guys. And I'm sorry to be blunt, but I'm here to help. I'm not here to sugarcoat this for you. And I don't want you getting left behind. If you're just posting images with no context, no text or anything on the top of them, you're being left behind. It's not enough. Right now, in November 2025, it's not enough to stop the scroll of your ideal client. And that is why you're on social media for your business in the first place. What will stand you apart right now is your messaging. Your messaging has to be instant and clear. We live in a world right now that wants instant messaging, they want instant delivery of most things, including their information. So we're using text hooks as a gateway to our story, to bring our story to life, to bring our messaging out there front and center, to make sure that our ideal clients are seeing it straight away. Now, when it comes to your hook, as I say, you'll see lots of fill-in-the-blanks everywhere. When you look up hooks, you'll get lots of examples. I share examples as well. But what I'm really wanting to concentrate on right now is sharing more specifics of how to actually use them because I'm realizing that that is a bit of a problem. Hence, this episode today, I'm here to help, here to support you. Do this and do it right, spend your time wisely and post with purpose. So a hook should be specific. That is working so well on social media just now. It should be so hyper specific that your ideal client is reading it and thinking, okay, can she see me? Like, was this meant for me? They should feel like that hook is speaking directly to them. Now, an example of that might be if you're an infant sleep consultant, for example. You might want to have a video of your little one having a nap or getting the room ready for a nap, but you could have a hook on there that says parents of kids under three. Are we all in agreement that nap time isn't real lifetime? Yeah. One hour nap equals five minutes real time. So you can see straight away that speaking to parents of kids under three. Oh, hello, that's me. Yep. Are we all in agreement nap time isn't real lifetime? What does she mean by that? Yep. So an hour's five minutes. Ah, okay, I see what you mean. Yes. So it flies in. So if they go for a two-hour nap, it only feels like it's been 10 minutes, you know, because you hardly get anything done, you hardly get any downtime. That is so relatable. It's evoking emotion as well. There's a bit of humour in there, there's a relatability, the humour. That would make me want to stop the scroll, have a look at that post. I'd be highly likely to interact with that post, even if it's just a few laughing emojis or letting them know this is relatable. I've got two under three, whatever it might be. And then I'm more inclined to go and have a look at that profile and see what they do. Oh, they're an infant sleep consultant. Hmm, that makes perfect sense because of the rule that they were sharing. I could be doing a bit of support in that area. Hit follow and see what they come up with next. That is the process. That is what we're hoping for here with these text hooks on attraction content, certainly. When we're looking at our nurture and convert content, it's a bit different because we're looking to promote engagement and sales and whatnot, but a high-level example there on attraction content. If a non-follower is finding you for the first time on a reel, that's an excellent example of exactly what you want them to do there. Quick pause from our conversation because I'm wondering how you'd feel if I told you I could give you a free£50 today. Yep, if you've been thinking about moving your business bank account or perhaps you don't have a business bank account yet, I can highly recommend Monzo. And if you open an account with them via the link in today's show notes, you get a free£50. Monzo are free to bank with, I bank with them personally. It's so easy to use, and also they won Best Business Banking Provider in the UK in 2024. So if you don't have a business bank account yet or you're looking to change from where you are just now to Free Business Banking and£50 in your account, head over to spallbusinessgrowthadics.com for the link and enjoy. Couple of quick do's and don'ts with text hooks. Do make sure the text is super clear and super easy to read like instantly. And I'm talking you can read it in like three seconds. So if you think you've got to be five minutes, you've opened up your phone, you might open up Instagram, your feed will automatically pop up. You're scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, and then that message pops up. We're not looking for a blog on this text hook, we're looking for like one line, like I've just said there, ideally that mentions your ideal client, that mentions something they can relate to. And like I say, I'm going to give you lots of examples today, and you can find lots of examples online and on my Instagram page, amandahues.uk. But be specific, as specific as possible, and make it clear and easy to read. Don't use any swirly fonts, don't try and get fancy. Don't tuck the text in a corner because you want your product to be seen. This first slide, this first three seconds, is not for your product to be seen. It's for your messaging to be seen. So make sure your text is front and center there, not tucked in a corner round about your product or your offering or whatever the image might be of. The text hook is what's important right now. Get that up there front and center. Now, how to actually add these text hooks, like literally how to do it. In the Instagram app, it could not be more easier if you are creating a carousel in the Instagram app. So you'd upload your images. Quick side note as well that carousels just now on Instagram are doing really well with super casual images. And I'm talking like, I've got carousels recently that are popping off that have images like of my dog walk just in the woods. It's just casual selfies, they're nothing major. Like you have images for your next top performing carousel in your phone already. I'm pretty sure of that. So I digress there as usual. How to actually add the text. If you're in the Instagram app, pop your images in for a carousel as you usually would. And then there is an option to add text, just add the text right there in the Instagram app. Now, this is to be confirmed. I've not heard this