The Socialize Podcast

Helen: 00:00

Welcome to the socialized strategy. Happy Friday. I hope you had a great week. In full transparency, I'm recording this ahead of time because I am shooting this week. So I will be on a location and a set type thing on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week.

Helen: 00:15

So when you're hearing this, I am in my full last day of the shoot in full production mode. But the good news is this past week, we put in a thing in the newsletter which said submit questions and you guys came for it. And I'm so so happy that we got some questions to answer because my favorite thing is being here to serve you and your questions and the things that are that have you keeping you awake at night maybe on social media. But hopefully, they're not keeping you awake at night. But sometimes little things can keep you awake at night when you start thinking about them.

Helen: 00:48

So I'm here to answer as much as possible. So first, I'm gonna say that if you have questions, please submit them in the newsletter. Secondly, I'm going to answer them at the beginning of the Friday episode. This way, if you read the newsletter and you don't feel like listening to the whole podcast to hear the questions, you can hop in, listen to the answers to the questions and then decide if you wanna stay for the rest of the content. And I know you're gonna wanna stay today because we're gonna talk about hooks and how to use hooks effectively in your content.

Helen: 01:17

And a lot of people talk about it and they say, oh, you know, it's overrated. And, you know, hooks or you have to have hooks or 1 it's either like you're on the train of hooks or you're on the train of that sounds too canned. And so I'm gonna address all of those things in this episode as well. So we're gonna cover a lot. It might be a little longer than the usual 15, 20 minutes, but I'm gonna try and be efficient.

Helen: 01:39

But I will say the reason I like to do the podcast is I can give you more information than I can in the newsletter. So stay with me. And let me start by saying, Lorraine, thank you for calling me and asking me some specific questions this week, which happened to be during the week when I was taking questions. And so because Lorraine is so, she's a loyal listener, she's one of my favorite friends from TikTok that I've met on I think I met her on Instagram though technically. So we're more Instagram friends.

Helen: 02:05

I shouldn't say TikTok. But she's really one of my favorite social media buddies that I've met through the years. And and now we're friends in real life. And one of these days, I'm gonna give her a real hug in person. I just know it.

Helen: 02:15

The day will come. But she actually contacted me because she had a really interesting thing happen, and I think it's worth talking about. She during the she lives in Sarasota, Florida. So during the hurricane, she had a tree come through her house, like the top of a tree. So the roots, 2 roots of a tree came diving into her house, and they looked like legs in her one of her kid's bedroom.

Helen: 02:37

And of course, she was not there, thankfully, so she was safe. But when she went back to see the house, just as we are very similar in this way with dark humor, even though it was maybe upsetting to see that happen to to her house, she really made had some fun with it. And she put boots on the tree, and she danced around the branches. I mean, literally, she is my spirit animal when it comes to this type of thing. Because you would think, oh my gosh, how can you make a joke about cancer?

Helen: 03:03

Or how can you make a joke about this when you're going through something that's really traumatic? But that is, I think, how we cope, and we find humor in these things and realize that the good news is we're okay. Like, they they were okay. Their house is a material thing. It happened.

Helen: 03:20

And I love that about her. So we are we are definitely similar in that way. So I really appreciated it when I saw her posting and dancing around the tree branches in her house. In the meantime, she decided to make content, of course, and as a content creator. And she posted.

Helen: 03:35

And she posted a video to TikTok and Instagram, and it went crazy viral to the point of 8,000,000 views. 8,000,000 plus views. Insane. Congrats, by the way, Lorraine. And what we've learned, and she knows this because I've talked about this on many a podcast, is that viral video does not necessarily equal a millions of followers coming your way.

Helen: 03:57

It really depends on the type of video that it is that goes viral. So let me explain a little bit more on that before I get to her first question. But the quest the point is when you have a viral video that is very re very related to what your page is about and that and so it's viral and then you suddenly find your tribe. So let's say you do something relatable and it has to do with being a gen x or in some generation and other people in your generation really find it relatable. Then they decide they wanna follow along for more of your humor or more of your insights.

