Podcast Summary: Good Content with Shannon McKinstrie

Episode: It’s How You Fill in the Blanks That Makes the Hook Unique to You
Air Date: April 28, 2026
Host: Shannon McKinstrie

Episode Overview

In this concise, actionable episode, Shannon McKinstrie addresses one of the most common challenges in social media content creation: making your hooks unique and effective. She explains why using hook templates isn’t about sounding generic, but about infusing your own lived experience, identity, and personality into the structure. Listeners get practical tips on creating memorable, high-performing hooks by leveraging specific identifiers and personal context—so every piece of content feels authentic and connects with its intended audience.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Power of the Hook Template (01:00 - 03:30)

Reel Reference: Shannon directs listeners to an Instagram reel covering “hooks I’m begging you to use this week.”
Many creators worry that using the same hook templates will make everyone’s content sound the same.
- Listener Question Noted:
  
  “If you’re giving all of us the same hooks, we’re all gonna sound the same, right? Isn’t that what's gonna happen?”
  (Shannon paraphrasing a listener's comment, 02:38)
Shannon reframes hooks as recipes—everyone’s “final dish” is unique because the ingredients (personal details, stories) are different.
- “It’s almost like I’m giving you a recipe. It’s up to you to make it dope. It's up to you to make it you, a thousand percent you.” (03:32)

Personalization—The Secret Sauce (03:31 - 08:00)

The value isn’t just the structure, but what fills in the blanks.
Example Template:
- “If I could only __ one __ for the rest of my life, this would be it.”
  - Ice cream shop: “...eat one flavor of ice cream...”
  - Jewelry maker: “...wear one ring stack...”
  - Instagram coach: “...use one feature on Instagram...”
Shannon emphasizes that taking and tweaking these templates to your niche, lived experience, and brand story is what drives curiosity and engagement.

Identifiers: The Key to Connection (08:01 - 12:30)

What Are Identifiers: Ways your audience defines themselves—age, location, role (e.g., “empty nester,” “2027 bride”), lifestyle, season of life.
Why they matter:
- Social feeds are filled with strangers. Specific identifiers in hooks help viewers think, “That’s me. This is for me.”
- “When you put those [identifiers] in the blanks, it goes crazy.” (11:12)
Shannon’s Analogy:
- Scrolling social media is like scanning a room at a networking event—people seek familiar points to connect with.

Making Hooks Memorable and Unique (12:31 - 16:00)

Another Template:
- “Things I refuse to __ as a __.”
  - Examples: “Things I refuse to buy as a 43-year-old Instagram coach,” “Things I refuse to do as a 22-year-old,” etc.
Get specific: Age, job, location, life stage, interests make your version of the hook different from anyone else’s.
Personalized hooks increase the chance followers recognize themselves—or their goals—in your content.

Why Specificity Wins (16:01 - 18:45)

“No hook is going to sound the same because you’re leaning on your lived experience and your perspective.” (17:18)
The more specific you are, the more magnetic your content becomes.
Hooks should never be vague or generic; specificity creates connection and curiosity.

Borrowing Familiarity & Trending Topics (18:46 - 21:00)

Tie hooks to trending events, tools, or timely moments (e.g., using “Claude” or referencing Mother’s Day) for even more relevance.
- “Borrowing familiarity... those blanks make your content explode.” (19:55)

Troubleshooting: When Hooks Aren’t Working (21:01 - 22:45)

If hooks don’t perform, they’re likely not personalized enough.
Do your homework: Know your identifiers and those of your audience. Use tools like ChatGPT to brainstorm specifics.
- “Tell it everything about you...and then when you see these hooks, you’ll know what to put in those blanks.” (22:15)

The Metrics That Matter (22:46 - 24:00)

Instagram cares most about watch time and skip rate. Hooks that tap into this specificity will keep people watching longer.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“You, my friend, are the flavor. You are what's gonna make it uniquely you.” (02:55)
“If there’s one hook that ten different people use, it should not look anything like the other person’s.” (16:15)
“We don’t do vague. We don’t do dull, boring. We do lived experience, specific. And we help people see themselves because that's such a gift.” (15:39)
“The hook that gets your watch time all the way up... is something with an identifier or something they can recognize in your hook and something that’s specific they can attach to.” (23:41)
“It's like Mad Libs when I give you these hooks. So the structure will work as long as what's in the blanks is specific enough for them to attach to it.” (17:41)

Actionable Takeaways

When using hook templates, focus your effort on specificity—infuse details about your identity, audience, and lived experience.
Revisit hooks that don’t perform and ask, “Did I include a clear, recognizable identifier?”
Lean into current trends and pop culture when filling in your blanks for increased engagement.
Remember, the same hook can drive results for anyone—if it's personalized.
Call to Action: Visit Shannon’s Instagram (@shannonmckinstry), try the hook templates, and share your results.

