Behind the stories: 2024 highlights from the Connected Nation communications team

On today’s podcast – we’re doing something special to wrap up an incredible year.

We're bringing in the award-winning communications team that works behind the scenes daily to spread the word about Connected Nation’s impactful programs and projects – tackling digital inequities from coast to coast.

 We’ll reflect on the biggest challenges, milestones, and victories of 2024, share personal highlights, and even give a glimpse of what’s to come in 2025.

Recommended Links:
Lily's Puerto Rico blog
Ashley & Grant's Interview w/ Marco & Alek
Kailynn's West Virginia story

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:40 Meeting Lily McCoy
• 3:51 Meeting Ashley Pino
• 6:36 Meeting Grant Ahlbrand
• 9:55 Meeting Kailynn Bannon
• 13:50 Grant's time in DC with the podcast
• 15:30 Lily in Detroit with Amazon eero
• 18:35 Ashley's biggest successes of 2024
• 21:46 Challenges and lessons learned in 2024
• 26:42 Advice about communicating your brand effectively
• 31:00 More questions for the team
• 37:35 What each team member considers a victory from 2024
• 40:24 Final thoughts + Conclusion

Transcript

Jessica Denson (00:09):

This is Connected Nation, an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband from closing the digital divide to improving your internet speeds. We talk technology topics that impact all of us are families and our neighborhoods. On today's podcast, we're doing something special. To wrap up an incredible 2024, I'm bringing in the award-winning communications team that works behind the seeds daily to spread the word about connected nations, impactful programs and projects tackling digital inequities from coast to coast, we'll reflect on the biggest challenges, milestones, and victories of 2024, share personal highlights, and even give a glimpse of what's to come in 2025. I'm Jessica Sen, and this is Connected Nation. I'm Jessica Sen. Today I have the privilege of bringing back my incredible team, the award-winning connected Nations communications team. Joining me are Lily McCoy, our senior communications specialist, Ashley Pino, senior marketing specialist, grant Allbrand social media specialist, and our newest member, Kaylinn Bannon, our communications and marketing assistant. Welcome everyone. Say hello.

Ashley Pino (01:18):

Hello. Hi. Hello.

Jessica Denson (01:22):

Before we dive in, I want to highlight just how remarkable this team has been. I'm so proud of you all. This year the communications team won eight Communicator awards. Those are national awards. It's an incredible accomplishment that it showcases the hard work and creativity behind everything we do. But let's dive into some specific introductions so each of the audience can know who they're hearing from as we go along this. Lily, let's start with you. Share a bit about your background, where you're based and what you've been up to this year.

Lily McCoy (01:51):

Yeah, hi everyone. My name is Lily McCoy and I am the senior communication specialist here at Connected Nation. So I'm originally from the northwest suburbs of Chicago in a small town called Woodstock, Illinois, but now I live in Nashville, Tennessee, and I live with my cutie puppy dog. His name is Barrett. He is his Pist. And

Jessica Denson (02:13):

You're trying to get another dog too, right?

Lily McCoy (02:15):

Yes, I am. Me and my boyfriend are actually getting a miniature dachshund in early 2025, so we're super excited. I love dogs if you can't tell. And so this year I've been pretty busy traveling. I've gone on a few trips with my boyfriend and I've attended a lot of weddings. I've attended six weddings this year so far.

Jessica Denson (02:37):

That's got to be a record.

Lily McCoy (02:39):

Yeah, it is. And another fun fact is that I am the second most seniored on the comms team behind Jessica.

Jessica Denson (02:47):

Yeah, you're my first hires when I joined Connect Nation.

Lily McCoy (02:51):

Oh, yeah.

Jessica Denson (02:52):

So far this year, what's been your favorite project or task?

Lily McCoy (02:55):

Yeah, so when I was thinking about this, I enjoy almost every aspect of working in communications and marketing, but this year one of my favorite tasks that I've been working on is definitely video editing. I traveled a few times for Connect Nation events out across in the field this year, and some of those examples was the Amazon Hero partnership kickoff that we had and our digital literacy and learning workshops. So during those events, I recorded and edited video testimonials of Connect Nation partners and program participants, and getting to create those videos and sharing personal success stories with our audience and editing those videos is very rewarding to me.

Jessica Denson (03:38):

It's great to hear their stories out in the wild, so to speak, to really see the impact, isn't it?

Lily McCoy (03:44):

Oh yeah, definitely. It's nice to hear it in person and seeing how it really impacts them.

Jessica Denson (03:51):

Well, let's turn to Ashley, who was our hire after Lily. Ashley, your turn. Tell us about yourself, where you live, and any fun updates for you for 2024.

