94: Hook Your Ideal Client in 2 Seconds (Instagram Growth Secrets)
Most people lose their ideal audience in the first two seconds of a video. That tiny moment determines whether someone keeps scrolling or thinks this message is for me. If your content feels ignored or flat, the issue usually starts with your hook.
If you want stronger engagement, better watch time, and more qualified leads from your content, this episode gives you the exact tools to make that shift.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
[00:00] Why the first two seconds decide whether your content works
[00:29] The reason hooks fall flat and how to fix them
[01:32] Why hook creation is a learnable skill
[02:28] How clarity and brevity help your message land
[03:49] The three hook strategies I teach inside Hot Reels
[04:44] What happens when creators use powerful hooks
[05:39] How small weekly upgrades compound into major results
[07:05] Real client wins that show what is possible
[08:59] Why attention leads to conversions
[09:29] How to write hooks that speak to your ideal clients
[12:15] How to remove filler words and sharpen your messaging
[13:41] Examples of hooks that activate the right audience
[14:39] How to use your audience’s language when you write hooks
[17:30] How to use client conversations to find better hook ideas
[18:55] A simple hook structure anyone can follow
[19:51] How pacing and editing keep viewers engaged
[21:46] How movement, cuts, and angles strengthen your videos
[22:17] Why implementation drives results more than information
Key Takeaways:
You have two seconds to earn someone’s attention on Instagram.
Clear and brief hooks outperform long and complicated statements.
Your content resonates when you use the words your audience uses.
Strong pacing and simple edits help people stay with your message.
Small upgrades each week create major results over time.
Support and mentorship remove guesswork and speed up growth.
Links Mentioned:
Join the Hot Reels waitlist or DM me hot on Instagram
Read Dani’s Story: How She Made $100K from Instagram in Under 12 Months (A Hot Reels Success Story)
A Truth You Need to Hear:
“The first two seconds decide everything. If people do not stop, they do not watch, and they cannot buy.” — Elizabeth Marberry
S3 Ep94 Transcript: Hook Your Ideal Client in 2 Seconds (Instagram Growth Secrets)
00:00
What if I told you that the difference between content that gets ignored and content that converts comes down to just two seconds? Two seconds! That's how long you have to stop someone mid-scroll and make them think, wait, this is for me. Most creators and business owners are losing their ideal clients in those first two seconds without even realizing it. They're using hooks that are too long, too complicated, or sound like everyone else. But when you nail those first two seconds, everything changes.
00:29
Your content gets watched, your audience grows, people actually respond, engage and buy. So in today's episode, I'm breaking down exactly how to hook people in our two second world with three simple strategies you can start using immediately. If you're tired of posting content that gets ignored, this episode is for you. Let's do it.
00:54
Welcome to Strut It, a podcast about creating bold visibility on social media with zero apologies. I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host and Instagram marketing coach. I help small business owners get seen on Instagram and monetize their offers so they can make more money doing their sole lead work. If you're tired of spinning your wheels on Instagram and you're seeking simple, proven Instagram marketing strategies that actually work, you're in the right place.
01:23
Let's dive in.
01:32
Welcome back to the show. Thank you for sharing your precious time and energy with me today. My intention is to make this episode short, sweet, and super powerful so you can walk away knowing exactly how to capture attention in this two-second world that we're living in on social media, which is kind of crazy. But the good news is that hooking attention, capturing attention,
01:59
is a skill that you can learn. It's not that we all were born knowing how to do this, and it's just like anything else. Like a dancer would have to start with a simple step tap, and then once they understood the rhythm of that, they can add a box step or another step that would be a little bit more complicated. The same is true for content creation. I'm so glad you decided to listen to today's episode because
02:28
If you do not understand how to hook and capture attention with your content on Instagram or any of your content, wherever you're deciding to show up, your message won't be seen, right? You won't be able to reach your ideal people if no one is paying attention. I always say people can't buy from you if they don't know you exist. While there are many different aspects in developing really effective scroll stopping content, investing in the skill of learning how to hook
02:58
people and capture attention is a skill that can carry over into all of the ways that you market and sell your business. Not just on Instagram, like think about your emails you send, your subject line is a hook. Or if you were to purchase a billboard in your town and you had five words to put on that billboard, that is a hook.
