Niche + Pain Point = Curiosity: How to Create 'What App Is That?' Content That Stops the Scroll

Yesterday we talked about why "what app is that?" comments are the ultimate validation signal. Today, let's get tactical. How do you actually create content that generates those curiosity-driven comments on TikTok and Instagram?

The answer isn't tricks or hacks. It's a formula: Deep Niche Understanding × Specific Pain Points × Strategic Curiosity Gaps = Content That Makes People Ask.

Most content creators understand their niche at surface level. "Productivity apps." "Fitness tracking." "Mental health tools." That's not deep enough.

To create curiosity-driven content, you need to understand your niche at three levels:

1. 1Surface Level: What the niche is about (e.g., productivity apps for students)
2. 2Behavioral Level: How people in this niche actually behave (e.g., students procrastinate by scrolling TikTok instead of studying, feel guilty, then panic-study at 2am)
3. 3Emotional Level: What they feel about their behavior (e.g., shame about wasted time, anxiety about falling behind, desire to feel in control)

The biggest mistake? Trying to show your app solving multiple problems in one TikTok carousel or Instagram post. That dilutes curiosity.

Instead, each piece of social media content should focus on one specific pain point that your niche experiences. The more specific, the more people think "wait, that's exactly my problem."

Generic vs. Specific Pain Points

• Generic: "Struggling to stay productive?" (Too broad, doesn't create curiosity)
• Specific: "You know when you open Instagram to post your story and 45 minutes later you're watching strangers' wedding videos?" (Hyper-specific, instantly relatable)
• Generic: "Want to save money?" (Vague)
• Specific: "When you realize you spent $247 on food delivery this month and your rent is due in 3 days" (Visceral, specific moment)
• Generic: "Mental health support" (Too clinical)
• Specific: "That 3am panic when you realize you've been doomscrolling for 4 hours instead of sleeping and now you'll be exhausted tomorrow" (Specific scenario with emotional weight)

The specific version makes viewers stop scrolling because it describes their exact experience. That creates the first ingredient of curiosity: recognition.

Here's where the magic happens. You've shown the specific pain point. Now show the outcome of your solution, but don't explain how it works.

This creates a curiosity gap - the viewer sees the transformation but doesn't understand the mechanism. That's what makes them ask "what app is that?"

What to Show vs. What to Hide

This is the most critical skill for creating curiosity-driven TikTok carousels and Instagram content:

• Show: The before state (struggling with pain point)
• Show: The after state (problem solved, feeling relief/joy)
• Show: Enough of your app interface to prove it's real, but not enough to understand how it works
• Hide: The specific features or how they work
• Hide: Step-by-step instructions
• Hide: Technical details

Think of it like a movie trailer. You see dramatic scenes, you know something big happens, but you don't know how it all connects. That makes you want to watch the movie. Same principle.

Your social media content visuals should also create curiosity. Here are proven visual strategies that work on TikTok and Instagram:

1. 1Partial Interface Reveals: Show just enough of your app to intrigue, not enough to fully understand. A glimpse of an interesting dashboard, a notification that seems powerful, a result screen without showing how you got there.
2. 2Before/After Split Screens: Show the chaotic "before" (messy notification center, overwhelming to-do list, stressful calendar) next to the clean "after" (organized, calm, controlled) without explaining the transition.
3. 3Blur Strategic Elements: Literally blur out parts of your interface. Viewers will lean in to try to see what's hidden. Use sparingly or it looks gimmicky.
4. 4Emotive Faces: If showing a person, capture genuine emotional reactions (stress, relief, surprise, joy) rather than neutral product demonstrations. Emotion creates curiosity about what caused that reaction.
5. 5Numbers Without Context: "-4,327 minutes saved" or "$843 extra this month" - showing specific results without explaining how creates powerful curiosity.

Your first slide or first 3 seconds is everything. The hook needs to promise transformation from a pain point they deeply understand.

Hook Formulas That Generate Curiosity

• The Specific Moment: "You know that feeling when [hyper-specific pain point scenario]?"
• The Shocking Number: "I wasted 47 hours last month on [problem]. Here's what changed."
• The Before/After: "I used to [pain point behavior]. Now I [desired outcome]. Here's what happened."
• The Question: "What if you could [desired outcome] without [common barrier]?"
• The Confession: "I'll admit it - I [relatable embarrassing behavior related to pain point]"
• The Challenge: "Everyone says [problem] is impossible to fix. I proved them wrong."

Notice how none of these mention your app or solution immediately. They all start with the pain point or transformation. The curiosity comes from wanting to know HOW the transformation happened.

Let's get hyper-practical. Here are specific pain points by niche that you can target with your TikTok and Instagram content:

Student Productivity Niche

• Opening laptop to study, immediately checking Instagram, losing 2 hours
• Having 8 tabs open for one essay and forgetting which sources are which
• Telling yourself "5 more minutes" of scrolling before studying, then it's 2am
• Forgetting about assignments until 11pm the night before
• Studying all day but somehow accomplishing nothing

Personal Finance Niche

• Checking bank account and seeing a number that makes your stomach drop
• Knowing you spent money on something but can't remember what
• Avoiding looking at your subscriptions because you know it's bad
• Rent week arriving and realizing you spent your buffer on food delivery
• Wanting to save but having no idea where your money actually goes

Fitness/Health Tracking Niche

• Promising yourself you'll work out today, then finding every excuse not to
• Starting strong on Monday, completely falling off by Wednesday
• Not knowing if what you're doing is actually working
• Feeling motivated but having no structured plan to follow
• Tracking inconsistently then losing all progress data

Mental Health/Wellness Niche

• Lying awake at 3am with racing thoughts and no idea how to calm down
• Feeling overwhelmed but not knowing where to even start
• Knowing you need to do something about your mental health but therapy seems too expensive or intense
• Having a panic attack and wishing you had tools that actually worked in the moment
• Feeling disconnected from yourself and not understanding why

Pick ONE of these specific pain points per post. Build your entire carousel around that single moment. The specificity creates recognition, and recognition creates engagement.

When someone asks "what app is that?" in your TikTok or Instagram comments, your response matters for engagement and conversion:

• Don't over-explain: Respond with just enough info to direct them to your link in bio, not a full product demo
• Keep curiosity alive: "It's called [App Name] - completely changed how I [outcome]. Link in bio if you want to try it"
• Show social proof: "[App Name]! So many people have been asking about it. Link in bio, there's a free trial"
• Create urgency softly: "It's [App Name] - honestly wish I'd found it sooner. Check the link in bio"

Your comment responses should feel helpful but not salesy. You're a friend recommending something that worked for you, not a marketer pushing a product.

Traditional social media marketing tells you what the product does. Curiosity-driven content shows you what life could be like. That's the difference between information and transformation.

When viewers see themselves in your pain point and see the possibility of transformation, they don't just want information about your product. They want access to that transformation. That's why they ask "what app is that?" with urgency.

The TikTok and Instagram algorithm rewards this too. Content that generates genuine questions and engagement gets pushed to more people. Comments asking about your app signal to the platform that your content is valuable and worth showing to more viewers in your niche.

You don't need fancy video editing or a huge following. You need deep niche understanding, specific pain points, and strategic curiosity gaps. That's the formula.

Start with one piece of content. Pick your niche. Identify one specific pain point. Show the transformation without revealing the mechanism. See what happens.

The "what app is that?" comments will tell you if you got it right. And those comments are the beginning of building an audience that actually wants what you're creating.