Ashley Pino (04:01):

All right. Hi, I'm Ashley, and I am the senior marketing specialist here. A little bit about me, I have an undergrad in psychology and a master's in marketing because I decided to not listen to my parents and get a degree in something that I didn't think I could do anything with. So I went back for more school. I live north of Pittsburgh in a little town called Butler that I'm sure all of you have heard of. Now that is on the map and I live, my husband and I both work at home. We are high school sweethearts. We've been married for 20 years, and we have two kids, Tyson 16, Addison 14, a ninth grader and an 11th grader. So they keep us really busy. We're really big sports family. You'll find us most days watching football or lacrosse or volleyball or baseball or any of the sports they play. So that's my personal life, most of what we do.

Jessica Denson (04:57):

I feel like every week you're always telling us you've gone to 14 games in three days time.

Ashley Pino (05:03):

We do. We travel a lot, especially for lacrosse now, and my son's in the middle of recruiting for football, so we have a lot of college visits and that kind of stuff, so they keep us very, very busy, but we do love it all and it's snowing here today where I live, which I don't know some of you that live in the south. Oh, it's

Jessica Denson (05:23):

Just cold here.

Ashley Pino (05:25):

Yeah, it's kind of miserable here all the time, but I work on a lot here at Connected Nation. We all do a little bit of everything, but I do a lot for our at t projects and our digital skills training programs. That is most of what I focus on and it is incredibly rewarding. I get to work with really, really great people, but I also get to just tell the stories of all the people that attend our trainings and how our teens and our trainers are just changing their world and changing the communities one person at a time. So I'll go ahead and lead into probably my favorite thing that I did this year was actually we did an interview grant and I did with Alec and Marco and it was something very out of my comfort zone. It was on camera. I do not have a journalism background, but I think that was probably one of the most fun things that I did because it was something new, something challenging, but really gave people a chance to get to know Alec and Marco, who I think are just outstanding, amazing humans, and they're the ones in the field training everyone every week all over the country on digital skills, and I think they're amazing.

Jessica Denson (06:36):

Well, I've seen the video and it is a great interview. They're really fun to hear and to see them interact with you and Grant, which brings me to Grant. Let's hear about your background and where you're based. Any exciting sports news for you in 2024?

Grant Ahlbrand (06:54):

So I'm Grant Allbrand, and as of a few months back, I'm no longer the newest member of the communications team, which is kind of a little pat in the back for myself. But yeah, I'm originally from a small town in southern Indiana. It's called Jasper. It's about an hour west of Louisville, so you've never heard of it. Don't worry about it. I graduated from Western Kentucky University with a degree in digital marketing back in May of 2023, and I've now been with Connected Nation for just over two and a half years. I recently moved up to Ashley's neck of the woods back in June. I live in downtown Pittsburgh and my girlfriend and I, we are loving it here so far. Well, on the topic of sports news, I'm a diehard Purdue fan, and in 2024, I got to watch them play in their first Final four in 44 years. So my dad, my brother, and my godfather and I went out to Phoenix to watch both games this past April, and it was awesome. We fell a little short to Yukon, but I can't beat 'em up too much. It was an amazing experience, but as of now, my five other teams are about as bad as they've been in a decade, so that's the not so exciting news. So yeah,

Jessica Denson (08:07):

Full transparency for our audience. Grant took on the task of writing our script and for this podcast, and he put it there. Any exciting sports news for you in 2024?

Grant Ahlbrand (08:17):

Yeah, any chance I can get, which is

Jessica Denson (08:19):

Fantastic. Any chance I can get, have you gotten a chance to go to the baseball field there in Pittsburgh yet?

Grant Ahlbrand (08:26):

Yeah, it was actually number one on my to-do my little bucket list for baseball stadiums. I've been to all the great ones. I've been to Wrigley Fenway, and so PNC was my favorite watching it on tv. I'm like the river, the skyline, everything. So I was so excited. So whenever I moved here, I've been to about five or six so far.

Jessica Denson (08:45):

Oh yeah, I've been to that ballpark. It is really neat with the river there, everything, it's pretty. And the mountains right there or the hills. What's been the most rewarding part of work besides being able to catch all the sports games when you can?

Grant Ahlbrand (09:02):

Yeah, I mean that's almost why I put that question in there because anything I'm doing that's not work, I'm just watching sports. But on the work side of things, I'd say being able to implement digital marketing concepts that we've worked on as a team. We had meetings in Louisville this past year where we went through each of us kind of brought ideas and presented how we would implement them and being able to actually implement them and see them pay dividends for our organization has been really, really rewarding to see. It's just one of those things that motivates you more and more to continue to work on ideas to take that next step and the next step after that as a team and an organization as a whole. So yeah, it's been great.