03:21
I am such a geek when I go to the library, I am looking at the ads that pop up and I'm analyzing them from a marketing perspective. But some of them are so brilliant with how they hook you, not just visually with the pictures, but with the words on the screen. I recently taught a full training on hooks inside of Hot Reels, my 12 month Instagram content lab. But today I wanted to give you three simple things you can start using immediately.
03:49
that will make your content so much stronger. Before we kick it off, I wanna say I am so pumped because when this episode drops on December 8th of 2025, that means the doors to Hot Reels, my 12 month Instagram content lab are officially open. We opened them up to the wait list today. So if you're not on the wait list, you could still hop on there. But if you're not listening on December 8th, don't stress.
04:17
If you go to Elizabethmarberry.com slash hot, that's Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y.com slash hot, H-O-T, you will always see the most up-to-date information. So whether we're building VIP wait list or the doors are open, you can get all the goods there. But for this week of December 8th, the doors are open and we only have five spots available this round. I keep this group.
04:44
very intimate. So I do not take more than 20 business owners at a time inside of this group. This container is really where I help you to grow your audience and your following, sharpen your messaging so it really resonates with your ideal clients and customers. I help you feel confident on camera and create content that brings real people into your world who would actually want to buy your products or services.
05:12
And what's really fun about our group is that I am giving you a live mentorship, not just in our twice a month live group coaching calls, which are so epic, not only because of the real time trainings I'm bringing in so you know exactly what's working for businesses on Instagram right now, but also you get that personalized coaching with me. You get my eyes on your business. You can ask me anything and wait, there's more.
05:39
Inside of our private community group, you have access to me Monday through Thursday where you can share up to two pieces of content and get my direct feedback on your content. And that is the magic of this program is it's not a course. It's not something that you watch and you learn and you have to go try to figure out and implement on your own. You are learning, you are implementing, and I am walking alongside you as you implement. And what's really cool is that you make those one
06:09
to 5 % upgrades to your content every week. And that's why in three months, six months, 12 months, your business looks completely different is that you are finally able to show up consistently. You're finally able to understand all of the key elements of what makes scroll stopping content. And then once you figure that out, how does this content actually correlate to my marketing and sales funnel? How does it connect?
06:39
These pieces are so important and I love our community. I could go on and on about it, but I also want to just highlight that the group is so supportive. So it's not just me being your cheerleader. You're in a room with other small business owners and creative entrepreneurs who are working toward the same goal. They have the same struggles and it's so incredible because you feel so much less alone as you walk this path of entrepreneurship and business growth.
07:05
marketing and sales and really going after your big vision and goals. This week in our group, we had a couple wins. Krista, who is a chronic pain movement specialist and coach, she used one of my post prompts that I shared in our group and ended up booking a sales call that landed her a private client. The investment from that one client covered her entire year inside of Hot Reels. I mean, talk about ROI.
07:32
Amber, who is a burnout recovery coach, sent me a message saying that she had two people sign up for her master class directly from her Instagram stories using the DM automation strategy I taught her. And she was like, oh my gosh, Elizabeth, it's working. And there are so many more wins. If you have been listening to the podcast, you heard Danny's story last week. She has added over $100,000 in revenue to her business thanks to everything she learned and implemented inside of Hot Reels.
08:02
This program is fire and I would love for you to check it out. So go to Elizabethmarbury.com slash hot or make sure you're following me on Instagram at Elizabeth Marberry M A R B E R R Y. And you can DM me the keyword hot H O T and my robot assistant will send you all the deeds. I would love to support you. And if you have questions, don't be shy. I'm not a coach and mentor that you can't talk to.
08:31
Literally send me a direct message on Instagram. I love voice notes. If you're into that, do it. Or just send me a text message, ask me questions. Happy to get into conversation with you to ensure that this is the right investment for you in your business. So don't be shy, reach out and I can't wait to connect with you in the DMs. Okay, so let's get into this conversation about how to actually hook people with your content in this two second world.