Helen: 04:33

It's more likely to prompt a follow. The same thing goes for, let's say, a story or a drama that's happening. Let's look at Katie, the creator with the rug in her backyard that was buried. People wanna follow because they wanna stay on the story and get the updates. So that viral type of video would then prompt a follow.

Helen: 04:53

Something like an, mishap on a hurricane, like a tree coming through a house. There's probably not a propensity for people to follow because it's not a story that needs a follow-up. Like, nobody's really gonna care. Did the tree did they get the tree out of the house or whatever? There's no story attached to it that would prompt a follow.

Helen: 05:12

And it also didn't the video itself didn't necessarily speak to Lorraine's niche and what she does on social media necessarily. She might have picked up some followers, but she might but she likely wouldn't have picked up 1,000 because it wasn't a, a type of content that would prompt a follow. I think this is really important to understand because people just want a viral video. And it doesn't it's great to have viral video, but it's not necessarily gonna equal followers if it's not related to something that you are then able to follow-up with viewers to keep them engaged. Okay.

Helen: 05:47

So that's that point. So now we start with her first question. She had 2 a double question, and then I have questions from other people as well. So her question was, now that I have this viral video, what is the best strategy for posting follow-up videos related to it? And she mentioned that she went on TikTok and she did a follow-up related to it?

Helen: 06:01

And she mentioned that she went on TikTok, and she did a follow-up video. And she asked, is it different on Instagram? And how she doesn't this is a really good point, and I love this point that she said she doesn't wanna annoy her followers by posting multiple videos about the same topic. So that is very insightful, and that speaks to the type of audience she has on her Instagram feed. That's where she knows that there are people that are seeing her content every day.

Helen: 06:29

She has loyal followers that are very engaged. And if she's posting something random, but it's the same version of the something random again and again, she feels that she may annoy them because she's gonna they're gonna see her content over and over. And that's a very valid point. And it's a really good reason why I don't on TikTok post so many videos in a day. I don't wanna I wanted I'm conscious of the same thing.

Helen: 06:51

I have a following over there that sticks, stays with me, and are consistently in my comment section. So I know they're either coming to my page or they're getting my videos in their feed, and I don't wanna annoy those people. So let me now answer the questions. The strategy for posting a follow-up, especially on TikTok for a viral video is to look at the comments, grab some questions and do them as responses. So post replies.

Helen: 07:18

Post your follow-up videos as replies to comment videos. So tap the comment, click reply with video, and then post your follow-up video. It will help you get traction because it will keep firing people back to that original viral video. So it keeps that one going, and it also connects it in the algorithm. So the algorithm knows, oh, this is attached to a video that already got mega mega views.

Helen: 07:41

Let's keep feeding it out. Alright. So there's that. On Instagram, however, you may not wanna post follow-up, follow-up, follow-up if you don't wanna attack your followers with so much content about something that's not necessarily in your niche. If it's in the niche, then I would say keep following up with the videos.

Helen: 07:58

No problem. But this is was more of a random thing that happened during the hurricane, so it's not the same type of thing. So my suggestion to her, which she ran with, by the way, thank you, is make a montage of the different videos that you created. Maybe she posted them individually on TikTok with different sounds, but on Instagram, make a montage and pick a sound that fits to send that out to the following. So that this way, they're seeing all the little clips, and she did a country dance, and she did a spooky dance, and she did what all the dances she did with the legs coming through the roof with the branches coming through the roof.

Helen: 08:33

She did a bunch she did it more of a montage video. So that's a really really good lesson to be learned from having a viral video. And just for me to be able to share some insight that I wouldn't have the opportunity to share because it's specific. However, it probably applies for a lot of people who maybe have had a viral video. The next question.

Helen: 08:53

This is really good because it's actually related to the first question even though this came from someone else. Is it better to use a viral sound on a video or is it better to use something that fits the content? So funny enough, I was saying the same thing to Lorraine. We were talking about, like, what sound could she use on Instagram to make this montage? And is it better for her to pick a viral sound or something that's funny and fits the video?