Jessica Denson (09:46):

Well, kudos to you because you bring a lot of great ideas as do other members of this team that things I would never think about, so I appreciate you. I also want to highlight that as Grant mentioned that he's not the newest member of the team any longer. We added Kaylin Bannon to our team this year. Welcome, Kaylin. Tell us a little bit about who you are and where you live in the country and how it's been so far.

Kailynn Bannon (10:11):

Yeah, so my name is Kaylin. I am the newest member now. I just joined the team a few months ago. I graduated from Florida Southern College earlier this year with a degree in communications and journalism, and I did some reporting work in DC over the summer when I lived there. I've lived in Florida my whole life. Other than that, I still live here and unlike with most of you guys, it is not cold here right now. It's almost always pretty hot. We did just have a cold front this past week, so we're at a cool 68 degrees right now. I'm freezing, but my position with Connected Nation has been great so far. I think just graduating from school not too long ago kind of gives me a newer perspective on all the latest teachings and innovations in the communications field. So I love collaborating with everybody on the team and learning all sorts of new things from all you guys,

Jessica Denson (11:11):

And don't hide that. The fact that you love to go to the local parks sometimes. I've talked to you on the weekend, you've been out at the parks. Talk about that a little bit.

Kailynn Bannon (11:21):

Yes, I have annual passes for Universal and Disney, so I live two hours from Orlando, so I'll try to just go there on the weekends sometimes whenever I have free time.

Jessica Denson (11:33):

That sounds fun.

Kailynn Bannon (11:35):

I had Universal passes all my life, so I've done that ever since I was a kid.

Jessica Denson (11:39):

I know Ashley, you recently took a family vacation there, so how would it sound to go constantly to be able to go at any time?

Ashley Pino (11:47):

We brought the cold spell with us, Kayla. That's what everybody kept saying. They're like, it's your fault fault, because it was chilly when we were there.

Jessica Denson (11:57):

For you, Kaylin, I know this is your first job in this type of role, or at least as far as I know, how has it been working in communications and marketing with us?

Kailynn Bannon (12:06):

Yes,

Jessica Denson (12:06):

We're all listening.

Kailynn Bannon (12:09):

So I did some internships in school and right after graduating school where I did some similar stuff and I was able to develop a lot of experience in a bunch of different realms of the communications world, whether that was writing, designing, advertising, radio spots, anything else like that. And I loved getting to do that. And so I was worried that in a future job after graduating college with communications and marketing, that it wouldn't be the same thing and it would kind of be more specific and focused on one task or one part of the job, but that's not what it's been like here at all. I still get to focus on all specs of communication and how they all work together rather than just working on one thing. So I really like that

Jessica Denson (12:54):

All of us dive in for sure in the nonprofit world especially. We have to all have a little bit of

(12:59):

Everything. Well, I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it and I wouldn't expect anything less when I'm talking to you. I'm just kidding. Just so everybody else knows, I am based in Louisville, Kentucky, so it is cold here. It is not warm and like it is 68 sounds wonderful. Right now it's below freezing, but it's not snowing yet. So we're supposed to get some tomorrow. And I'm the communications director and I have a background of about 15 years in journalism, but I've been with Connected Nation for eight, built this team, which is so awesome, and I've been super lucky. All of you make me look great. So we want to dive into a few things, some reflections on 2024 and challenges and the lessons learned. So let's start with the Reflections Grant. This year you began guest hosting the podcast multiple times, even took the show to Washington DC for the Broadband Nation Expo. Can you share what those experiences were like for you and how they shaped your approach to communications?

Grant Ahlbrand (13:59):

Yeah, well, as someone who typically produces the podcast, I'm a little bit more comfortable on the other side of things, but the guest hosting and the trip to dc, it was definitely a great experience to grow my confidence, especially as a younger professional. The trip gave me a more hands-on view on communications and really emphasized the importance of creating and maintaining relationships. You meet so many people at those events and for us, we even work from home. So you spend a little bit more hands-on time with all kinds of different concepts that Connected Nation may be working on that you don't see every day because you're mainly focused on communication. So it was great, but especially with individuals from other organizations and companies in our industry, we had a bunch of people from all different areas of broadband come on the podcast. And not only the 15, 20 minute interviews was I talking to them, it was also checking up with them the day after or if their booth was next to us. So yeah, it was definitely a very fruitful experience.

