Short-form is distribution, not decoration
The algorithm economy has one currency: retention. Every platform - Reels, Shorts, TikTok - serves content that keeps viewers watching, and rewards the creators who hold them longest. That makes short-form the most honest content channel in marketing: the platform forces you to be interesting or disappear.
The hook system
The first three seconds decide everything. The working hook library: the open loop ('The mistake 90% of founders make'), the proof-first ('We cut CAC by 47%'), the demo ('Watch what happens when you…'), the contrarian ('Everyone is wrong about email'). One hook per video - never two - and the first sentence must promise the payoff of the whole video.
Retention is engineered after the hook: pattern interrupts every 3-5 seconds, text that reinforces the audio, and a payoff that rewards watching to the end. The last three seconds matter as much as the first - complete videos are the algorithm's favourite users.
Cadence and measurement
Consistency beats brilliance: 3-5 posts per platform per week, with hooks pre-tested in a swipe test before production. Measure 3-second retention, completion rate and saves per post; retire formats below the moving average, double formats above. The system compounds: every video becomes data for the next, and the feed becomes yours.