officially, but I have heard rumors in the social media world that actually when you add the text using the in-app feature rather than adding it elsewhere, you're actually giving the app, the algorithm, more context as to what your post is actually about because you know those keywords that are going to be in your text hook. So try it. Try it. It's absolutely worth a try. If you want to post a reel, you can do this in the edits app, which is part of Instagram as well. I've been finding it as a fantastic app. Adam Maseri, the head of Instagram, has actually said that at the minute they're prioritizing reach for reels that are made in edits over made anywhere else. And we already know that if you make it anywhere else and there's any sort of watermark on it, like TikTok, for example, and you want to post that to Instagram, we already know that any third-party watermarks are going to get reduced reach. So try and avoid that. If possible, try and make your reels, your posts, an app. It gives the most context and it's actually really easy to use. So again, if you're creating your reel in the edits app, for example, or even just in the Instagram app itself, upload your video. There's an option for text and just add your text. Go and have a look at my recent reels, my recent carousels. I'm at amandahughes.uk on Instagram. You can find me on Facebook as well. It's just my name, TikTok, amandahughes.uk. I'm all over the place. You'll find tons of examples. I practice what I preach. Okay, now I spoke about examples, but not just giving you fill in the blanks, actually giving you examples for various product and service-based businesses. So let's do that. Okay, an example of a hook that's in our content pack for Get Seen Get Sales Group next week is the thing that gets ideal client desire for, and then a timeline. I'm going to write these in the show notes. So it'll be the whole the blank that gets blank. This is such a clear hook that works because it shows the cause and effect in the timeline and instantly triggers that curiosity that stops the scroll. So, for example, a service-based business, you might be a kids athletics coach. That is a member that we have in Get Seen Get Sales Just Now. And the example I've given for that is this hook, the warm-up game that gets kids moving for weeks. So they might want to share this fun, quick warm-up game that they use in their classes. But actually, if you start adapting this at home, it's a really fun way to keep kids moving in between classes. So the warm-up game that gets kids moving for weeks. If you're a parent with a kid that's a bit more sedentary, is that the word? If they're sitting for a long time or whatever, you know, we're battling against screens here, that might be something that will perk your interest to you, be like, oh, I'm needing something to get Tommy off the sofa and off his iPad and moving a bit more. I'm going to have a look at that. If you're a product-based business for a cake business, for example, again, this is a real life example of a member we haven't yet seen get sales, the shortbread recipe that gets the grandkids coming back for weeks to come. There you are. Share a recipe, people love that. Grandparents out there, if that's your ideal client, you know, looking for that shortbread recipe that the kids keep coming back for. Another quick example for you for an attraction post, when you become the blank people come to for blank because blank, again, I'm going to write this down. I realize how ridiculous that sounds when I say it out loud. This hook works clearly signals your expert status, shows your audience who you help, what you're known for, and why people trust you. So, an example for a service-based business, I've got a hypnosis practitioner in here. Again, this is a member we have in Get Seen Get Sales. When you become the account that your ideal clients come to for CAM because your tips finally help them switch off. Now, imagine your ideal client in this scenario is busy mums under three. I know I've used that example already. It just came to mind. This text hook on top of a real, this is attraction content. When you become the accountant that busy mums to multiple children under five come to for calm because your tips finally help them switch off. You see? Super specific. An online crystal shop for a product-based service. Again, this is a member we have in GetSeen Get Sales. When you become the account that ideal clients come to for crystal information because you explain energy in a way that actually makes sense. Again, if I'm watching that and I'm interested in crystals, but I just can't wrap my head around how they work or why they work, they're saying I am the account that my ideal clients come to for crystal information because I explain energy in a way that actually makes sense. That would absolutely pique my interest. So that's a couple of real life examples for you there. Do bear in mind that every Thursday in my membership group, we drop this pack every single Thursday with an example, a hook or a prompt for every single day of the week. You take what you want, leave what you don't. There's examples. All you have to do is get your message in there. And if you're stuck with that, then I am 100% there to support you. Okay, I wanted to keep this episode short and sweet, so I'm going to leave you with that. Come and find me on Instagram. That's where I mostly hang out at amandahughes.uk. Tag me in your hooks that you're using. Drop me a message if you need any guidance. I've got three hooks in a highlight at the top of my Instagram and Facebook pages. Come find them, screenshot them, save them, use them, and let me know how you got on. If you've got any questions, don't be stuck. Okay, I'll speak to you soon. Thank you so much for joining us today for another episode of Small Business Growth Addicts. I hope today's episode has given you inspiration and tangible tips that you can use to grow your small business in a way that feels right for you. If you love today's episode, please head over to smallbusinessgrowthadicts.com and check out today's show notes where you can find details of our wonderful guests, sponsors, discounts, freebies, and so much more. Please also don't forget to leave a review today. Reviews are invaluable to us to help us get the show out there. Every single one is read and very much appreciated. Until next time