Exploring Trucking’s Journey to Social Media

These days you can find anything on social media.

The hottest new product, the most recent breaking news, your friend’s thoughts, a stranger’s dinner – there’s an effectively infinite amount of content out there.

In a way, browsing these platforms is like exploring the roads but without the driving part. The journey is ongoing, and always has something new for us. It was only a matter of time before truckers rolled onto the social scene, and now they’re taking over.

The trips and tales of truck drivers make for unique content. Equally, truckers using social media benefits both the drivers on the road and the industry as a whole.

This phenomenon is most popular on platforms like TikTok, but truckers are also showing off their life and work on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more. What makes trucking such a perfect fit for social media?

Sharing an Experience is a Winning Formula for Great Content

While the world of social media has done a lot of good, it’s an environment where content is always available. Some posts are interesting, others irrelevant, others even bordering on spammy.

The key to great content is to create an immersive, unique experience. It’s how the content connects with the viewer that matters more than the post itself. How can truckers utilize this?

“Day in the life of” videos are popular for entertaining those both in and out of the industry. Creating a road vlog series could build up an audience of curious minds, or even customers.

Think of all the potential markets. How many lovers of vehicles, machines, and technology would like to see a truck up close, especially if it’s a high-end model? How many people enjoy going along on a POV journey, seeing the world from a camera on the driver’s dash?

Truckers have a nice combination of familiarity and uniqueness about their field. It’s a job everyone knows exists, but it’s so unlike any other, that trucker social media content can build up a following fast.

Let’s not forget – for truckers, their life on the road is their career. This means you’re not just posting to be a social media star. You’re building up a personal brand that can help you gain job and sponsorship opportunities plus other professional connections.

Social Networking Helps Truckers Do Better Business

Another reason why truck drivers use social media is because the nature of the networks mirrors the field to some degree.

It isn’t just drivers who are involved in trucking. Shipping companies, brokers, warehouses, maintenance, and many other links make up the supply chain. Keeping these entities connected is much easier in an age of social media.

For any flack social media that makes regular people want to become viral stars, these platforms are fantastic tools for businesses and working professionals.

Social networking in trucking can help companies save money, improve delivery times, find new clients, find new jobs, and stay ahead on the latest industry changes.

It helps truckers get a glimpse at what their audience is most interested in. Is it the content on equipment? Road safety? Life of a trucker?

Trucking companies are all about going by the data – when you have a platform that provides direct insights from the public and potential clients, it’s much easier to make smart decisions.

An Audience Can Be as Good as a Passenger for Companionship

Let’s talk about another topic that gets swept over far too often – truck driver mental health.

Trucking is a tough industry full of tough people, but none of us are immune to the psychological harm brought on by certain environmental factors.

The trucking life brings isolation, a lack of physical activity, and frequent unfamiliarity of one’s surroundings. All of these create a perfect storm for potential mental health problems.

Some of us get depressed about leaving something behind us, while others get anxious about what lies ahead. Some find brain fog stops them from focusing on the journey, while others take the troubles of the road with them into their off time.

To avoid these issues, truck drivers sometimes bring a companion. But when you don’t have your special someone riding shotgun or your furry friend holding their head out the window, your audience can make for a great passenger.

Just knowing you have someone there to watch, someone who’s making conversation, or someone you could connect to fast if something went wrong, can be very helpful for your mental wellbeing.

It’s just another way that truckers are leveraging technology to create a safer work environment. It also adds value to every part of the workday.

What would be a simple mundane task (like checking your rig before a trip) can actually be a revealing, interesting moment for your audience. Knowing they’re there waiting when you start your shift can add a little excitement to it.

Improving the Public’s Understanding of Truck Driving

The final benefit of truckers using social media is about the bigger picture. While trucking is one of the most important industries in the country, it’s still wrought with misconceptions.

One reason why truckers are using social media is to break these misconceptions. Rather than just telling others about trucking, those in the field are showing them what life is all about firsthand.

Truckers are often unfairly typecast because their job involves traveling and staying mobile. It’s the same concept as why “settling down” or “putting down roots” is considered noble or admirable. But truckers can use social media to show they are real people, with real lives, real homes, and real families just like all of us.

It takes the mystique and the misconceptions right out of trucking, making it a field that’s accepted and trusted more by the public. Truckers can humanize both their own experience and the industry with every post they make.

Perhaps the phenomenon of truckers taking over TikTok, Twitter, and tons of other social platforms boils down to one fact – trucking is an interesting industry, and an important one. If you’re interested in life on the road, we want to hear from you.

The trucking life brings plenty of interesting sights to share. Are you interested in experiencing it directly, beyond social media, or maybe documenting your journeys for others? Are you already a trucker who’s looking to shift gears in your career? Hermes wants to hear from you – contact us here.