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How do you calculate hook rate in Facebook ads?
In Meta Ads Manager, divide 3-second video plays by impressions and multiply by 100. Meta doesn't show hook rate by default, so create a custom metric with that formula, or export both columns. Compare hook rate between ads in the same campaign and audience, since placements and audiences change the baseline.
Set up a custom metric in Meta Ads Manager
- Open Ads Manager and choose Columns → Customize columns.
- Select Create custom metric.
- Name it "Hook rate".
- Enter the formula: 3-second video plays ÷ Impressions.
- Set the format to percentage and save it to a column preset.
Menu names can shift as Meta updates Ads Manager, but the two inputs stay the same. You can also export both columns to a spreadsheet and divide there.
Add hold rate while you're there
Create a second metric: ThruPlays ÷ 3-second video plays. Hook rate shows whether the opening works; hold rate shows whether the rest of the ad keeps people watching.
Compare like with like
- Compare ads within the same campaign and audience.
- Don't compare Reels-only against all placements; the baseline differs.
- Wait for a meaningful number of impressions before reading anything.
What to do with the number
If hook rate is low, the opening isn't stopping people: test new first lines or first shots on the same body. If hook rate is fine but sales aren't, the problem is later in the ad, the offer or the landing page. For rough benchmarks, practitioners such as AdManage treat under 20% as weak and 25% to 35% as solid.
Every ad we deliver at ScrollStop Labs comes with alternate opening hooks, so you can run this kind of test without a reshoot.