Fara Howard knows what most would-be entrepreneurs want this Christmas: a fully fleshed-out e-commerce site, complete with an “About” section and user experience. The chief marketing officer at web hosting company GoDaddy has been working to communicate how her brand can help both small businesses and those individuals who want to become business owners.
Ad Age Podcast
Why GoDaddy is still sitting out the Super Bowl
CMO Fara Howard talks about the role of TikTok and AI for the web hosting brand
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GoDaddy is experimenting with TikTok.
Credit:
Bloomberg
“We’re largely speaking to microbusinesses or people who have not yet established their business,” said Howard, speaking on a recent episode of the Marketer’s Brief podcast. “The way we advertise to them is through traditional B2C channels.”
This includes advertising on TV and out-of-home as well as search engine marketing. GoDaddy also is experimenting with social media platforms such as TikTok, Howard said.
“What we found with TikTok is, like YouTube, it’s a place where people are going to learn,” she said. “So it’s figuring out how we can educate in very short and in appropriately engaging ways on that channel.”
Fara Howard has been CMO of GoDaddy for almost five years.
Credit:
GoDaddy
One of GoDaddy’s previously most well-known advertising channels, the Super Bowl, is not currently a part of its mix. A decade ago, GoDaddy was a Big Game regular, consistently posting controversial ads, including one in 2015 about a puppy being sold online that sparked so much backlash that it was eventually pulled. But the company stopped advertising in the Super Bowl after a 2017 appearance. Howard said there are no plans to return.
“We believe that there are many other ways for us to effectively communicate with our customers,” she said. “When you invest in the Super Bowl, it often is your primary focus, sometimes just for that quarter, sometimes for the year, and some brands will make that investment one time and be done.”
She said GoDaddy’s goal is “consistent engagement” with consumers across all channels, not just TV.
On the podcast, Howard also speaks about how GoDaddy is incorporating an AI tool into its offerings for customers. For example, entrepreneurs can use the brand’s AI tool to create an “About Us” page on a website. With a few prompts about what the business is and does, GoDaddy can create copy that users can then edit and personalize.
“That same approach exists across all channels for social marketing, for scheduling, social communication and content, for email, marketing, for imagery,” said Howard. “AI is embedded into all of our tools to help our customers get their business online faster and engage more customers.”