08:59
because if they don't stop their scroll, they don't watch. And if they don't watch, they're not joining your world or buying your offers, products or services. So this is so important. Let's get into the three simple things you can start using immediately that will make your content so much stronger. The first point is clarity and brevity. Most people lose the viewer in the first second because their hook is too long or
09:29
too wordy or too complicated. Your hook should be quick to read, easy to understand, and instantly relevant in my brain. Because if I can't just quickly glance at it and understand what you are saying, I'm gonna keep scrolling, okay? So a good rule of thumb is seven words or less. Now, if you've been listening to the podcast, you know I hate rules.
09:57
Like I'm the person who's like, tell me a rule and I'm gonna go show you that I don't need to follow this rule and I can make my own rules, okay? But in general, seven words or less is an appropriate amount of words on the screen. Let's be honest, not many of us think in these terms of brevity. When we're writing out our hooks, we're writing it as if I'm sitting at a coffee shop talking to you, which is probably pretty long-winded and detailed, right?
10:27
So what I like to do with my hooks is I write them in the way that I think, which inevitably is pretty long and wordy and maybe not as succinct or clear. And then what I do is I look at all the filler words and I ask myself, what filler words are completely unnecessary? Are there any words in here that I could change to make them more activating and really stand out?
10:54
So one of my clients inside of Hot Reels is a copywriter, ghostwriter, and book coach. She had done a hook on the screen that said POV when you sell 100 books per month, which is short, right? Like that's the seven words or less. But when you just hear me say that, like point of view, when you sell 100 books,
11:21
per month and she's kind of showing that she's excited in the video. I still don't get the context of it because I don't know if 100 bucks per month is good. Is it bad? Is it above average? Like it's not a nugget of information that is clear enough for me. And so the feedback that I gave to her is that
11:46
She is the expert, so she knows that selling 100 bucks in a month is bananas and an epic result. But me, as her ideal client who wants to write a book but has no idea of what would be a good number of books sold, that hook might not be meaningful to me and would not stop my scroll. I would not be called to read that. Now, I said, try to create content that speaks to the first chapter that your ideal client is in. Because remember,
12:15
With Reels, yes, some of your followers are gonna see your Reels. Of course, we want them to see them and that will help to nurture and drive conversions with the people who already know you, that warm to hot audience. But Reels are so powerful in terms of growing your audience, right? If you wanna grow your following and get your business seen in front of more of your ideal clients or customers. So when you're thinking about creating content for that cold audience, you wanna think about
12:44
a really clear hook that is going to speak to where they're at, even if they don't know you or have any context of who you are or why they should listen to you. So some hook ideas I gave her to play with was writing your book means being seen, and that's the scariest part. Or hard truth, you can't leave your legacy if it stays in your head. Or
13:11
You don't need more time to finally write your book, dot, dot, a little over seven words. You need a safe space to begin would be like the next text box that pops up. So you can kind of get a feel for the words that I'm choosing, the messaging that I'm choosing would activate her ideal clients versus her previous hook was unclear. Here's another example of a more clear and brief hook that would be more compelling.
13:41
Instead of saying, here are five things you should consider if you're trying to book more weddings in 2026, you could say, why your 2026 bookings feel slow? And then you could share the answer in the caption, right? You could share some tips as to why their bookings are down and what they can do to improve them. So you can see how
14:09
that went from a very long sentence to a very compelling six word hook that would stop the scroll and really speak directly to the pain point of their ideal client. Point number two, use the words your people actually use. This second piece is something that changes everything. When you can describe the problem or the struggle or the desire
14:39
the want, the needs that your ideal customers or clients use, your content is going to stop the scroll and resonate with the right people. Most creators who are, of course, business owners who are not full-time content creators and they're just trying to promote their business and get the word out, we kind of fall into this corporate speak or expert speak without realizing it. But your clients are not walking around saying things like,
15:09
I want better client acquisition at my dance studio. They're saying, how can I increase my sales in 2026 at my dance studio? So we need to use the words that our ideal clients would use to describe their problem. And when you use their language, your content really hits like you're reading their mind, and that's what stops the scroll.