Helen: 09:16

For example, when she's dancing with this branch legs, I suggested, like, we are family or somebody's watching you. But those are not trending sounds. So then, in her case, that would have been okay because she probably has enough followers where they would have seen it and been amused by it and maybe enjoyed it and helped it go get some traction. But if she really wanted to focus more on getting views on it and running with it in a way of use then using a trending sound is a good strategy. So then I suggested may maybe blame it on the rain, which happens to be trending.

Helen: 09:50

Right now, it's trending on TikTok, which means it'll soon be trending probably on Instagram. So that's the story. I have linked those videos in the newsletter, and I'll link them here in the show notes because I just want you to see the evolution of what happened for Lorraine, which is a very good learning experience for everyone to enjoy. And I should mention Lorraine has a big following on Instagram, but her TikTok following is smaller. So this 8,000,000 video was really, really good and awesome for her to have on TikTok because that's not her big platform.

Helen: 10:18

So it kind of woke up the the algorithm over there for her. So, hopefully, that's gonna cause some additional traction. So good luck, Lorraine. Happy to hear from you always. Alright.

Helen: 10:28

Now onto an 2 more questions before I get into the topic for today. I'm sorry, but we're going for the questions today. What is the best way to share links on TikTok and Instagram? My suggestion is to think about these platform specific because Instagram is so much more user friendly when it comes to links because you can put them right on the story. And I always say for any type of sales or service or offer that you're having, the shortest distance between the viewer and the link is the best course of action.

Helen: 10:58

So when you it's that's why it's challenging to have people do go to the link in my bio. Then you have to figure out people. Do they know what the link in the bio means? Do they know how to get to the bio? Believe it or not, a lot of people don't.

Helen: 11:09

So that's why it's really frustrating, and that's why TikTok shop does so well. Because the minute somebody posts something, shares something, boom, the link's right on the video. Unfortunately, TikTok doesn't allow any other links to be added on videos, it seems, at least to me. So if you know otherwise, please let me know. But it looks like you can't.

Helen: 11:27

Even on a story, you can't add a link. So it's frustrating. So I always suggest think of the shortest distance for your viewer, and oftentimes, I'll just put my website right on the video. I'll embed it in capcuttelosocialize.com with a capital h, capital s. So it's readable quick, and all of my stuff is there.

Helen: 11:46

And that is my solution to it because I think by the time I get someone to go to the link and then click and then find, I'm better off getting them to one place where I know all my things are. So on Instagram, I actually do recommend use the link in the story. Use your story. Story, story, stories on Instagram really are where your most engaged followers are gonna see you. So, put the links.

Helen: 12:10

Learn how to do it. If you don't know how, I'll put the tutorial in here. Make sure you know how to add a link to your story and make sure you type a title for the link. So, it's not the default title. Like, click here for blah.

Helen: 12:24

Very obvious. Tap. Tell people what to do. They don't always know. Last question for today.

Helen: 12:30

Should I be worried when a suspicious account adds my video to favorites and how can I prevent it? A sus account adding your video to favorites. Okay. First of all, I don't know how you can keep up with this as your account starts to grow. I've had to let it go.

Helen: 12:46

I mean, I can't keep up with who's adding my videos to favorites, But if you are a creator who still is of the size where you can see that and you can tap and see who added it to favorites, I'm I would probably question when people who are other gurus are adding my things to favorites. Are they gonna remake my videos? Oh, well. I mean, this is part of life. We get inspired by things.

Helen: 13:07

We see things, and a lot of people don't necessarily credit the creator where they learn things. It it's just a reality of social media. But if you have account that you think is suspicious, looks like a bot account, why is it saving? You can tap and then block that account if it bothers you, or you can just set make a note. You're gonna keep an eye on it and you're gonna keep watching that person's account and see why it might maybe why they saved it to favorites.

Helen: 13:32

But I will tell you this, often saving to favorites is the way people save a sound. So they might just hear a sound on your video, a piece of music, and go, oh, I wanna use this music, and they don't know that they can just tap on the music and add it to the favorites. So they add your video to favorites. And that happens on I have a very viral video of a head spinning thing that has been added to favorites by thousands of people because they wanted the sound. And then I'll see this video is posted using a sound inspired by you.

