A creator breaks down the visual hook technique that made one video hit 500 million views while an identical one flopped. Drawing from 18 years of social media research, he shows how the first few seconds determine whether people keep watching.
These videos are identical, but only one generated 500 million views, all because of a simple, easy to learn storytelling trick that anyone can do. Even you. The video on the right lifts up a horseshoe filled with dirt before cleaning it, which doesn't seem super interesting, but the viral video has a technique that businesses use all the time. It's called a visual hook. National Geographic used this tactic to sell a kid's toy by creating an archaeologist digging kit to get people to purchase their product. They didn't just tell people how fun it is, they hooked people in by teasing all the items people could find on the front of the box. In the viral video, you can see a bunch of colorful objects in the horse's hoof, making the viewers curious. Is there more underneath the dirt? What are they going to find? So how can you apply a similar strategy to get even more views? Well, start off your video with a visual hook, like using a whiteboard to teach English, but covering certain words with cardboard to make viewers curious, resulting in 36 million views. I've studied social media for over 18 years, and if you'd like to learn similar strategies, click the Connect to Video below.
