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Grow Your Business YouTube Channel Using the Curiosity Gap
Category: YouTube SEO
It's time for you to start mastering the YouTube curiosity gap to grow your business channel.
The curiosity gap is a tactic embraced by entertainers, copywriters, and advertisers alike. And now, most notably it's being implemented in the YouTube-ing for business industry. By harnessing its power, you can attract more viewers to your videos, increase brand awareness, and grow your channel to new heights as it helps you climb through the YouTube algorithm.
While it's no easy stunt, those who invest the time and effort to hone their curiosity gap creation, will stand out from amateur creators and you're competitors. Keep scrolling to learn more.
In addition, if you'd like help crafting your own curiosity gaps or training your team on them, we're here to help. Click here to increase your curiosity-driven click-through-rate.
In This Blog:
What is the Curiosity Gap
Identifying the Curiosity Gap on YouTube
Dissecting the Parts of a YouTube Curiosity Gap
The Curiosity Gap Formula
Spotting Effective Curiosity Gaps: Real-World Examples
Elevate Your YouTube Channel with Better Curiosity Gaps
What is the Curiosity Gap?
The Curiosity Gap, also known as the Knowledge Gap, is a storytelling technique widely used in marketing to tap into our innate desire to fill in the gaps when presented with two pieces of information.
Newspapers, magazines, and copywriters have used this method to entice readers to engage with their content, hoping they'll continue reading to learn more about the missing details.
This is why we often see intriguing titles like "Justin Bieber did something, and the internet is NOT happy about it." We know one piece of information: Justin Bieber, and now we'd like to find out the other.
In the digital age, the Curiosity Gap has transitioned to online mediums like news headlines, blogs, and, most prominently, YouTube videos and thumbnails.
How to Identify a Curiosity Gap on YouTube
Spotting a YouTube Curiosity Gap can be challenging because it's most effective when unnoticed. Bam, you just clicked the video because the gap was so good, you didn't even have to think about it - you simply followed your instincts and clicked on the video.
Crafting a YouTube Curiosity Gap is more complicated than writing one for a blog post, as it requires skilfully combining two elements to generate intrigue.
Those two elements are 1. a thumbnail image and 2. a video title that works in tandem to pique the curiosity of a viewer scrolling along. These two pieces of information serve as teasers, and it's the video content that viewers will click on to discover the connection between them.
Dissecting the YouTube Curiosity Gap
On YouTube the Curiosity Gap will look something like this:
YouTube Video's Thumbnail Image:
A picture of a camera with various accessories is seen, but not highlighting any single accessory, creates a knowledge gap. This sparks curiosity, marking the beginning of the Curiosity Gap.
YouTube Video's Title
The title provides just enough context without revealing the entire video's content. It mentions a "tiny" accessory that changes "everything." This title resonates with cinematographers, videographers, or anyone seeking to improve their video production skills and significantly increases the likelihood of a click from that demographic.
In conclusion:
As seen above, when done correctly, you create a loop of information that leaves an unanswered question, compelling viewers to click on the video. Remember to answer the question in your video, though. and even try to deliver more value than the viewer initially anticipated for an optimal viewing experience.
Using the Curiosity Gap Formula to Grow Your Business Channel
Remember, making your titles and thumbnails work together effectively is the key here. Let's consider a hypothetical scenario for designing your content gap.
Scenario: You're a B2B company with aiming to generate solid leads via YouTube. You sell computer servers to other enterprise companies.
Your primary buyers are IT professionals under pressure to deploy faster servers in their company. You notice they frequently ask about their database server's memory (RAM) requirements. This inspires you to create a YouTube video addressing this topic for your target audience.
You also have a downloadable PDF that covers everything they need to know about server memory requirements, which you'll promote in the video. You need to create a curiosity gap to encourage them to watch your video, become familiar with your brand, and potentially download the PDF.
To pique the interest of those IT professionals, use this Curiosity Gap formula for your Thumbnail and Title.
Title Formula: | Thumbnail Formula: |
|---|---|
Something your audience is familiar with or frequently encounters + A missing piece of knowledge they don't want to miss + Combine both elements for the Video Title = Result: "Don't Buy Database Servers Without Learning This First!" | Image related to the best or worst outcome of the title (e.g., if the result is purchasing the correct database server, the opposite would be an image of an old, outdated computer server) + Supporting Text: If needed, add a few words (4 or 5) to provide further context for the video. However, don't reveal too much or make it too wordy in your image. = Result: Words: "Don't Buy Without Learning This!" Thumbnail: [Outdated Server Image + Supporting Text (if necessary)] |
Examples of YouTube Curiosity Gaps
Understanding the Curiosity Gap can be challenging, so let's explore a few real-world examples to better comprehend how it works.
The End of an Empire: How the US Dollar Will Die
Why it's working:
In this example, Vincent Chan masterfully employs the Curiosity Gap in his thumbnail. The title introduces a familiar topic, the US dollar, but pairs it with a novel and striking concept – its potential demise. The dramatic visuals and burning effect in the thumbnail pique people's curiosity, enticing them to click on the video to learn why the dollar might die.
2. How to be a Happy Loser | A Guide for Modern-Day Untouchables
Why it's working:
This example captures our attention with an emotionally charged and contrasting headline: "Happy Loser" featured in both the thumbnail and the title, accompanied by the phrase "How To." We're familiar with the concept of being a loser, but the idea of being a happy loser introduces a whole new perspective. The "how-to" and "guide" elements of the title make this unusual topic irresistible to click on. If you're still not convinced, take note of the 200k view count in just two weeks. But don't worry too much about gaining this many views for your B2B channel.
3. Watch this before social media RUINS your artistic growth
Why it's working:
This example shows the good synergy between the thumbnail and the title. We immediately see that the YouTube and Instagram icons are close to the thumbnail text of "RUINED MY ART, forcing us to find out why. The title then reinforces this intrigue by saying, "watch this before social media ruins your artistic growth," tapping into the greatest fears of creative and increasing the odds they'll watch the video.
Using the Curiosity Gap for Your Business's YouTube Channel
Now that you've seen the potential of the Curiosity Gap for your brand's YouTube channel, it's time to experiment with this technique on your own.
Feel free to give it a go on your next video. Getting it right may take a few tries, but keep going. After about 5 or 6 attempts, you'll be creating captivating video titles for your content that can rival your competitors.
If you'd like, you can also contact our team for help in creating bespoke curiosity-gapped YouTube titles and thumbnails to grow your business channel today, feel free to give our YouTube Channel Consulting Services a try today!