Curiosity is defined as a strong desire to learn or know information that we have yet to discover. It drives us, as human beings, to all sorts of means. It was Albert Einstein who famously said, "I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” Curiosity has led to more innovations than any other desire we may have as human beings. There is something that happens when we are so curious about discovering what is unknown to us that we just can’t stop from finding out. That is why it is such a strong driver of marketing.

If you are not using curiosity in your marketing, you are missing a very powerful tool that is hardwired into all people. So what makes people curious in marketing? Here are three areas where we have a hard time looking the other way, but are driven to find out more.

Only tell a portion of the story

Only hearing a portion of the story, but desiring to hear the rest, drives us to make it a priority to be there for the big reveal. TV programs have been doing this for decades. We refer to it as a cliffhanger. It keeps an audience coming back again and again. Do you remember the TV show, Dallas, and their 1980 season finale – "Who Shot JR?” As the show signed off for the summer, the villain, J.R. Ewing was gunned down by a mysterious person who was not revealed, at least not until the next season – and four shows into the season – when the would-be assassin was revealed. CBS used the curiosity of people to promote their show and 83 million people tuned in to find out who had fired the gun.

When you are producing marketing, especially that which is using a call to action, don’t give the whole story, leave room for curiosity. It will power clicks on your website, bring people back to your content marketing, and drive engagement.

Be clever, not conventional

The unconventional sells in marketing. PT Barnum built an empire by cleverly showcasing that which was unusual. From bearded ladies to Siamese twins, people paid good money to satiate their curiosity and see what was behind closed doors. Sell your products and services in a similar manner. A clever headline can’t be avoided. Neither can an invitation to see what may be considered absurd. Use it to your marketing advantage.

Be unexpected

The element of surprise catches the attention of all of us. It quickly stirs our curiosity when we don’t see something coming. Build the unexpected into your marketing story. Catch people off guard in a good way. You may have heard of the young Utah boy who set up a lemonade stand in his neighborhood this summer. He held up a sign that said, "Ice Cold Beer” in large letters. As you might expect, he caught a lot of people off guard, to the point that the police were called to check on the situation. But the boy had actually written the word "root” in small letters above the word "beer”. As you can imagine, the unexpected landed him on the news and the reports went viral. Take a look. We cannot help but be drawn to the unexpected. Build it into your marketing plans.

Let me conclude by saying headlines matter. So do first sentences (what we call leads). It will either draw in the curious or leave us yawning. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but the lack of it can kill your marketing. Make sure you are using it in your marketing endeavors.