Content Isn't Composition

In chemistry, combining elements doesn’t just add them together—it transforms them into something entirely new. Sodium and chlorine, on their own, are dangerous substances: sodium reacts explosively with water, and chlorine is a toxic gas. Yet when combined, they become table salt, a harmless and essential compound. The same principle applies to content creation.

Just like chemical compounds, content is not the sum of its parts. The hook and body of an ad do not merely add up to make the final product—they react with one another, transforming the outcome in unexpected ways. Content creation isn't a linear process where you can tweak individual components and expect predictable results. It's an ecosystem where each element influences the other, often in unpredictable ways.

We’ve been told the hook is king—the part of the video that determines its success. But that's a dangerous oversimplification. Yes, the hook is important, but it’s not an isolated variable. Its effectiveness is deeply intertwined with the body of the video. You can’t just optimize the hook and expect to win. The hook and body must be considered together because their interaction determines the outcome.

At NewForm, we approach content creation differently. We mix and match hooks and bodies to create batches of content, typically using five hooks and three bodies. This gives us 15 variations to test against one another. The combinations may seem similar on the surface, but the performance differences can be dramatic. A hook that works well with one body might flop with another. In fact, we often see a 2-3x performance variance between the best and worst-performing ads, all from the same batch.

The real magic of content creation happens in how its components interact. Even small differences in phrasing, tone, or delivery can create significant shifts in audience engagement. Why? Because content isn’t just passively consumed—it’s actively shaped by targeting algorithms that respond to these variations. TikTok's design offers a perfect example of this interaction. As Eugene Wei explains, TikTok's algorithm "sees" each video through the lens of user engagement, training itself based on the feedback loops it creates with every swipe, like, and share (seeing like an algo).

This explains why we see such wide performance variations between videos that, on the surface, seem similar. The algorithms powering today’s marketing platforms don’t just target demographics; they rely heavily on engagement signals. And those signals are deeply shaped by the content itself—hook, body, and even small details in-between all influence how the algorithm “decides” which audience to reach. As TikTok’s design demonstrates, these algorithms work by constantly refining their predictions based on how users interact with the content. This interplay between content and algorithm is why optimizing just one piece, like the hook, isn’t enough—each part must work in harmony to unlock the best results.

Mixing and matching content maximizes our chances of success because it gives us more “luck surface area” to find the perfect combination. We’re not just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks; we’re systematically testing different permutations to understand how each component interacts with the other.

So, is the answer to always batch content creation? Not necessarily. While we find this approach incredibly effective, it’s not the only way to succeed. The important takeaway is to understand that content is not compositional—it’s reactive. Every part of a video impacts every other part, and treating them as independent variables is a recipe for failure. If you want to find a content strategy that works for you, let’s chat.