Storyconnect The Podcast

Podcasts recorded live at StoryConnect are sponsored by Meridian Cooperative. After receiving NTCA's Smart Rural Community designation, LightStream co-branded it with their own brand everywhere to underscore the value of their service.Recorded LIVE at StoryConnect 2023.

Innovative System's latest study into the habits of rural consumers found that local channels are increasingly important when it comes to video. But for the first time, reliability was a greater priority than price in regard to broadband service.Recorded LIVE at NTCA's RTIME.

After a lost dog wandered up to the utility during a storm, Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative posted a series of videos and pictures that quickly spread across the community. Learn how the hashtag #PowerPup kept the community PUPdated as the utility searched for pup's PAWrents in this PAWsitive storytelling opportunity!

Ian Cope joined Utility Pioneers from across Washington at PUD Day on the Hill. As an elected official himself, he shares the best storytelling prompts to keep government officials engaged in your story.

Want to help consumers feel comfortable with broadband possibilities? Build co-op living rooms in your community! Crystal Johnson-Smith, of Prince George Electric, shares how her co-op turned ideas from the past into education opportunities for her community's future.

After Lorri Freeman asked members for valentines, her co-op was overwhelmed by more than 500 handmade and heartfelt valentine cards. She shares this idea and other ways utilities can celebrate staff throughout the year.

Kim Trevathan is the author of three books in which he canoed some of the South's longest waterways. In this episode, he gives a preview of his sessions at the upcoming StoryConnect conference where he'll be talking about beginning and ending stories strongly, as well as five ways to improve your written storytelling skills.

Robin Conover, one of the featured speakers at this year’s StoryConnect Conference, will lead a set of photography sessions as part of a new storytelling skills track. As shorter attention spans increase the importance of pictures in storytelling, we ask the retired VP of communications at the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association for visual storytelling tips. She previews what she'll share at StoryConnect, explaining how everything in the frame — even your outfit — tells a story.

Grant writing has become a significant part of Will O'Donnell's job. He shares tips for applying for grants and why he thinks communicators — with some help from other teams — can be excellent folks to write the grants.

Nathalie Strickland, of the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association, discusses ways to recognize patterns of crises, the first mover advantage and other keys to being prepared to communicate when something goes really wrong.

In 2023, broadband providers will be required to display government-approved "Broadband Fact" labels at the point of sale. Jeff Smith, from Vantage Point, explains what that might mean for marketers.

LinkedIn provides utilities and broadband providers with an important audience segment they may not reach elsewhere. How can communicators make the most of that opportunity for their company and their own personal brand?

The YK Communications team wanted more subscribers to use their CommandIQ app from Calix in order to reduce trouble calls and improve customer experience. They came up with a multiprong approach that drove app adoption to 86%, earning them a national award and improving the service they deliver.

When WREC's annual meeting attendance sagged, the co-op reworked the meeting into a series of events that focused on local students. Garrett Hylton explains the results and how they made it happen.

The Corps of Engineers Portland District social media feeds that Chris Gaylord manages are full of vampires, yams on dams, celebrities and memes. It's not what you might expect from a government agency. Chris Gaylord explains why humor can be a useful tool when he's communicating about scintillating topics like dredging and navigational buoys.

Pam Blair is retiring after 28 years of helping utilities tell their story through magazines. At the StoryConnect workshop, she joined the podcast to reflect on lessons she's learned along the way.

A self-professed grammar nerd, Brenda Dunn, talks through some common mistakes that writers make and how to fix them.

Quince Mountain, author of “Naked and Afraid” and a competitor in the Iditarod, was the keynote speaker at the NWPPA NIC conference. He shares points that utilities and broadband providers can learn from dog-sled racing.

Sheila Corson shares tips utility communicators can use to quickly create quality video content to tell their stories. The software programs mentioned include vyond.com, animaker.com and powtoon.com.

The number of people who need (or even understand) multiple gigs’ worth of broadband speed might be small now, but Matt Daniel lays out the case for why offering such top-end packages makes sense.