Jessica Denson (15:07):

I enjoy it when the podcast is in the field. It's great because you meet people you hadn't expected, that type of thing, which I really love. Lily, you mentioned for you, looking back on 2024, you mentioned the Amazon EERO stuff that you did, but you also worked on story for Puerto Rico's broadband infrastructure growth post Hurricane Maria. Can you share a little more about those experiences and why those two stood out for you?

Lily McCoy (15:36):

Yeah, sure. So in June, I went to Detroit for our event with Human IT to launch a new initiative in partnership with eero, which is an Amazon company if you are unaware. The initiative provided over up to a thousand Euro devices, internet access, digital skills training and tech support to underserved communities in Detroit. And while I was there, I got to speak with leadership from Human IT and Amazon plus recipients of the Eero devices. And getting to see how our partnership impacts communities firsthand is very fulfilling because like we said before, we all work from home. So when you're out in the field and being able to see the impact on the work that we're actually doing is very, very fulfilling and rewarding.

Jessica Denson (16:25):

It's pretty cool how just even just talking to one or two people, things you would never imagine before, just having that access, how it can impact your

Lily McCoy (16:35):

Life. Exactly. And I also wrote that article about how broadband infrastructure has improved in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria in 2017. So after that hurricane, many towns and communities were devastated and left. I mean, without necessary resources like food and water and shelter, but also without any internet connection and help from the Puerto Rico broadband program, federal funding in other outside partners like Connected Nation, the number of unserved Puerto Rican households dramatically decreased. And that was some research that we got from our research team and they did a great job. And that's also great news and this topic, why this is important to me is this topic really hit home because my sister-in-law, real sister to me was born and raised in Puerto Rico and a lot of her family still lives there. And I really enjoy being able to research and report on this topic and get to talk about how Puerto Rican communities have improved since this catastrophic storm. So I think that's pretty neat.

Jessica Denson (17:41):

Yeah, I was struck by it because your story and the research from it, because you can imagine your loved one on this island and you can have any, if you don't have access to them or any way to connect or to just check in on them, how difficult that would have to be and how that would feel to be so disconnected.

Lily McCoy (18:01):

Oh, exactly. And luckily for my sister-in-law, her family wasn't near the impact zone, but where she grew up was near the capitol, so it was hard for her. And then I take that in, so when I had the opportunity to write about this story, I definitely wanted to take it.

Jessica Denson (18:19):

Yeah, it was a really good story. We'll include links to some of these stories that we mentioned and the videos and different things that we mentioned throughout in the description of this podcast. Ashley, one of your focuses, as you mentioned earlier, has been on Connected Nation's digital skills training and teens teach tech program. You kind of touched on it a little bit, but can you expand on some of the major successes this year that you've seen?

Ashley Pino (18:42):

Absolutely. So in a quick recap here, our digital skills training program, our connected nation trainers like Alec and Marco go out in the field and go to libraries, go to senior centers, go to different organizations and train adults on digital skills like computer basics, mobile device, internet safety. In our teens Teach Tech program, we have mentors that partner with us all over the country from schools, FBLA organizations and nonprofit organizations. And they form teams of teenagers, excuse me, that then the teens go out and train their community on these exact same skills. So there's a lot of similarities. The programs are very similar, but they're also very different. And one of the best parts of my job is just getting to hear all of the stories from the field and just for example, and teens, teach Tech has only been around about a year and a half now, not even a full two years I don't think.

(19:39):

And we have teams in 31 states, 31 states that just goes to show you that there are so many good people in the world and teenagers that want to do good and want to make the world a better place. They have trained so many, and I can't even begin to tell you how many states Alec and Marco have been to themselves, but we get to hear the stories from them, like the woman that had breast cancer and didn't really know how to use telehealth, and she was so excited when she finally learned how to use her mobile device and to start accessing doctors and the information that she needed so that she could really fight this battle. So we get to hear so many stories like that, and we do have a lot of blogs on our website or interviews on YouTube, and I have to do a plug for our teens Teach Tech Instagram page that if you go follow us, you will see just what these teens are doing and how amazing they are as a program, not just these two programs, but from Connect to Nation Start, we're over a hundred thousand people that have been impacted and trained by programs like these and others that Connected Nation has had over the years.

Jessica Denson (20:44):

I had the privilege of going to a press that was held in Bowling Green, which is southern Kentucky at an event where some of the teens were getting trained and helping immigrants from other countries and refugees. So the impact is incredible. The different kinds of people that are impacted from young adults to seniors to immigrants, to just all kinds of people is pretty incredible. And it's amazing. You guys are more than a hundred thousand people trained, right?

