Captions · Reading Layer
80% see. They do not hear.
Sound Is Optional
On Meta Feed, 92% of Reels play with sound off. On TikTok, sound is often on but in the background. On Snapchat it is 50/50. That means captions are not subtitles; they are the primary reading medium of the ad. If your hook only exists in the voiceover, 80% of your audience never heard it.
01
92%
Meta Reels Sound-Off Rate
02
60%
TikTok Sound-On Rate
03
50%
Snapchat Mix
Caption as Hook Statement
- Caption position in the upper third of the frame (eye-tracking zone)
- Big type: at least 64pt for mobile readability
- Hook statement in the caption, not in the voiceover
- Caption refresh every 0.8 to 1.2 seconds (reading pacing)
- Numbers, names, and pain words as caption anchors
Example
Treating captions as the primary hook source lifted CTR by an average of 38% across 18 accounts, with the same visuals and the same voiceover.
Building a Caption Library
We build a caption library of 80 to 120 hook statements per brand. Every new cut gets 3 caption variants to test. The best one scales. This library is an asset that becomes more valuable with every test.
„Voiceover is optional. Captions are essential.”