Whitetail.com Celebrates the Hunt Through Dedicated Hunting Social Media
Even at age 57, I frequent social media. Yeah, I’m one of those. While I don’t care for the triviality of some of its content, it’s been a powerful way for me to build and maintain an outdoor brand, as well as enjoy the inherent eye candy borne of the whitetail deer and other game animals. I’m an outdoorsman and, more specifically, a certified “deer on the brain” hunter – and the truth is, there are millions of people across North America who share my obsession.
The approximately 19-million hunters are but a drop in the bucket compared to the quarter-billion Americans using social media today. Nonetheless, the hunting demographic represents a viable and passionate one.
Most hunters don’t care to see random selfies, closeups of someone’s Kung Pao Chicken, or political satire. On the contrary, they want images of gnarly antlers, game animals, wild landscapes, and deer camps – anything that celebrates the hunting and outdoor lifestyle. More importantly, they don’t only want to stare at it; they like interacting with it. Nobody likes embracing the lifestyle like the lucky men and women who call hunting and the outdoors their sweet spot.
Countless hunting and outdoor-based social media sites and apps have come and gone. After all, it’s a tenuous and expensive endeavor. While a few still exist, most have gone by the wayside. Undoubtedly, a social media platform built firmly around America’s number one game animal was in order; and inevitable.
Enter Whitetail.com
The founders of Whitetail.com (or Whitetail, as it’s commonly referred to) understood the desirability of an interactive portal for hunters – particularly those pursuing whitetails in the fields, woodlots, and hills of North America.
It didn’t take the crew at Whitetail long to acknowledge the ever-growing elephant in the deer blind when hunting and on social media. Popular social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook have been unfriendly confines for hunters.
Between negative badgering from anti-hunters to the inherent disconnect regarding the benefits of harvesting wild game, something was needed to level the playing field. If that wasn’t enough, the mainstream platforms boldly entered the cancel culture fray by decreasing engagement in the hunting niche and more recently, shutting down some successful hunting pages and groups.
The only way to truly combat these realities was to establish a digital safe space for hunters and outdoorsmen. This wasn’t a new concept for the folks at Whitetail, as they had envisioned the idea for years. What once started as a deer and deer hunting forum site years ago, Whitetail was transformed into an online social media community.
The Inclusive Safe Space
When asking the founders of Whitetail about their main purpose, the simple answer is that the portal represents a place for the hunting community to connect, learn, and share their field experiences. However, the main vision was more than that, specifically to provide a space where hunters could do so without backlash stemming from images of truck bed bucks, exit wounds, and firearms. Simply put, shadow-banning and retribution are not part of Whitetail’s business model or culture.
While whitetail hunters and outdoorsmen have a lot in common, there are many popular hunting methods out there. I think what I like best is that Whitetail embraces them all; from the Midwesterner sitting over a food plot to the Texas hunter setting up near a corn feeder; from those inhabiting box blinds to DIY public land junkies swinging from tree saddles. The need to discourage divisiveness in the hunting community is not lost of the Whitetail.com bunch.
The Beginning of Something Great
Still, in its infancy, Whitetail already is home to a bevy of interactive posts from hunters across the country. Here, imagery of grip and grins, raw wild game meat, and hunting humor are welcome. From trophy bucks to fork horns, the portal celebrates it all. Of the mere 6% of Americans that hunt, Whitetail.com welcomes anyone eaten up by the hunting way of life. Make no mistake, this is a place for hunters to gather, communicate, and learn. However, creating and maintaining a social media platform is a huge undertaking and Whitetail will continue to add great features and functionality.
When talking with and of the Whitetail.com founders, you will regularly hear the sentiment, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Needless to say, I can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeve.
Above and Beyond the Social
Aside from interactive posts, Whitetail features a learning component, largely in the form of articles and videos featuring hunter spotlights, stories, tips, and hunting strategies. Here, written content and videos serve as an effective companion to the social aspects of the site. Both entertaining and educational, Whitetail’s content comes from notable sportsmen and women to everyday hunters.
To further celebrate the deer hunting and outdoor lifestyle, Whitetail features great giveaways, including great gear and hunting opportunities.
A Social Community First and Foremost
Amid the many hunting apps and platforms available these days, functionality abounds. There are apps offering mapping, camera image organization, optimal hunting times, and a slew of other nifty features. While Whitetail.com has a few tricks in its hip pocket, the chief goal remains; to maintain and grow a thriving online home for hunters.
With that, Whitetail’s model has less to do with follower counts and more to do with the interaction itself. It encourages safe-space sharing, camaraderie, and learning. Whitetail.com also acknowledges the simple fact that hardcore and onset hunters alike sometimes just want to gawk at big whitetails. We know that’s true.
Whether you’re a seasoned hunting fanatic or merely testing the waters, there is a new home for you. The future of Whitetail.com is bright and the hope is that as many hunters as possible will join the journey. You’ll want to make the Whitetail.com community a frequent stop when on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop.
Based in Texas, Jerald Kopp is President of 1st Light Hunting Journal. His articles cover a variety of topics about hunting and the outdoor lifestyle. Jerald is an avid outdoorsman with deer hunting and whitetails being by far his greatest passion. He was introduced to hunting and fishing at an early age and has been enjoying it for 40+ years. In 2005, he established the Empowerment Outfitter Network (EON) – a faith-based non-profit organization that provides hunting opportunities for disabled and terminally-ill children and youth. When not hunting, he spends his time traveling and enjoying life with Amy, his wife of over 30 years. Jerald and Amy have two adult daughters and a son-in-law.