Helen: 14:00

So I will actually get an alert for that too. So there's very funny things happening where you might think a person's saving it to favorites for a suspicious reason. And maybe it's a very simple reason. Like, they just wanna save the sound and this is the only way they know how to do it. Alright.

Helen: 14:15

Those are the questions for today. Let us hop into the topic 14 minutes later. But, hey. This is what it is. We're gonna power through and I'm gonna talk about hooks.

Helen: 14:23

And I want and I am gonna be talking about this for a bit because I want to add to what I shared in the newsletter today. Because Julie wrote it out so neatly and so cleanly. And then sometimes I want to elaborate on some of the things. So the first type of hook let's talk about hooks in general. People, like, think, oh, her hook's overrated.

Helen: 14:42

The the fact is if you can hook someone in the first three seconds, that is a good thing on social media. So don't sneeze at the hooks or look down on them. Whatever it is, even if it seems like it's not a hook, it could have hooked you in. So let's really just embrace that. The whole mission on social media is to keep someone on your content and to quote hook them in.

Helen: 15:05

So that's why hooks are important even though maybe we think the word has been overused. Okay. So, now I'm gonna overuse it today because I think we need to talk about it in-depth. Verbal hooks. So, these are they, you know, they can feel very canned.

Helen: 15:20

They can feel very overused, but they work. And that's why they're canned and overused because people are using them. Having a great verbal hook is good because it tells your viewer exactly what to expect or it keeps them waiting for what they need to what you're gonna deliver. And we listed a bunch of examples in the newsletter. Let's look at a couple just for an example.

Helen: 15:41

Here's one thing nobody tells you about blank. So this is a great one because you're gonna grab your listener. They're gonna at least wait till you'd say what the thing is. And then you might lose them if you don't keep their interest. But at least, maybe those first three seconds, you've kept them around.

Helen: 15:57

Three reasons why you need to try x. Whatever x is. A product, a cervix, a a service. A cervix, a product, or a service, or a restaurant, or a coffee shop, whatever it is. You can hook someone in with something simple like that with and then three reasons and put them on the screen.

Helen: 16:16

So a lot of these videos get tired because I think social media has done them over and over again, but sadly, they work even if they're tired, they work. So now let me tell you, take this to another level. It's the way you do it. If you're just there with a monotone voice, here's three reasons why you can, blah, blah, blah. Okay.

Helen: 16:37

Is anybody sticking around like, but but for that, no, not necessarily. It's your energy that keeps people sticking around. So get a little fire in your step, light a little light in your eyes, get a little smile on your face or concern if it's something concerning. And I'm not saying act, but I'm saying put yourself a little more into your content versus just delivering it. Because just delivering it, you're competing with a lot of people just delivering very similar content.

Helen: 17:06

And how are you gonna stand out? That leads me to the next thing, which is the nonverbal hook. How are you gonna stand out? And now there's so many nonverbal type of hook things that can keep people interested. This could go on for days.

Helen: 17:21

I could really talk about this for, like, literally an hour, but it's more strategic and more subliminal. And it can be so many things. So some examples are in the newsletter, but I am here to tell you something as simple as having your hair sticking up by mistake like this. That could be a nonverbal hook because people might comment on that. I one time had a thing where I had something on my shirt, and it was like, who else couldn't hear anything because she had the thing on her shirt, whatever the heck it was.

Helen: 17:53

I can't even remember because it was early in my my TikTok journey where I had something that was amiss and then, like, everybody was obsessing on it. So even things that are ridiculous could be a nonverbal hook. It could be something you have in the background that's distracting people. You could be put something up there that people are reading, and then they're they're like, was that was was I the only one who was as distracted by the such and such? When I'm at the my other location and I have the wood art back there, a lot of times I get, was I the only one who all who was only just looking at the art the whole time?

