When a viewer is scrolling through a feed engineered to deliver endless content, the ad has about three seconds to earn a pause. Whether it does is called the thumbstop — and the hook is what determines whether it happens.
A hook tactic is the strategic frame the hook uses: the stance, angle, or format it takes to earn attention. Motion's library covers 33 tactics that recur across high-performing ads on Meta, TikTok, and Reels. They're not trends; they're durable patterns.
How to read this library
Tactics and psychological triggers are not competing frameworks — they operate at different levels:
- Tactics = the strategic frame (the what)
- Triggers = the emotional mechanism (the how)
Every tactic is executed through one or more psychological triggers. A Contrarian tactic typically runs on a Pattern Interrupt or Myth-Busting trigger. A Demographic Callout runs on Identity Call-Out. Urgency runs on Urgency/Stakes. Storytelling can run on Pain Agitation, Curiosity Gap, or Social Proof — the tactic defines the frame; the trigger inside it is how the frame lands.
When to use tactics vs. triggers
Tactics are the right tool when you need a taxonomy — when you're organizing a large creative matrix, covering a full range of approaches, or selecting for a specific frame. Triggers are the right tool when you're deciding how to emotionally land a message for a specific persona and awareness stage.
The 33 tactics
Each tactic below has its own page with definition, when to use, common confusions, psychological trigger pairings, and examples.