Quick answer · Yap & Done study
What emotions make a TikTok hook work?
Wanting something. Openings that make viewers want a result got +23% views and +27% shares against the same creator's other videos, and curiosity got +15%. Openings with no feeling in particular got -22%, and frustration -18%.
+23%views for openings that make viewers want a result
The numbers
What we found
- Relief ("it's not your fault") didn't add views but got +15% shares.
- Worry or fear got +9% views; "finally someone said it" got -7%.
- 20% of openings had no feeling in particular, the most common kind after curiosity.
Views by the feeling the opening goes for
Against the same creator's other videos.
How we know: Gemini read the headline and first words of 10,799 TikToks from 777 creators in 10 advice niches, picked without looking at how they did. Each video's views are compared with the same creator's other videos.
Read the full study: The first words of a TikTok: which openings get more views?
FAQ
Related questions
Do angry or frustrated hooks work?
Not for views here: frustration openings got -18% against the same creator's other videos.
Cite it
Yap & Done (2026). What emotions make a TikTok hook work? 10,799 TikToks from 777 creators in 10 advice niches, picked without looking at how they did. Each video's views are compared with the same creator's other videos.best-emotions-for-tiktok-hooks/