Ashley Pino (21:20):

And again, that's from the start of cn. These two programs for us have been around a couple years now. But yeah, Heather Gate has told me we're well over a hundred thousand people that went through Digital Works, which is another program of ours and other things that we've done over the years that have been impacted and helped from Connected Nation.

Jessica Denson (21:38):

And that's really thanks to at and t whose funding has made it possible for us to do this work. Correct,

Ashley Pino (21:44):

Absolutely. Yeah.

Jessica Denson (21:46):

Alright, let's move on to challenges and lessons learned this year communicating for a non-traditional broad nonprofit, which I mean, what we mean by that is that we are not trying to save puppies and kittens or fundraising for cancer research or some of those traditional nonprofits that are helping communities in that way. We're really kind of a non-traditional nonprofit where a lot of our funding comes from foundations or government funding and that type of thing, not necessarily mom and pop on the street, but it has its own challenges on how we can really bring the human element to that. So I'd like you each to respond with what do you think people should better understand about Connected Nations work? So Ashley, since you just had the floor, how about you pick us up, start it?

Ashley Pino (22:38):

Sure, absolutely. I think the one thing that I would say is they need to understand the amount of experts that we have working for this organization. I mean, I don't need to always think, it's always easy to show, but we have people that have been in this industry for a very long time and know it inside and out, whether it's in our mapping and our GIS or if it's people like Heather Gate and Digital Inclusion, they have been in this world far longer than even me, than someone like I have, and they can help. I just think their hearts are good. They can help. They know the policies, they know the industry, and sometimes the challenge is conveying that and showing that to other people and wanting them to know that we are here to help in one way or another, but man, get to know our people. That's the best thing I could say because there is somebody on our staff that could make your organization better or that could help you

Jessica Denson (23:35):

Help. That's a good answer. Lily, what would you say to that question? What do you think people should better understand about Connected Nations work?

Lily McCoy (23:44):

I think people better understand that Connecta Nation wants to not only make it easier for people to have access to broadband internet, but we want to get the word out about how important the problem of the digital divide in America really is. Before I started working here, I mean I just assumed that almost everyone had access to the internet or they can get their work done, but that is certainly not the case. So making sure that people are aware of that problem, which is what we do, I think that is really important.

Jessica Denson (24:17):

Another good answer. I'm proud of you guys. Grant, what would you say to that one?

Grant Ahlbrand (24:22):

Well, first of all, I would say note to self, the next time I write a script, I should put myself first because Ashley said exactly what I was going to say. But no, I just have to agree both with Lily and Ashley. But I was going to say about our people mean like she mentioned, we have, we're just made up of seasoned experts from all areas of the broadband industry, but the one thing they have in common is their straightforward common goal of connecting the unconnected. Although the pandemic, which started in 2020 showed us the true impact of the digital divide for the first time, like Ashley mentioned, I mean our team members have, most of them have dedicated their careers to closing the digital divide that Lily talked about, and for in some cases decades before the pandemic. I think that this makes our organization one of a kind, and so many of our people have seen the highs and lows of the broadband industry over the course of 20 years. So I think it's a very, very special spot for anyone interested in broadband and I couldn't be more happy to be an employee here. Yeah.

Jessica Denson (25:34):

And Kaylin, I recognize that you're the newest one on board, so I'm interested to hear how you would answer that. What do you think people should really understand about Connected Nation's work?

Kailynn Bannon (25:43):

Yeah, so before working here, I also, I kind of like Lily just assumed that everyone for the most part has access to internet, but that isn't the case. So everybody has said, I think it's really the people that make this nonprofit and that's what people really need to understand about Connected Nation's work is that even though everybody shares the same goal of bridging that digital divide is that Connected Nation does so much more than just the one thing. There's so many different talented people that are all a part of the process to closing that digital divide and people dedicated specifically towards digital skills training and making sure that on a local level that people are really able to understand internet and connection and everybody on the team works towards that purpose to fulfill specific and various needs, whatever those may be.

Jessica Denson (26:42):

Good job. Kaylin. On that point, we mentioned our people at Connected Nation. I would like to point out that the four of you are experts in your fields in comms and PR and marketing. So what advice would you give other organizations to help spread the word about their brand effectively? Kaylin, I'm going to put you on the spot. I didn't have your name down here, but I'd like you to start. You mentioned that there were some new things you'd learned coming out of school, so what would be one piece of advice you would give another brand?