Timestamps for Important Segments

01:00 — Listener concern: Will templates make us sound the same?
03:32 — The recipe analogy: Infusing your individuality
07:10 — Examples: How to personalize hook templates
09:45 — Identifiers defined: The key role they play
12:35 — “Things I refuse to __ as a __” template breakdown
17:41 — Using specifics, not vagueness, in your hooks
19:55 — Borrowing familiarity and trending topics
22:45 — Troubleshooting hooks: personalization is the answer
23:41 — Metrics that matter: skip rate and watch time

Episode Tone & Style

Warm, energetic, and generous—Shannon delivers with her signature blend of candor and encouragement. Her language is ultra-relatable, friendly, and full of real-world examples listeners can immediately act on.

In Summary

Shannon’s message is clear: success on social media doesn’t come from copying formulas, but from making every structure your own. Fill those blanks with your story, your specifics, and your audience’s language. That’s the real hook.

Transcript

A (0:00)

Foreign. I am your host, Shannon McKinstry. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where I remove the never ending content creation, guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. Good Content. Today's episode is important, just like all the others are. I'm going to make it really, really quick. One, because I want you to take exactly what I say and run with it and not overthink it. But two, I have to pack. We are leaving for California at 7am tomorrow and in true Shannon typey style, I have not packed. I'm one of the keynotes. Like, what am I doing? So I got to get it together. So I was like, let's make this one short and sweet so you can literally take it. Run with the win. And first thing I need you to do is go to my Instagram. It's just at Shannon McKinstry M C K I N S T R I E. And you're going to look at the reel I share today. But by the time you hear this, it'll be yesterday. So you're going to look and it's me driving. And it says something like hooks I'm begging you to use this week. Something like that. And there's a list. Okay, These are the hooks. I want to help you because I know I talked about this two episodes ago, but how a lot of you struggle with like, I don't know what to put in the blank. I just go blank, right? I hear it all the time. So what I thought we could do is kind of go through those five. And I'm going to help you because I got a really interesting comment the other day, which I was so appreciative that she left because it's completely fair. She said, shannon, if you're giving all of us the same hooks, we're all gonna sound the same, right? Is. Isn't that what's gonna happen? And I was like, very valid point. And that's why it's so important to understand. It's just a template that I know is working because it helps drive that curiosity. It makes our brains wanna close a loop. We get curious, right? Or, you know, helps us feel seen. But you, my friend, are the flavor. You are what's gonna make it uniquely you. And that's why these are so fun. Cause the hard part's done. And I know you're saying, no, the hard part is filling in the blanks. It won't be after this episode. The hard part is finding out the hooks and the structure that are working right now, because that's changing all the time. That's why you're. You tune into this podcast. So it's like if I give a recipe to someone, every single person's is going to taste a little different or they're going to present it differently, right? So it's almost like I'm giving you a recipe. It's up to you to make it dope. It's up to you to make it you a thousand percent you. So again, the final dish is going to come out different. A recipe based on the ingredients you use, based on if you cut corners, based on if you are gluten free so you added something different. Right? That's exactly what I need you guys to start doing with these hooks that I give you. And this is going to really help, I promise. So again, everyone would use the same structure, right? So one of the hooks I gave this week was, if I could only blank one blank for the rest of my life, this would be it. Okay, so let's say you're an ice cream shop. If I could only eat one flavor of ice cream for the rest of my life, this would be it. Maybe you're showing the person scooping the ice cream, putting it in the cone, and then showing it in the caption could say what the ice cream is. If you're a jewelry maker. If I could only wear one ring stack for the rest of my life, this would be it. And you're using the video to show that ring stack as you build it. I could do. If I could only use one feature on Instagram, the rest of my life, stories would be it. And then underneath it would say, here's why. And then in the caption, I would explain why stories are my favorite thing about Instagram. And we'll be talking stories next week. Get hyped. Okay, so again, you could say, if I could only eat, use watch, go, visit, read, et cetera. Let's say you're a local blogger. If I could only visit one coffee shop in a weekend, again, then you can almost take the beginning of my hook and make the rest yours. Take out the the end. So you could say instead of if I could only blank one blank for the rest of my life, you could say, if I could only visit one Disney park in my life, it would be Epcot reasons why in the caption. Right. Things like that. This is just me trying to take some amazing ideas and stories and jokes and tips, et cetera, that you already have and help you get it out to the world and get your amazing message, insights, perspectives, lived experience out there. So with that said, when it comes to these blanks, one of the biggest things that you can do right now, and I've talked about this on a few other episodes, hopefully this is going to bring it home, is identifiers. Identifiers. Because if you think about it, guys, as we're scrolling social media, we used to see friends, family, places, people we were actively following. Now a lot of the content is strangers, people we've never seen before, or maybe we've seen them once and now we're seeing them again. We are unfamiliar with your content and if you walk into a room, and I'm actually going to talk