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Total Freight International
Building a logistics company's digital presence
from the ground up
Industry
Logistics
Target audience
B2B & B2C clients, freight forwarding agents, suppliers, manufacturers, and trade partners
My role
Digital Marketing Manager, Copy/Content Writer, Social Media Specialist
I partnered with SEO/SEM specialist Sunil Krishnan and graphic designer, Pallavi Jayan on this project.
The brand
Total Freight International (TFI) is a Dubai–based logistics company established in 1991. It offers end-to-end solutions, including global freight forwarding, customs brokerage, supply chain management, Importer and Exporter of Record (IOR/EOR), 3PL warehousing, and distribution.
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The goal
The company aims to strengthen its digital presence and move beyond relying solely on networking and word-of-mouth by building more consistent and visible marketing channels.
This includes increasing brand awareness, generating quality inquiries through online platforms, and positioning the company as a reliable logistics partner in a competitive market. At the same time, the focus is on creating a more structured and sustainable approach to lead generation that can support long-term growth and expansion.
The challenge
Despite over three decades in operation, the company had minimal digital presence and relied heavily on networking and word-of-mouth, supported by the management’s solid industry reputation.
While effective to a certain extent, this approach constrained growth—limiting visibility, reducing inbound opportunities, and preventing the company from exploring scalable channels for lead generation and market expansion.
When I came
on board
I joined TFI in 2022 as its first-ever in-house marketing employee, at a time when the company was working with an external agency responsible for website development, Google Ads management, and social media. While the digital infrastructure was already in place, the website’s design and content had become outdated and no longer reflected the company’s capabilities, services, or overall positioning in the market.
The business also had an existing Zoho CRM, but it was not being used effectively by the customer service and sales teams due to the absence of a structured process or clear adoption framework. In addition, the Google Business Profile was active but underutilized, with mostly generic posts and very little visual representation of TFI’s 3PL warehouse, operations, team, and ongoing projects.
Similarly, the company’s social media channels—including LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook—were maintained but lacked depth and consistency. The content was largely generic and did not provide any real visibility into the internal operations or day-to-day activities of TFI.
Strategy & execution
I started by working closely with the CEO and the Sales & Operations Director to develop the wireframe for the new website. Once we aligned on the structure, I shared it with the agency’s web designer and developer to bring the layout to life.
After the framework was in place, I worked alongside the CEO, director, sales manager, and operations manager to develop the website content. This included service pages, blogs, guides, and case studies—ensuring everything was aligned with the business goals and its operational capabilities. I continued to collaborate with the agency’s design and development team throughout the process to ensure the UI/UX and content were implemented correctly.
At the same time, I focused on developing the content and social media plan for TFI, defining the type of content to be shared, the tone of communication, and how the brand should be represented across platforms in a more structured, tailored, and consistent way.
Photography & videography
One of the biggest gaps I noticed was that the brand didn’t visually reflect its actual people and operations. To address this, I organized and scheduled a photoshoot with the staff and captured day-to-day warehouse activities.
I then used this content across different platforms—uploading it to social media with human-focused captions and also updating the Google Business Profile with real visuals of the warehouse and its operations. This helped make the brand feel more real, active, and transparent.
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Since I knew video content would perform better, I also started building simple storytelling ideas and scripts to showcase shipments, internal processes, and explainer-style content where our team members were the focus. The goal was to make TFI feel more human and relatable.
Content & social media calendar
To bring structure and consistency to content creation, I developed and managed a monthly social media and content calendar, with LinkedIn serving as the primary platform due to TFI’s B2B business model.
I collaborated closely with the operations team to stay informed about active shipments, milestones, and service updates, prioritizing content based on relevance and timeliness. From a strategic standpoint, I ensured all posts aligned with industry trends and key business focus areas, working directly with the CEO to highlight priority services and initiatives.
Additionally, I conducted competitor research and keyword analysis to identify high-performing topics across LinkedIn and search engines. These insights informed content planning and helped ensure that published content remained both relevant to the target audience and optimized for discoverability.
Zoho CRM optimization
At the time, Zoho CRM was being used more as a basic record-keeping tool rather than a structured sales system. I worked on creating a proper SOP for lead management, including clear timelines for follow-ups and lead ownership responsibilities.
I also set up notifications and workflows so sales representatives would be alerted when to follow up based on lead source and priority. In addition, I redefined lead sources and cleaned up the dashboard to make reporting and lead tracking more clear and actionable.
On the automation side, I built basic onboarding workflows so that once a client was onboarded, they would automatically receive structured communication. I also organized the database into segments to make future email campaigns and newsletters easier to execute.
Google Ads optimization
Before I joined, TFI had been working with an external agency for about three years, which did generate some sales-qualified leads. However, many of the leads were not relevant, as a large portion were job seekers rather than actual potential customers.
Around this time, the company decided to move marketing in-house. From a shortlist of candidates, I selected and onboarded Sunil Krishnan, a skilled SEO/SEM specialist based in TFI’s back office in Kerala. I worked closely with him to restructure and optimize the Google Ads strategy.
Beyond identifying and implementing negative keywords, we refined campaign segmentation by service (e.g., air freight, 3PL, and specialized logistics), improved keyword intent targeting, and aligned ad copy more closely with commercial search queries. We also optimized landing pages to better qualify inbound traffic, introduced conversion tracking to measure lead quality, and continuously adjusted bidding strategies based on performance data.
Additionally, we filtered out low-intent traffic through tighter audience targeting and location settings, ensuring ads reached decision-makers rather than job seekers. Over time, these combined efforts significantly improved lead relevance, reduced wasted ad spend, and enhanced overall campaign performance.
Canva graphic design & video editing
I also handled a significant portion of design work using Canva, creating brochures, presentations, and social media creatives. Additionally, I captured and initially edited videos of warehouse operations for our content efforts. I took on these design and editing responsibilities when I first joined the company.
We later hired Pallavi Jayan in the back office in Kerala to assist with design work; however, I continued to step in whenever additional design or video editing was required during transitions.
Organic leads & SEO-optimized content
A major part of our growth also came from organic content. The blogs and guides I wrote started generating consistent inbound leads through the landing pages, website inquiry form, email, and chat.
Over time, many of our keywords began ranking strongly on search engines, which helped improve visibility and CTR on key topics. This created a steady stream of inbound interest without relying heavily on paid ads.
Answer engine optimization (AEO)
Over time, we noticed that some of our inbound leads were coming through AI platforms such as ChatGPT, which signaled a shift in how potential clients were discovering logistics providers. Recognizing this opportunity, I began focusing on Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) to improve TFI’s visibility in AI-generated recommendations. This involved refining how our services were described online, ensuring key information was clear, searchable, and aligned with the types of questions potential clients were asking.
I also developed and published targeted FAQ sections to address common client inquiries in a structured, easy-to-understand format, making it easier for both users and AI-driven platforms to surface accurate information about our services. In addition, I regularly tested different queries to understand how the company appeared in AI responses and used those insights to adjust our content and messaging. This proactive approach helped position TFI as a visible and credible option within emerging AI-driven search environments.
The outcome
As a result of these combined efforts, we were able to onboard new clients across global freight forwarding, 3PL warehousing, customs brokerage, IOR, and long-term storage with us. Many of these clients continued with repeat shipments, strengthening long-term relationships.
These results also contributed to the company’s decision to expand into more specialized services such as dangerous goods transport by air and pharmaceutical logistics—areas where we continue to generate qualified leads today. Overall, these milestones supported year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth for the company.