Unlocking the Power of Podcasting in the Logistics Industry

1. Just do it. Starting is the most challenging but rewarding step. As Brumleve states, there’s a pathway to get to success, and the first step on that journey is recording your first episode. The biggest hurdle is holding yourself back because you’re afraid of failure or not being perfect.

“The fear of perfection holds people back so much,” Brumleve noted. “… But if you’re an obsessed psychopath like me, who are like I don’t care if two people listen; that’s two more people that listen to my show that I technically gave a keynote to. That’s the way I see it is that I have an opportunity to give a keynote to a target audience that hopefully will care.”

2. Have a plan for content distribution. Effective distribution is critical. Brumleve emphasizes, “If you’re not going to distribute it properly, then there’s really no sense in even doing it. Because with podcasts in general, it’s very tough to get discovered.” 

Therefore, it is best to leverage multiple channels such as email, social media, and YouTube to maximize reach and attract new listeners. Establishing a strong presence on YouTube can also tap into the platform’s recommendation algorithm, exposing your podcast to a broader audience. 

By consistently sharing high-quality content and engaging with your listeners across various platforms, you can build a loyal following and establish your podcast as a go-to resource in the logistics industry.

3. Provide the content your audience wants. Tracking the source of your email sign-ups and asking listeners how they discovered your podcast can provide valuable insights. This information helps refine your content strategy and create episodes that address your listeners’ most pressing issues and interests.

“We have a main catch-all form, but also, in our forms, we have a source URL, and that source URL can tell me the URL that that person signed up for the email from,” Brumleve noted. “That is a tremendous data point for me, because then I’m able to go in and see that it was a trucking-related article, so maybe they want more trucking-related episodes. And so, setting up this framework of being able to collect the data and then analyze the data and then … [it’s] getting additional landing pages specifically geared around topic clusters or topic categories. … One of our first ones was women in logistics. So, we took all of our episodes from interviews with other women, and we collected them and we put them into a single podcast player and put them on a single landing page and now that page is one of our top pages.” 

4. Use technology and AI tools to streamline production and enhance content quality. Tools like Opus Clips and Otter AI help create short, engaging clips and accurate transcriptions, which can be shared on social media. Brumleve mentions, “We use Otter.ai, where we upload a copy of the final transcript from each episode. The idea is to build out our podcast library, enabling users to find relevant episodes quickly.”

AI tools can remove filler words from clips and generate engaging captions, making your content more accessible and appealing to social media users. Additionally, AI chatbots can guide listeners to specific episodes based on their interests, enhancing user experience and engagement.

5. Pay attention to the small details. Small details can significantly impact your podcast’s success. Even something as simple as good lighting can make a difference in how people engage with your podcast. 

But it’s really more about the content. Therefore, simply adding captions to your video content is a difference-maker, because a lot of people view social media on mute. Optimizing thumbnails and titles for discoverability can attract new listeners, as well. And when it comes to thumbnail images, Brumleve stresses to “never have more than three words on the thumbnail image itself because most of the views come from the recommendations column. … So you want people to be able to glance and know what the video is about. Also, the intro of the video has to match with whatever the title is in the few words that you use in your thumbnail graphic, because people have to be reassured that they clicked on the right thing and that they’re going to be shown what they intended or what they thought was going to be shown when they clicked on the video originally.”

Testing different email subject lines can improve open rates, ensuring your content reaches a larger audience. Exploring new formats, such as short-form video content on TikTok and YouTube Shorts, can expand your reach to younger audiences and showcase your expertise in a fresh and engaging way. By consistently delivering high-quality content that addresses your target audience’s needs and interests, you can build a strong reputation and establish yourself as a thought leader in the logistics industry.