Helen: 18:24

So nonverbal hooks are not just doing things, which I'm gonna read a couple of from a list, but it can also be something you have in your scene. I have noticed and this is like I know these aren't hooks, but these are like tricks that can be considered hooks. But I have noticed people purposely spelling a word wrong in their texts. And this is not me and Julie accidentally spelling our text wrong on the scene because we do it by accident a lot of times. This is like somebody clearly purposely spelled the word ridiculous with an e, re ridiculous, because they want.

Helen: 18:58

I remember seeing it going, oh my god. Reaching for the hook, you know, or reaching for the engagement because it's so obviously not an accidental misspelling. So if you're gonna do that type of thing as a strategy, use an example of a time where you did it by accident because that's a better strategy than trying to purposely respell a word. There's a creator. I even forget who she is now, but she would purposely do the most ridiculous things, like use a word in the wrong either pronounce a word wrong or use oh my god.

Helen: 19:32

I wish I could think of who she is now. It was early in my TikTok experience where she would purposely her whole account was based on her spoofing on things. And so and people in the comments thought it was serious. They'd be like, oh my god. This girl doesn't even know such and such.

Helen: 19:45

Like, she's so stupid. Blah blah blah blah. But that was her whole gimmick was, like, how ridiculous she might say something and then get called out for it. So you can use those types of strategies. They are, like, they're not exactly hooks for the first three seconds, but they could be.

Helen: 20:00

Like, literally, if my hair's, like like, stuck up there, someone's gonna stick around long enough because they're gonna be staring at it, and then they're gonna need to say something. I can't even make it stick up now. But, anyway, you get my point. So other examples which are easier nonverbal hooks would be walking in, walking with the camera while talking, or walking into your shot, setting up your tripod as you start talking. So it's like, oh my god.

Helen: 20:23

I had this idea, and you're making as if it was just a last minute idea that came into your head. Doing something like sipping tea, fixing your hair, putting on lip gloss while you're while you're starting your video, taking off your coat. Oh, I found my jean jacket in the closet, and I decided to pull out the jean jacket. I haven't worn it in years. I didn't even know I had a jean jacket.

Helen: 20:42

I was cleaning out in the back of my closet. So here I am. But so taking off a jacket, putting on a jacket, something like that. It could be just as simple as just whipping off your sunglasses as you're about to start. If you're outside, just whip off the sunglasses.

Helen: 20:54

Or as if you just came in, I did that once where I took the sunglasses off as I came to my camera. Eating and drinking something, pouring a coffee, doing a simple transition. Like, you could literally start off with guess what? And do a swipe transition. Oops.

Helen: 21:09

Let's knock my camera over. And do a swipe transition and have the rest of your topic. I might have to try that actually. I haven't done something so blatant like that, But it could simply be, guess what? Poop.

Helen: 21:19

And you're in a different place, and you've hooked your viewer in. So simple things like that are more nonverbal than verbal. I mean, transitions, especially, are nonverbal, And all of the things that you do while you're talking. So then you can be not even using a hook in your language. You can just be using a hook in your in your actions.

Helen: 21:39

Alright? Now, how to use verbal hooks effectively? Let's just go back to verbal. We're switching back and forth here. But to to be effective, don't use it all the same time.

Helen: 21:48

Don't use the same hook every time. And I am guilty of, here's how to do the blah blah blah. Whenever I'm doing a tutorial, here's how you do blah blah blah. Here, I mean, that's what I do. That's my mantra.

Helen: 21:57

So I try really hard not to do that every time. And I I know that it's not a concern for me because I always say if someone's scrolling through all the videos on your page, if they come to your page and then they scroll, scroll, scroll. You don't want it to always be like, hi, guys. Hi, guys. Hi, guys.

Helen: 22:11

I don't want mine to be here's how to here's how to here's how to so I do try to be conscious of how I'm starting off my videos. If you wanna know how to blah blah blah or if you saw this trend and you wanna know how to do it, I try to change it up because I like to be direct into the point, which is one of the comments I get most often about my content is that I am I don't waste time and I get right to the point. And I so appreciate that comment because I know that that's my skill set, and I do it on purpose. I don't beat around the bush. Here's what we're doing today.

