# LinkedIn Hook Examples: 6 Patterns With Real Lines > LinkedIn hook examples for six patterns, with two lines each, plus how to check a hook against the "see more" cut and pick between openers. Canonical page: https://www.socialfaktory.com/blog/linkedin-hook-examples Published: 2026-10-03 Language: en These LinkedIn hook examples all do one job: make a stranger tap "see more." The rest of your post can be perfect, but if the first two lines don't earn that tap, nobody reads it. Below are six patterns, two original lines for each, and a way to choose between them. ## What does a LinkedIn hook have to do? A LinkedIn hook has to make a reader curious enough to open the post, using only the lines that show before "see more." That cut falls at about 210 characters on desktop and about 140 on mobile. LinkedIn changes this without notice, so treat both numbers as "about." That's roughly two short sentences. You can't warm up, introduce yourself or thank anyone. The first line carries the weight, and the second one either sharpens it or opens a gap the reader wants closed. ## Which LinkedIn hook examples work, pattern by pattern? Six patterns cover most of the hooks worth writing. The lines below are made up, so swap in your own facts. ### The number Open with a figure that sounds slightly wrong. - "I sent 212 cold emails in March and booked 4 calls." - "Our onboarding checklist has 9 steps. Customers finish 3." ### The confession Admit a mistake before anyone asks. - "I fired my best salesperson, and it was the right call." - "For two years I wrote every post at 11 p.m. They were all bad." ### The contrarian take Disagree with advice the reader has heard twice this week. - "Stop asking for referrals. Ask for a specific introduction instead." - "Your job post doesn't need a mission statement. It needs a salary." ### The scene Drop the reader into a moment already underway. - "The client's call started with silence. Then: 'We're cancelling.'" - "It's 6:40 a.m., the warehouse door is jammed, and the first truck is early." ### The instruction Tell the reader what to do, then give the reason a line later. - "Before your next 1:1, delete the first agenda item." - "Rename your last three projects. Use the outcome, not the codename." ### The before and after Show the gap in two clauses. - "Proposal turnaround: 5 days. Now: 40 minutes. Same team." - "Last year I answered email until 9. This year I stop at 5:30." ## How do you test a hook against the "see more" cut? Paste the first 140 characters into a note and read only those. If the point is already visible, the hook survives mobile. If the sentence is half-finished at character 140, move the important word earlier. Take "After 11 years in logistics, I finally learned the one thing that changed how I run my team's weekly meeting." That's about 110 characters, but it promises a lesson without giving one. Rewrite: "Our weekly meeting dropped from 60 minutes to 20 when I deleted one agenda item." The reader sees the result before the cut. Also check the second line. A good second line adds a fact the first line made you want: "Here's the item." ## How do you pick between three openers? Choose the opener that survives the first 140 characters, promises something the post actually delivers, and sounds like you wrote it. Everything else is taste, so don't spend an hour on it. Run all three of your openers through those tests in order. The scene hook often fails the first one, because it needs three sentences to set up. The number hook often fails the second, when the number is a bait the post doesn't explain. The confession fails the third when it's performed instead of true. SocialFaktory's [LinkedIn writer](/features/ai-linkedin-post-generator) returns three drafts per brief, each with a different opener, so you pick instead of starting from a blank box. Read the three side by side and apply the tests above. If none of them fit, press Write three more, or edit one by hand. Typing a brief and editing cost nothing. When the opener is right but the voice isn't, [writing LinkedIn posts in your own voice](/blog/write-linkedin-posts-in-your-own-voice) covers how to teach it, and [how long a LinkedIn post should be](/blog/how-long-should-a-linkedin-post-be) covers what comes after the hook. If you're starting from an article, see [turning a blog post into a LinkedIn post](/blog/turn-a-blog-post-into-a-linkedin-post). [Get started](/register) and see three different openers for your next post. **In one sentence:** The best LinkedIn hook examples put a surprising fact, a confession or a clear gap in the first 140 characters, so the reader taps "see more" before the cut. ## Questions ### What is a hook on LinkedIn? It is the opening lines of a post, the part visible before "see more." Its only job is to make a reader open the rest. ### Where does "see more" cut a LinkedIn post? At about 210 characters on desktop and about 140 on mobile. LinkedIn changes this without notice, so check your own feed. ### How long should a LinkedIn hook be? Two short sentences, usually well under 140 characters for the first one. The point should be visible before the cut on mobile. ### Should a hook be a question? Only if the question carries stakes the reader already feels. A flat statement with a number usually beats "Have you ever wondered?" ### Can I use the same hook on LinkedIn and X? Often, yes, because a hook under 210 characters fits inside the 280 an X post allows. Read it again in the X preview, since there it has to work without a "see more" cut. ### Does the LinkedIn writer in SocialFaktory give me different hooks? Yes. Each brief returns three drafts, and each draft has a different opener, so you choose between them. ## More detail - All articles: https://www.socialfaktory.com/blog.md - What SocialFaktory does: https://www.socialfaktory.com/features.md - Pricing: https://www.socialfaktory.com/plans.md