Kailynn Bannon (27:15):

Yeah, I would really say to just listen to the brand's audience because not everyone is the same. Everybody has different needs, everybody has different preferences and everybody is going to listen and look at information in a different way. So I think the most valuable thing that I've learned is that you really have to make you branding specific to who you want to listen.

Jessica Denson (27:40):

Good answer. And Lily, what would you say to that?

Lily McCoy (27:43):

I would say ditto. I would say, yeah, it is really important knowing who your audience is because then it makes it so much easier to tailor your content so you can grab their attention. If we are working with other nonprofits, maybe email campaign, and when we're looking for maybe some new participants for our digital literacy and learning or teams teach tech, then maybe they're looking for more visuals. So as Kaylin said, knowing your audience so you can make content to grab their attention. And I would also say don't be scared to try the latest communications and social media trends. I mean, we tried TikTok and reels and I just encourage all brands to try them all out and see what sticks with your audience.

Grant Ahlbrand (28:30):

Great.

Jessica Denson (28:31):

You're up.

Grant Ahlbrand (28:31):

Yeah, and as I mentioned previously, I really think people should be your driving force behind your message. I mean, being able to lean on experts that have the stats, the experience, and even the hands-on knowledge, pairing that with your content creation skills as a communications or marketing professional, I think gives your organization's message a genuine texture that is really, really hard to replicate by just winging it on your own. I mean, we're great and everything, but being able to lean on some other people for just that extra bit of texture and real world expertise really, really helps.

Jessica Denson (29:10):

And Ashley, how would you answer that question?

Ashley Pino (29:13):

Well, since everybody else already said it, I think you guys know, I'm always going to say know your target market. That's always going to be my first answer. But second to that is know what your goal is and everything that you create, whether it's a real or it blog or a press release or whatever it is, there has to be an intent with what you're doing. So we're not just writing to write, we're writing to let somebody know a very specific thing we're writing. When I create an ad or do something for one of my programs, the intent is that I want them to go to the site and click on an interest form and to show interest. So everything needs to be done with intent, with a goal, with your strategy in mind.

Jessica Denson (29:58):

Yeah, I think it's easy because comms and marketing is very external, so people see it, they're bombarded by it, they're around it. So a lot of times it's easy for people to say, oh, this is no big deal, or We have a big idea for this. But without those questions answered such as target audience and what your goal is and really is this the message that's going to land for them? Are we on the right platform? All those questions come into play, whereas it's not just a simple, oh, let's be creative today and do a silly video. Sometimes there's moments for that, but for the most part, you really do have to ask a lot of questions, and there's a lot of preparation that goes in between our messages, even our social media channels. We make a very strong effort to make sure we have a clear same voice, I think, and I think you guys all do a great job with that.

(30:52):

I don't think anybody would know if I was posting versus one of you, or we all take a day where we spend several hours on social media. So I just think that that planning, that extra step and that knowing your audience is such a key point of it all. Okay, so let's look ahead. I'll keep you all for just a little bit more. I know you've got lots to do today. Let's talk about trends and some victories, and then we'll look ahead to 2025 as well. Ashley, you've continued to work on strategic marketing this year. What trends have you really noticed recently that we should watch in 2025?

Ashley Pino (31:31):

Well, I think Grant has mentioned definitely ai, but how AI isn't always a bad thing. It is a good thing in a lot of ways, and it is something that can help if used properly. So definitely think that you're going to, people in the field in all fields are going to start to see more and more of that and just finding ways to navigate it and to be useful, but also to what you just said before, there's a lot of noise out there. And not that being noisy in marketing is a trend, but it is because we're all being attacked at every angle with information, whether it's email, social media, just text messages, it doesn't matter. It's everywhere. So really I think it's going to be finding a way to cut through it, and that goes back to the things we mentioned before, but definitely I think we're going to see one of the trends is just information being given to us and many, many, many different forms in the next year, and it's going to be a lot and it's going to be consistent in just finding a way to navigate it.

Jessica Denson (32:36):

The thing that with AI that makes me the most is because a lot of comms people use a program called Canva, and if you use Canva with their little magic AI thing, for some reason AI has a problem with hands. The hands look funny, and that's across the board. I've heard that not just with Canva, but anybody using AI hands, they look like you'll get an extra finger, they'll look weird. They're long. For some reason AI is having trouble with ams, but it'll get better. Grant as our social media specialist, what would you say to any kind of professional looking to use social media more in 2025?

