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GuideNiches13 min read

What are the best hooks for Instagram reels?

We read the opening line of 243,930 viral reels: which hook types show up most, what the ones that travelled furthest share, and a page of hooks for each niche.

Aubrium ResearchEditorial · Updated

The hook on one viral reel was four words long: "the reality of motherhood". It came from an account with 13,338 followers, and it reached 145.7 million views. Four words is shorter than this sentence.

Hooks like that one are what this guide is about. We read the opening line of all 243,930 viral reels in Aubrium's library. For each, we noted the kind of hook, how long it ran, and whether it was shown or said. This guide covers hooks in every niche at once. To see which niches have the most viral reels, start with what niches go viral on Instagram. For the rest of the reel, the format, the face and the sound, read what kind of reels go viral.

The short answer

In Aubrium's library, the most common hooks on viral reels are curiosity gaps (18%), relatable lines (13%) and bold claims (12%). POV and relatable hooks travelled furthest: the middle ones reached 32 and 30 times their creator's followers. 70% show the hook as text on screen, and the middle hook is 10 words long.

243,930viral reels
111,822English hooks in words
70%show the hook as text on screen
10 wordsthe middle hook's length

Aubrium's library, 22 October 2026.

Which hook types show up most on viral reels?

Curiosity gaps lead, at 18%, then relatable lines and bold claims. A curiosity gap holds back the payoff, so you stay to see it. A relatable line names something the viewer has lived through. A bold claim says something you want to argue with.

Hook types on viral reelsHow many use each, and how far the middle one travelled (views ÷ followers). 243,930 reels, 22 October 2026.
Curiosity gapShare: 18%Travelled: 20×
RelatableShare: 13%Travelled: 30×
Bold claimShare: 12%Travelled: 17×
QuestionShare: 10%Travelled: 18×
CalloutShare: 6%Travelled: 16×
Transformation teaseShare: 6%Travelled: 21×
POVShare: 4%Travelled: 32×
WarningShare: 3%Travelled: 21×
Number listShare: 3%Travelled: 16×
NegativeShare: 2%Travelled: 20×
AspirationalShare: 2%Travelled: 24×

The second column is the one to read. POV and relatable hooks travelled furthest, at 32 and 30 times their creator's followers. POV opens only 4% of viral reels; relatable lines open 13%. Curiosity gaps are the most common and sat at 20. Callouts, number lists and bold claims sat lowest, at 16 to 17. And 19% of viral reels open with no hook of any type.

What do the hooks that travelled furthest have in common?

More of them are relatable, and fewer are bold claims. To see it, we took the 10% of viral reels that travelled furthest: 24,393 reels, each at least 268 times its creator's followers. Relatable lines open 18% of them, against 13% of the library's viral reels. Bold claims fall from 12% to 8%.

Hook types: the furthest-travelled 10% against every viral reelThe 10% of viral reels that travelled furthest, at least 268 times their creator's followers, against the whole library. 22 October 2026.
RelatableTop 10%: 18%Every reel: 13%
Curiosity gapTop 10%: 17%Every reel: 18%
Bold claimTop 10%: 8%Every reel: 12%
QuestionTop 10%: 8%Every reel: 10%
Transformation teaseTop 10%: 6%Every reel: 6%
POVTop 10%: 6%Every reel: 4%
CalloutTop 10%: 4%Every reel: 6%
WarningTop 10%: 3%Every reel: 3%

POV hooks rise a little, from 4% to 6%, and callouts drop from 6% to 4%. How the hook is delivered barely moves: 69% of the top 10% show it as text, against 70% of all. Spoken hooks are rarer up there, at 11% against 15%. The top 10% also run a bit shorter. Hooks of 1–4 words are 15% of them, against 12% of all, while hooks of 21 words or more fall from 14% to 9%.

12 hooks that travelled a long way

These are real hooks, each from a reel that went far past its creator's following. We picked them by hand, each from a different niche, to cover the main types. Views and followers are on each. Tap a type to see only those.

Show one type of hook
  • POVText on screenPOV: WHEN YOUR HUSBAND TAKES YOU ON A GIANT WATER BALL DATE 😍🤩49M views · @archa… · 1.6K followers
  • POVText on screenPOV: When your teacher knows you're about to submit a blank exam paper28M views · @subhh… · 2.6K followers
  • Curiosity gapSpokenYep, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.21M views · @pawan… · 1.1K followers
  • Curiosity gapText on screenWhen I said my marathon went poorly I meant a dog bit me at mile 2140M views · @miles… · 3.2K followers
  • Curiosity gapText on screenThis 100 year old diner in nyc still serves Coca Cola the old fashioned way12M views · @nycme… · 1.1K followers
  • Curiosity gapText on screenMy daughter will teach you how to drive a Manual34M views · @arglx… · 2K followers
  • RelatableText on screenthe reality of motherhood146M views · @janap… · 13K followers
  • RelatableText on screenHe told us he had one quick question for the front desk..45M views · @morga… · 6K followers
  • RelatableText on screenif home was a person, it would be you.13M views · @heije… · 1.5K followers
  • Bold claimSpokenYes, I was wrong. You actually don't need to remove the engine to get the battery out.18M views · @viks.… · 1.5K followers
  • QuestionText and spokenHow do you say spider in German?12M views · @boko_… · 1K followers
  • QuestionSpokenWhoa whoa whoa, what type of meat was that?85M views · @jacob… · 9.1K followers

How long should a reel hook be?