about this on Thursday at Social Media Marketing World, but if you walk into a room, you're scanning the room trying to find a connection point with someone. Same with social media. We're scrolling. Instead of scanning a room, we're scrolling, right? Like I have major anxiety walking into like a networking event where I know no one. So what am I going to do? I'm going to scan the room, see if there's anyone I recognize or maybe, you know, go to the. Go grab a glass of wine and strike up a conversation there. Be like, oh, what, what cocktail are you getting? We're going to strike up conversations with people. That's how we get familiar with them and comfortable. Okay. And feel like we belong. You guys know how much I love that word. So very similarly in the blanks, you need to write down these identifiers. Identifiers for yourself, but also for your audience. How do they identify themselves? A lot of what they're going to identify themselves is what era they're in. The season of life. Empty nesters. 2027 groom 2027 bride scrunchie family. Right? Those identifiers that make them go, that's me. You're calling out my identity and how I see myself. I. But you can also do it with things like we'll do another one of the hooks from this week because this is another big one. This is what I really want to drive home for you guys. This hook said things I refuse to blank as a blank. Who. It's a fun little game, right? But you could say for me, things I refuse to do or things I refuse to listen to or things I refuse to buy as a, I could say 43 year old because that even the age right now, guys, is huge. I see every industry doing it as a 43 year old content coach and Instagram marketer who? And this is where you say, who lives in blank? Who is on a mission to blank? I would say who doesn't want you ever to feel burnt out by this app? Something like that, right? So when you think about these identifiers, age, gender, location, lived experience, all those things, when you put those in the blanks, it goes crazy. And that's why when I'm giving you hooks, are we all going to sound the same? Absolutely not. Because what I do over here is different. We don't do vague. We don't do dull, boring. We do lived experience, specific. And we help people see themselves because that's such a gift. Because we are lonely. You know, there's this whole like loneliness epidemic happening, right? And it's like, how can you help people feel less lonely? Help them feel seen on Instagram and TikTok and LinkedIn, all these other apps, right? So one, if there's one hook that 10 different people use, it should not look anything like the other person's is what I'm trying to say. So one person could say busy single dad of three on a $75,000 salary. I don't know, right? Like how do I manage my paycheck as a. But if someone, if I did it, mine would say how I budget my whatever, whatever paycheck as an entrepreneur and mom of two, it's going to look different, it's going to feel different, and it's going to attract different people based on my story, my lived experience, or if it's like as a 28 year old rebuilding their life or as a 22 year old who just graduated from blank and moved to whatever, da, da, da. No hook is going to sound the same because you're leaning on your lived experience in your perspective. And that's why we need to get so badly back to basics on social media of connection and sharing our stories and not overthinking this stuff. So again, it's like Mad Libs when I give you these hooks. So the structure will work as long as what's in the blanks is specific enough for them to attach to it. And again, it could be about them. Oh, I always tell my husband he should do this. Like, here's the house I would show Justin Bieber if he moved to Carrie. Or here's the restaurant I would take my friends from out of town to convince them to move here. Right? That's a lot more fun and personal and makes us so curious because it's based on what you are saying, the person behind the account. So again, Instead of how I organize my life, you could say how I use Claude to run my life and stay organized as a type B, blah, blah, blah. So that's the other thing. Borrowing familiarity. Right now, Claude is hugely trending. Mother's Day is coming up, Summer's coming up. Using those times and things that people are already talking about and actively interested in those sorts of things, and those blanks make your content explode. So I'll just say this to end it up. If your hooks aren't working or you're using my hooks and they're still not working, I can promise you this. They're not personalized enough. But that's why I'm here and that's why I do this podcast, so that you guys can stop overthinking this stuff and start making an impact and change your freaking life with your content. So be sure in the show notes, listen to the Rise podcast episode, even if you want to lean on Claude. ChatGPT. Tell it everything about you. Tell it everything about every client, customer that's walked in the door, slid into your DMs and pull those identifiers and all those situations and scenarios and eras and all those things. And then when you see these hooks, you'll know what to put in those blanks. It just takes a little bit of homework to do it and then you're done. And just remember, the hook that gets the click, the save that gets your watch time all the way up. Because we know that's what Instagram cares about, is how fast people are leaving your content and how long they're staying on it. Right? That skip rate they just announced that that's like the biggest thing they look at. The hook that gets that view and that watch time is something with an identifier or something they can recognize in your hook and something that's specific they can attach to it makes me go, wait, that's me. Or, wait, I need this in my life. That is what's going to grow your account. Go try those hooks. Let me know on Instagram in the comments if you need my help. I am here for you. I love you. I fly out the keynotes on Thursday. I can't believe it. Hopefully, if you're watching from home or if you're there, I get to see you, hug you and help you, and I just love you guys so much. And I'll talk to you next week.