Grant Ahlbrand (33:15):

Yeah, I'd say as a professional that has a LinkedIn or any other social media account, but may not be using it as much as they like. I mean you always hear with either coworkers or your parents or anything, they're like, yeah, I have it, but I don't really know how to use it or I don't know how to find the stuff that I want to find. And the thing is, is that all the social media algorithms have moved to a user experience that is hyper-focused on your interests. So that sounds kind of strange and out there a little bit, but for example, if I want to see more content about Manchester United on my timeline, I should comment or repost on the post that I'm interested in because this will lead to my timeline then being filled with Manchester United content the next time I open the app. It works the same way professionally. So if you're a broadband professional, especially focused on news about bead, the more posts that you interact with, the quicker you'll be up to date on all things beat. So it basically just works. It's so much easier now. You just click what you like, you like it, you comment on it, and it will self populate your timeline to be directly focused to what you want to see.

Jessica Denson (34:28):

I think that's an interesting point that then you'll get to it quicker. It's very true. My LinkedIn is, so it's all broadband bead because that's what we talk about a lot. Lily, you've been with Connect Nation the longest besides me, of course. How have you seen the communications landscape evolve and what opportunities stood out for you in 2024 and as we look towards 2025?

Lily McCoy (34:51):

Thanks, Jess. Yeah, so I think the communication landscape is always evolving. That's why I like working in this industry. There's always new things coming up. What I've seen over the year is growth and popularity of visual communications, and that's in many forms. It's in photos, commercials, storytelling, and much more. But I've seen the majority of visual communication opportunities in video and online video and at Connected Nation, we've been continuing to work on our long form and short form video content to really get our mission and message across to our audience. And it seems to be working because we've been doing a lot of our short term reels and video content on teens Teach Tech Instagram, as Ashley mentioned earlier, and it's really been gaining traction and good audience. So I think that's where it's kind of evolving into

Jessica Denson (35:44):

And our teams teach Tech. Instagram is really one of our favorites of the year, I think, for all of us. I like watching what you guys do over there and it's just really good content. Speaking of videos, I need to do an end of 2024 cap cap video for us. I have a note here to do that for CN Kaylin as our newest team member. As I know you're still getting familiar with things and I've thrown you in the deep end a couple of times here, but you've been doing great. As you look ahead to 2025, what are some things that maybe you're excited about?

Kailynn Bannon (36:18):

So I think Grant had a really good point about utilizing LinkedIn more, and I say that next year that everyone should be paying attention more on how we utilize specific platforms, especially when it comes to social media because like I was saying before, each platform serves different audiences. Different audiences have different wants, they have different needs. And so some type of content, kind of like Lily was talking about, videos will work better on some platforms like Instagram maybe than they will with others like LinkedIn. And so we can reach more people if we cater specifically towards them and what they want to see.

Jessica Denson (36:58):

Yeah, I've seen some videos on LinkedIn, but I really kind of feel like that place is not necessarily the place for it.

(37:05):

Yeah, a lot of that is because a professional platform versus Instagram can be kind of fun and you can have some fun with things when you're in a professional setting. Sometimes you're like, I don't want that 10 minute video there or that video. But yes, that's great. One thing I think we do well as a team, all of you do a great job, is you may post one thing for X, formerly Twitter and then something else, even if it's the same topic in a different way on LinkedIn or Facebook. So I think you do a really great job with that. Let's celebrate some victories. What's one moment where you felt your work really hit the mark this year? Ashley, we'll start with you this time.

Ashley Pino (37:48):

Well, I don't think I can pick one moment, and I've already mentioned our interview with Alec and Marco, which is my favorite. Please, if you're listening, go watch it. You'll fall in love with them as well, and you'll want to bring them to your community to train everybody. So I don't know, I don't think I can pick one moment. I have really enjoyed telling all the stories and being able to communicate it across the board. I've enjoyed, I created a newsletter for digital skills training that is really successful and brought in a lot of leads for what we're doing. And I've had the opportunity to work alongside Grant in both of these projects, and it has really, it's been really great and he's had really great ideas and I think that we do just a good job bouncing ideas off of each other and growing these programs.

Jessica Denson (38:33):

Lily, I have you up next.

Lily McCoy (38:37):

Yeah, so for me, this is more of, I think it's like a team victory and that victory is seeing our teams work, celebrate people from all walks of life, from different races, ethnicities, and economic backgrounds. It's important to remember that it doesn't matter who you are, where you're from or what you do, everyone deserves to have access to high-speed internet, and we love to share that message with our audience.

Jessica Denson (39:03):

That's great. I love, actually, it was, Caitlin and I were talking about planning that for 2025, Caitlyn, so why don't you answer the next one.