15:37
And that's when I know I found a really good hook is when people literally comment and be like, this is me. When I write my hooks, I'm writing as if I am my ideal client. Now, not all the time. Sometimes I really am just writing from a place of my authority and expertise. But when your last reel gets 47 views, two likes and four unfollows, and yet you keep showing up.
16:05
I don't feel that way, but I am trying to resonate with my ideal clients who probably feel that way from time to time, right? Like I used to be in that place, I'm not anymore. I can help you get out of it and get your content seen by more people, right? So I'm writing that hook to activate them and say, hey, I see you, I see where you're at, I got you. You might be wondering, okay, how do I find the words that my clients or customers are using?
16:33
so many different places where you could do target market research. So if you have DM conversations with any potential clients or customers, commonly asked questions, objections, struggles they share with you, desires they share with you, all of that, just look at their exact words. If you do sales calls, if you have transcripts of those calls, which I highly recommend, you can use AI to kind of pull out some of the gold from those calls.
17:01
You can look at the comments section, whether it is your account, if you have a lot of ideal clients who are commenting on your stuff and asking you additional questions or chiming in, or you could find accounts that are in similar niches that have already built the audience you want to build. And you can see the questions that they're asking that creator. And that'll give you a ton of not only content ideas, but you can see how they are describing their problems and the solutions they're after.
17:30
You can pull your hooks from your testimonials that you receive that social proof is so powerful or you can perform target market research interviews. A few weeks ago, I interviewed Heidi Thompson and we talked about how to do that. So you can go back and listen to that if you're like, what the heck is target market research? And just to give you one more example of this. So let's say one of the pain points of my clients is they say, I don't know what to say on camera or I feel awkward.
18:00
showing my face and talking on camera. A lot of people tell me that. So my hook could be written as if I am them, or I could write it as the authority where I'm gonna teach them how to build confidence on camera. So I could say, hate showing your face on camera, question mark. I did too, until I did this. Wouldn't you be interested to be like, wait, what is she gonna say?
18:31
Right? I want to read that caption. Or I could write the hook from the standpoint that I am my ideal client. Like, I recorded an Instagram story and showed my face on camera for the first time, dot, dot, dot. Then I barfed. Something like that where I'm writing as if I am them or whether it's in the caption or if let's say this was a directed to camera video, I could say.
18:55
That is truly how I felt the first time I recorded my first Instagram story. felt imposter syndrome. I felt like, why would anyone want to hear what I had to say? I wasn't that interesting. I wasn't a great speaker. I didn't have an interesting life. All the objections that were in my head, and then I kept showing up. And then I built confidence. And then I started to build an audience, right? Like, you can see how I started with the hook though, which was that pain point of, I'll never forget when I first recorded a story and I almost wanted to barf.
19:25
Right, so that's what I mean about I'm saying the pain point as if I am my ideal client and also telling an authentic story. Point number three is your pacing matters, okay? This is one of the most overlooked parts of a strong hook. So even with really great words, they will fall flat if the video is poor quality or...
19:51
if there's not like an energetic behind the video that you're creating. So I'm gonna give you some examples of what I mean in terms of pacing. This is where you can use actual either filming techniques or video editing techniques to hook people and capture attention. So those first two points we just talked about were about the words on the screen as a hook or the words that you say in your directed camera video or your story.
20:19
or the words that you put on the first slide of your carousel, that really applied to those first two points I taught you. This third and final point I'm gonna share today is really more about how you're editing your video. So a couple things, one is if you add a little small movement in the first half second of your video, it can help to capture attention. And why that works is it's like a pattern interrupt in our brains. Like we're scrolling and then let's say you were out of the camera and you come in,
20:48
we just kind of want to see what's going to happen, right? So movement can hook people. Quick cuts, like cutting your actual video every one, two, or even three seconds. So let's say you had a seven second video and you have a two second clip and then a two second clip, a two second clip and a one second clip at the end or something like that. It all depends on the audio you're using, the video, all of these things matter.