Short. Hooks of 1–4 and 5–8 words travelled furthest, and each longer group went less far. Of the 111,822 English hooks with words, the middle one is 10 words long, and 5–8 words is the most common length, at 29%.

Hook length on viral reels111,822 English hooks with words on screen or spoken, 22 October 2026.
1–4 wordsShare: 12%Travelled: 24×
5–8 wordsShare: 29%Travelled: 22×
9–12 wordsShare: 23%Travelled: 19×
13–20 wordsShare: 23%Travelled: 16×
21+ wordsShare: 14%Travelled: 13×

With a hook of 1–4 words, the middle reel reached 24 times its creator's followers. With 5–8 words it reached 22, about level. From there it falls: 19 at 9–12 words, 16 at 13–20, and 13 past 20. Short isn't the point on its own, though. Every word has to earn its place on a screen someone is about to scroll past.

Should you say the hook or show it?

Show it. 51% of viral reels put the hook on screen as text alone, and the middle one travelled 26 times its creator's followers. A spoken hook reached 16. Text that's also spoken is the odd one out: 19% do it, and the middle one reached 13, the least of the three. A line of text works with the sound off, and it's the first thing the eye finds.

How the hook is deliveredShare of 243,930 viral reels, and how far the middle one travelled. The rest show or say no hook.
Text on screenShare: 51%Travelled: 26×
Text and spokenShare: 19%Travelled: 13×
SpokenShare: 15%Travelled: 16×

How do viral hooks start?

With "I" more often than any other word, and "POV" close behind. Of the 111,822 English hooks, 5,495 start with "I" and 5,088 with "POV". Then come "this", "the", "if" and "how". An "I" hook is someone telling you what happened to them. A "POV" hook drops you into the scene. Either way, there's a person in the first word.

  • I 5,495
  • POV 5,088
  • this 4,502
  • the 4,082
  • if 3,703
  • how 3,289
  • when 2,780
  • you 2,206
  • what 2,136
  • my 1,842
  • I'm 1,743
  • so 1,611

The first word of 111,822 English hooks on viral reels, and how many start with it.

The best hooks, niche by niche

Every niche below has its own page of hooks: the types that lead there, how far each one travelled, and real hooks to learn from. There are 189 of them, grouped by area.

Art & Design

Beauty & Makeup

Business & Entrepreneurship

Cars & Automotive

Comedy & Entertainment

Education & Study

Fashion & Style

Fitness

Food & Recipes

Gaming

Health & Wellness

Home & Interior Design

Home Services & Trades

Lifestyle

Motivation & Mindset

Music

Parenting & Family

Personal Finance

Pets & Animals

Photography

Real Estate

Relationships & Dating

Sports

Technology

Travel

Questions people ask

What is the best hook for an Instagram reel?

No single line wins, but POV and relatable hooks travelled furthest in Aubrium's library: the middle ones reached 32 and 30 times their creator's followers. Curiosity gaps are the most common, on 18% of viral reels.

How long should a reel hook be?

In Aubrium's library, the middle hook on a viral reel is 10 words. Hooks of 1–4 and 5–8 words travelled furthest, at 24 and 22 times the creator's followers for the middle one, and hooks over 20 words reached 13 times.

Is it better to say the hook or show it as text?

Show it. In Aubrium's library, 51% of viral reels put the hook on screen as text alone, and the middle one travelled 26 times its creator's followers, against 16 for a spoken hook.

Do reels need a hook at all?

Not always. 19% of the viral reels in Aubrium's library open with no hook of any type and go straight into the content.

What words do viral hooks start with?

Most often "I" and "POV". Of 111,822 English hooks on the viral reels in Aubrium's library, 5,495 start with "I" and 5,088 with "POV", ahead of "this", "the" and "if".

How we did this

We looked at every reel in Aubrium's library on 22 October 2026: 243,930 viral reels from 181,995 creators with 1,000 to 100,000 followers, each of which reached at least twice its creator's follower count and at least 10,000 views, counted once each. A reel belongs to every niche it's filed in, so the niches add up to more than the library.

Format, faces, text, sound and hook types are labels Aubrium's reader puts on every post. Every number here describes reels that already went viral, so none of it is the odds for a new one.

Changelog

  • First version.
hooksreelsinstagramdata

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