Kailynn Bannon (39:12):

Yeah. So although I'm new to the team, I really do like writing those blogs since I mainly specialize in writing, I love learning about different people's stories and how broadband access impacts them specifically. And so writing these blogs have just really given people the chance to have their story told and their hard work appreciated. And hopefully we'll share something that the audience can learn or find value in. And as a writer, it also helps me learn more about the strides that people are taking in the broadband world and how there's even more room for innovation and growth.

Jessica Denson (39:48):

All right. Grant, you had you up last on this one.

Grant Ahlbrand (39:51):

Yeah, I really felt like working Withand, working in tandem with Ashley on the at t projects has been really rewarding. I mean, we did so much work preparing social posts, videos, blogs, press releases, and newsletters for the launch of both the programs in the summer. And being able to see that translate to really big numbers of people trained and also new Teach Tech teams has been great. I mean, being able to be a small part in two programs that continue to make such big impacts has just been an awesome experience.

Jessica Denson (40:24):

That's great. Alright. I give, every time I interview somebody, I always give them a final chance to add anything they wanted to say that we maybe didn't touch on. Grant has here in the script that what sets Connected Nations team apart, which I really love. So if there's anything that you want to say about what you think sets our team apart or if there's anything that you wanted to touch on about future trends that we didn't touch on, I think whatever you would like to make this final response is up to you. So Kaylin, you could kick us off.

Kailynn Bannon (40:59):

So kind of like what I was saying before, I think that Connected Nation is just so special because everybody's working towards the same goal and everybody is helping each other with that and using their own skills to specialize in stuff like that. And so I really think that's what makes the team special, and I think in the future, just really sticking to watching at those social media trends to see what the audience needs and what they're looking forward to.

Jessica Denson (41:28):

Great. Ashley?

Ashley Pino (41:31):

Yeah, I think, I mean our team here sitting on this call and the Connected Nation team in general, I'm going to say what sets us apart is our hearts. I haven't met a person that works here that isn't doing it for the good. I mean, certainly most of the time you don't meet anybody that works at a nonprofit that isn't doing it for the good. It's rewarding, but it's also because we truly want the world to be a better place. We want people to have access, we want people to have knowledge, we want them to live their best life. So I really think that just all of us at Connected Nation, that's what makes us different is that we want everybody to have their best life.

Jessica Denson (42:15):

That made me tear up a little bit. Grant, you're up.

Grant Ahlbrand (42:20):

Yeah, I mean, we've mentioned it before, but it's just our people and their lived experience I think really sets our organization apart. And as far as trends, just to stay on the kind of people front, I think Lily and Kaylin who write more, do an amazing job of capturing the stories of real impacted people. And I mean Ashley does it as well with both programs and I think they'll continue to play a big part in marketing communications. I mean, personal testimonials are becoming more and more impactful and I think rightly so. I think many people would prefer to see how they can relate to the story or message above everything else. Maybe being able to see the raw experience and opinions and just everything that comes with a personal testimony, I think is the best form of communications possible.

Jessica Denson (43:20):

I would agree with that for sure. Impact stories really matter and people want to know that what they're a part of matters. Lily, why don't you give us our final response for that?

Lily McCoy (43:30):

Yeah, so what sets our team apart, no doubt is our ability to work together no matter what the circumstances are, even though everyone in Connected Nation, we live all across the us. Some people are on Eastern Time zone, I'm on Central. We have people on the west coast, we even have somebody in Hawaii. And no matter what the circumstances are, we still work as a unit rather than a big group of individuals. And that is what creates success and a great organization to work for.

Jessica Denson (44:01):

Well, thank you team for sharing your insights and reflections on such an incredible 2024. I'm grateful to have you each a part of the communications team as a communications director, you make my work look great and easy, and I appreciate each one of you so very much.

Grant Ahlbrand (44:19):

We appreciate you, Jessica.

Jessica Denson (44:21):

Yes,

Lily McCoy (44:21):

Thank you. And happy holidays.

Jessica Denson (44:23):

Yeah, happy holidays again. I've been talking with the award-winning connect to Nations communications team, Lily McCoy, Ashley Pino, grant Allbrand, and Kaylin Bannon. And Grant, since as we mentioned, you started guest hosting this year. Why don't you do the honors and send us out for 2024?

Grant Ahlbrand (44:48):

Yeah, so this wraps up season five of our podcast, March, 2025. Coming up here in just over three months, marks five years of the Connected Nation Podcast. We are excited to bring you new guests and fresh conversations in season six. Until then, I'm Grant Alre. And I'm Jessica Benson. Wishing you a happy holidays and wonderful New Year.