21:17
but just quick cuts can really draw out that watch time and just keep people's attention. You can also change angles. So let's say you're recording a direct-to-camera video. Instead of sitting at your desk speaking for one minute, you could record one sentence speaking at your desk and one sentence walking down the hall and one sentence in your bathroom. As the background changes, we'll wanna keep watching your video. Again, we're just thinking about how we are going to hook and capture attention.
21:46
Pacing doesn't mean you have to be super high energy all the time. It just needs to feel alive and authentic to you, okay? So when your first two seconds feel really engaging, people will stay and stick around. So your homework this week is pick one of these hook techniques to really focus on and play with it this week. Remember success goes to implementers. You can listen, you can read all the books, but you have to take new action if you want
22:17
new results. As we wrap up today, I want to share two more wins that show what's truly possible for you when you commit to your content and have support while you're learning how to do this thing. So you heard Danny's story on the podcast last week, but I'm still so proud of her. When she joined Hot Reels, she didn't even know how to add music to a video. I don't think she'd ever posted a reel before.
22:45
And she was overwhelmed, confused, and convinced that she just wasn't good at content. And she made one decision that changed everything. She committed to focusing on growing her business on Instagram for a full year. And she joined Hot Reels, which I was so excited to welcome her in. And here's how she ended the year, because as I'm recording this, this is her last week in the program. And she just posted.
23:11
her wins in our group today. Side note, we always share our wins because all boats rise together. So she closed out the year with a reel that reached almost 12 million views. She grew her audience from 1800 followers to 25,000 followers in 12 months. She landed multiple brand sponsorships, meaning that people are paying her.
23:35
to create content for their brands and or sending her merch that is highly valuable for free, which is really fun and she's been having a blast with that. Due to her massive expansion of her business, she was able to launch a totally separate business, a coaching business to teach other wedding pros how to do what she's done with her business from her Instagram presence. So she launched a whole new revenue stream and she's generated over
24:05
$100,000 in additional revenue this last year after I helped her to raise her prices in a private session and after she implemented all of the things I taught in Hot Reels over the last year. I wanna close it out with Judy. I love my people. I'm gonna praise them. I could go on and on. I share this with you because I want you to know what's possible for you. Judy is a Pilates studio owner and she commented in our group.
24:31
And she said, this group has helped me feel so much less overwhelmed. I learned shortcuts that saved me so much time when it comes to content creation. And I've been able to melt my resistance to showing up consistently on social media, which is so powerful. And this is really what happens when strategy meets consistency with the right support and mentorship.
25:00
So if you're listening to this and you're thinking, okay, I want results like that, like let's go. I want my content to feel easier and more intuitive for me. I want people to actually respond. I wanna increase my engagement. I wanna increase my followers. I wanna build an audience of people who are so eager to buy my products and services. This is your moment, okay? I'm pumping you up. Doors to Hot Reels are officially open today. We only have five spots available and...
25:28
You need to get your cute butt in this room because we are such a fun group of people and you will love the level of support that you will receive inside of a year of having marketing mentorship. I mean, when you go and run with and implement the things I teach, your business is going to look totally different in 12 months from now. You can check out the full program details. You can see more client wins and see the investment at Elizabeth Marberry.com slash hot, that's Elizabeth, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y dot com slash hot. Or if you want to talk it through first, I get you, DM me the word hot, H-O-T on Instagram. I'll send you the information over there and feel free to message me any questions you have about the program, any logistics.
26:21
I want to make sure that you are a hells yes to this, that you are all in and you are so pumped because I don't know if you can tell I'm excited to open the doors to you. And I hope that you found today's episode super helpful. If you did, please share it with a business bestie or a colleague who is trying to understand this beast that is Instagram. And I cannot wait to strut it with you next week. Thank you for listening to strut it.
26:48
If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business, then you're gonna wanna grab my free Monetize Your IG Guide, where you'll learn seven simple and proven ways to finally make money on Instagram. You can grab your guide at elizabethmarberry.com slash freebies. That's elizabethmarberry.com slash freebies to get my Monetize Your IG Guide.
27:17
If you got some incredible value from today's episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. And I cannot wait to start it with you again next week.
