The StoryConnect Podcast

What is your boss worried about? Bruce Mottern of TDS facilitated the CEO and General Manager Peer Group Roundtable Session at the 2016 TTA Annual Meeting, and shares some of what was discussed. Website: www.tdstelecom.com

Can “free” Wi-Fi be a new revenue stream for your company? Keith Jones of CCI Systems gives an overview of the session he led at the Tennessee Telecommunications Association Annual Conference in Franklin, Tennessee. Website: www.ccisystems.com

When you sell someone gigabit Internet service, will they be able to use it to its full potential? What equipment will they need? Patrick Moreno of ZyXEL tells us what marketers need to know about gig-capable equipment. This episode was recorded from the 2016 Tennessee Telecommunications Association Annual Conference in Franklin, Tennessee. Website: www.zyxel.com

How do you prepare your telecommunications company to expand into a new market? General Manager/CEO Jonathan West of Twin Lakes talks about the five-year plan his cooperative worked through to expand into Cookeville, Tennessee. This episode was recorded from the 2016 Tennessee Telecommunications Association Annual Conference in Franklin, Tennessee. Website: www.twlakes.coop

Is it time for your company to enter the Twitterverse? Maybe or maybe not. Missy Michaels, director of marketing and customer engagement with United Communications in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, shares some of her ups and downs with social media. This episode was recorded from the 2016 Tennessee Telecommunications Association Annual Conference in Franklin, Tennessee. Website: www.united.net

What’s in store for attendees at the Tennessee Telecommunications Association next week? What’s coming up for Tennessee Telcos in the next legislative session? TTA Executive Director Levoy Knowles tells us what marketers need to know about the upcoming conference and the legislature. Website: www.tenntel.org

Ultra-HD streaming video is coming. Is metered broadband the right way to preserve your network strength and dependibility? What challenges do so-called “data-caps” present for marketers? Matt Krueger and Anthony Ring of Shentel discuss how they’ve blazed a new trail for telcos that meter their customers’ data useage. Website: www.shentel.com

Marketing departments are always fielding requests for sponsorship and donations. Do you have a plan to make sure your company’s donation budget is being use wisely? Glenn Muske of the North Dakota State University Cooperative Extension office says you have to be prepared with a strategy before the local community groups come asking. Website: More about Glenn

When Duo County Telecom in Kentucky launched gigabit service, Director of Marketing Eric West knew he needed to educate customers about the new speeds available. But what’s the best west to translate complex technology and loads of jargon into something regular people can understand? Eric and the Duo team used a unique video and other channels to communicate their new offerings. Website: Some of K...

How many places does a potential customer interact with your company? Is your company putting your best face forward in each of those contact points? Lori Vergin of MPower Consulting explains how immersion or immersive marketing can turn customers into advocates. Website: www.mpoweryourbusiness.com/bio.html

You’ve built a robust fiber network. Now what? Chris Castagneri, marketing manager at Cooperative Network Services in Minnesota, says, “If you’re an ISP with fiber-to-the-premise, you want your customers to want—believe in—and love direct fiber.” Website: www.cooperative-networks.com

When it comes to non-regulated services, are you thinking outside the box? Andy Isackson, marketing manager for CTC in Minnesota, discusses creative ways to market such services. Website: www.connectctc.com

Are you looking to buy video clips for your local channel productions, or even entire shows? Or maybe you’d like to sell some of your video work to other providers. Edward Hinson, executive director of competitive operations for Skyline/Skybest in North Carolina, talks about how The Video Exchange works. #014 The Video Exchange, With Edward Hinson Of Skyline-Skybest

Is it time to change your brand? Morgan Lovell of Clear Lake Telephone in Iowa discusses how her company went through the rebranding process. Website: www.cltel.com

Email is still effective. In fact, it can be a powerful and effective marketing tool when the content is strategically relevant. In this episode of StoryConnect: The Podcast, Matt Krueger, Marketing Manager at Shentel, discusses the tactics used by his company. Website: www. Shentel.com

What is your story, and why is it important to share it with your customers? Storytelling is a powerful way to connect with your customers, according to Kelly Swanson, an award-winning speaker from North Carolina. Kelly was a featured speaker at the 2016 PR and Marketing Conference hosted by NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association. Website: www. KellySwanson.net

With so many distractions, utilities are in a battle for the consumer’s attention. How do you communicate your message in such a fractured market? Brad Molander is a “technology evangelist” with NISC, and he joined WordSouth’s Andy Johns at the recent RTIME event (the annual telco event hosted by NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association) to discuss disruptive technology and how to capture a consumer’s...

Carissa Swenson, with Consortia Consulting, spoke with WordSouth’s Andy Johns at the recent RTIME event, hosted by NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association. When it comes to selling broadband services, she reminds listeners that “it’s not about the speeds, it’s about what people can do with that connectivity.” She advocates helping customers understand why they need high-speed connections, in part by...

In order for people to respond to your products, sometimes those products need a human element. Maybe even a super-human element. In this episode, Mcxie Hurst, marketing manager of Peoples Telephone Cooperative in Quitman, Texas, talks about how their “Super Steve” promotion took their broadband offerings to new heights. Website: www.peoplescom.net

We all know that cooperatives have power stories to tell. Mark Patterson, general manager of Highland Telephone Cooperative in Sunbright, Tennessee, recently spoke with WordSouth’s Andy Johns about how his company uses HTC’s story to communicate the cooperative’s purpose. Listen as Mark shares how storytelling turned a bland report to the government into a vivid document that showed the impact HTC...

WordSouth had the honor of being asked to present at the 2016 RTIME, the Rural Telecom Industry Meeting & EXPO presented by NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association. VP of Telecom Andy Johns and Managing Editor Noble Sprayberry traveled to Orlando in February to present “Sharing Your Story” f0r RTIME attendees. Before they left, WordSouth President & CEO Stephen V. Smith interviewed Andy and N...

There is a lot of talk these days about incorporating storytelling into your marketing efforts. But what kind of stories are effective? In this episode of StoryConnect: The Podcast, WordSouth’s Andy Johns speaks with Carrie Huckeby, chief marketing officer for WK&T in Mayfield, Kentucky, and Ardmore Telephone in Ardmore, Alabama. Carrie gives practical examples of how her companies are engagin...

Telling your own story is one thing, but there is great power in having your customers tell your story for you. In this episode of StoryConnect: The Podcast, WordSouth’s Andy Johns speaks with Shannon Sears, the director of commercial operations for West Carolina Tel headquartered in Abbeville, South Carolina. Shannon talks about a residential development that WCT serves with fiber, where the gene...

There is a wealth of information about user habits inside your network, and marketers can harness that information to drive sales and increase ARPU. But how? Allison Brausen recorded this interview prior to presenting at the 2015 StoryConnect conference on the topic of “Harnessing Network Data for Target Marketing.” Allison is the senior manager of marketing campaigns for Calix, a leading global p...

Jim Keiffer is President of Keiffer Energy and Management Consulting. His four decades in the natural gas and electricity industry include many year leading marketing as well as customer strategy/support for TVA. In this episode of StoryConnect: The Podcast, Jim talks about how utilities can increase customer participation in their programs. This interview was recorded just before StoryConnect: Th...