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Once known primarily as a website domain provider, GoDaddy has evolved into a software company that helps entrepreneurs enhance every aspect of their business, from brand-building and marketing to ecommerce. The company's mission to uplift small businesses includes assisting entrepreneurs to streamline digital marketing efforts so they can focus on their passions.
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According to Amy Jennette, integrated marketing and product marketing lead at GoDaddy, digital marketing is one of the main challenges business owners face. That's why GoDaddy covers search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing and content creation in its digital marketing guide.
"Marketing is something [entrepreneurs] know they have to do, but it's very foreign in terms of where their craft is," Jennette says. "We not only provide the tools that help them create their brand, market their brand and drive customer conversion, but we also want to make sure we're helping to educate small businesses on the steps they need to take in order to be successful."
Although business branding plays a large role in a successful marketing strategy, Jennette revealed that many business owners fall into the trap of thinking about logos and brand colors when they should start with elements closer to their company's identity.
"What is their voice? What is their style? What is their purpose for going into business? What values do they want to communicate?" she says. "It boils down to: What is the promise that they're making as a small business to the customers they're serving?"
Jennette also underscored the importance of authenticity. "If it's not authentic to you, it'll be difficult to manage because you'll constantly have to flip in[to] that headspace to get in that voice," she says. "But it also can come off as disingenuous to your audience if you're not consistently communicating with the same kind of tone, the same kind of look, the same kind of feel. You want to make sure you're consistent so you can ultimately build that brand recognition over time."
Once you have your brand voice in place, it's time to think about visuals, which GoDaddy also makes easier and more cost-effective than ever.
"We have a tool for [logo creation]. Type in a few prompts about your business and who you want to be, and we will create a beautiful, multi-colored, multi-dimensional logo for you to use," Jennette says.
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GoDaddy's tools directly result from research into business owners' challenges, budget concerns and educational needs. It has also developed a free artificial intelligence (AI) Prompt Library to help with content creation, review response and more to improve results on generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT.
Using AI to aid your review response strategy can save time and effort, help guide the conversation and generate responses that align with your brand voice and customer service standards.
"You can leverage feedback and customer reviews to do a lot of heavy lifting for you," Jennette says. "And most importantly, you want to be consistent with how you're doing that."
GoDaddy's advice for small business marketing success includes:
- Define your brand clearly. Before diving into marketing strategies, define your brand's voice, style and values. This foundation will guide all your marketing efforts and help maintain consistency across different channels.
- Know your audience. Identify and understand your target audience. This knowledge will dictate where to focus your marketing efforts and which platforms will yield the best engagement. As Jennette advises, "Go and be active where your audience is."
- Utilize available tools. Leverage tools to streamline and enhance your marketing efforts. From SEO to social media management, using the right technology can help you maintain an impactful online presence without breaking the budget or overwhelming your team.
Listen to the episode below to hear directly from Amy Jennette and Emily Washcovick, and subscribe to Behind the Review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Thursday. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora and Soundcloud.
Editorial contributions by Kristi Lindahl.
GoDaddy is a Yelp partner that provides small businesses the ability to claim their Yelp Business Pages and manage Yelp Ads directly through the GoDaddy platform. Neither company received compensation for its appearance on Behind the Review.
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