Hook rate (3-second view rate)
Hook rate is the percentage of impressions that watch past the first 3 seconds (3-second views ÷ impressions). It's a fast, platform-agnostic predictor of whether a creative will scale. A healthy benchmark for short-form ads is roughly a 30%+ 3-second hook rate.
Because the hook decides everything downstream, optimising hook rate first is the cheapest way to improve a whole account. Test hooks in isolation before testing bodies or CTAs.
Sources & further reading
External sources are independent third parties cited for reference; links open in a new tab.
Mara has spent a decade building UGC and paid-social programs for DTC and app brands — shipping thousands of short-form creatives and obsessing over hook rates. She writes about what's actually working in AI-assisted content.