Helen: 22:40

Boom. And I I tell you. So I really appreciate that, and I try hard to be consistent about changing my hook, but also making sure that I'm getting right to the point of my videos. Cause I think it's important for what I do on my tutorials that I continue to do that. The other thing I will say is don't get discouraged if a hook doesn't work.

Helen: 23:01

You could change up the material. You could try the same material with a different hook. You know what you can do, which now this is an idea that I'm thinking of for myself now is oh, my goodness. Recording a few different hooks for the same video and then editing it and having alternate openings. You know, it's so basic.

Helen: 23:19

We do this I do this in my commercial life. Why do I have I never thought to do this with my content? I don't know. But having a bunch of alternate hooks, and then if the content doesn't perform well with the first hook, send it out with the second hook. Send it out with the 3rd hook.

Helen: 23:33

Like, nobody cares if you're posting videos again because they're not always seeing all of them. And if your loyal followers are seeing all of them, they'll probably get a kick out of it because they'll think she's lost her mind, and he will forgive you. But I do think that's a a good plan, actually. I might have to try that now coming up. Maybe I'll do a test where I'm gonna experiment with a different opening on the same video.

Helen: 23:56

Oh my god. She just gave me a great idea. Okay. Lastly, is I'm gonna start to wrap it up now because I'm going on too long today. But lastly is to challenge yourself by going back to a video that maybe didn't do well.

Helen: 24:09

Listen to the whole thing and think what line could I change in this and start with? And then this and make it a different make it start different. So if you have a video where you started with something, and then in the middle, you said, and that's how I ended up in the in this building. Start with, and that's how I ended up in this building, and then backtrack the story, and see if that does better. Because a lot of times, if you start with think about it if you're watching a movie.

Helen: 24:38

You know, when those move there's a few movies that have done this technique where they start with and here's the story of how I ended up locked out on a roof in Vegas to coin a phrase from a movie. But it starts with, how did this guy get locked out and end up with a sunburn without a shirt on with a bed on the roof in Vegas, if you remember the movie. I forgot the name of it, but you know the one. It's like some bachelor weekend or something. Maybe it's called I don't know.

Helen: 25:10

I'm gonna have to look it up. I should stop right now and look it up. Hold on. But it was called The Hangover. So that movie, it I think, at least in my mind, it started with the end where it started where he was locked out on the roof.

Helen: 25:22

Maybe I'm making that up. But think about that as a strategy. If you start with the end of your story and then you post the story. And if you're gonna do that, here is a bonus tip. Make it a loop.

Helen: 25:35

Don't let the video end because your ending is at the beginning. And that is how you can create a loop video which is the primo way to get engagement because when if you can get people to watch it and go around again and watch it for a second time, edit engagement. This is so so good. So use that as a strategy. Go look at one of your old videos and do it as a test.

Helen: 25:58

Do it as a challenge. Oh, my goodness. I'm so excited because upcoming when we have things coming that we're gonna be talking about soon that I'm gonna explain. But we are gonna be doing challenges and it's gonna be like, do this is a very specific challenge that you can do. And I think I'm gonna challenge myself.

Helen: 26:16

When I do the challenges and help other people with the challenges, I am also gonna do the challenges myself because I think that's how we all learn and get better. That was fun. Anyway, I hope everybody who did have to deal with the hurricane in the Florida zone is safe. And I hope you you know, I know the the few friends that I know down there that have had to go leave their homes. And Denise from In Your Face Skin Care, I saw a post about her leaving and then now being back, getting her office back together.

Helen: 26:44

I, obviously, Lorraine, I know that you've had to leave and come back. So our thoughts were with everybody who went through that. It's so tough. And when you're in it, you're in it. That's all you can say.

Helen: 26:55

You're just trying to get through it one day at a time. So wherever you are, hopefully, you're enjoying today a gorgeous day and now upcoming joyful weekend. At least find some joy in it. If you have chores that you have to do, see if you can find some time to make one little piece of fun content to give yourself joy. Have a good one.

Helen: 27:15

See you next week.