Tired of pillaging old ideas for your next magazine? Wish you could come aboard to trade tales and tactics with other story seafarers? Forget gold. Stories ARRRRRR your real treasure. Let’s chart a course to find them together!

Set sail for the StoryConnect Conference in sunny St. Augustine, Florida, March 10-13, with a crew of rural telco and electric utility communicators. The unique, story-centered conference is designed to help you discover and refine corporate storytelling skills, all while having fun and building a national network of peers.

Never been? Here’s what you’ll learn on the journey:

1. Strengthen Digital, Accessible & Internal Storytelling Skills

Storytelling—defining a tone and strategy to connect your brand with consumers—is at the center of all conference content. Speakers come from within the broadband and electric industry as well as other brands, including:

• Nick Birdsong, director of digital and social media for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, leads you through social storytelling strategy to help you score on your home turf.
• Tracie Snow, president of the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, shares ways to make stories accessible for everyone.
• Patrick Wood and Gene McCoy, the masterminds behind racing legend Chip Thunder at Co-Mo Connect in Missouri, help you tackle video storytelling. Hear how a green screen, racing helmet and healthy fake mustache created a comedic community icon.
• Debra Weller, president of the Florida Storytelling Association, helps you navigate to the heart of your story to become a stronger public speaker.
• Wendy Jones, director of public relations and communications at Jackson EMC, Georgia, knows that no matter your team’s size, internal storytelling is challenging. She dives into how her team keeps 440 staff connected and heading in the same direction.

We’ll also tackle how to sail stormy seas in a crisis and find stories that connect with your community. The crew will work together in roundtables on artificial intelligence and using data to chart your course, too. And if yer struggling to find a port with younger consumers, we’ve got rizzin ideas to bring them on board. No Cap’n!

2. Dig Deeper with the Writing and Photography Track

You’ve got a story, but how do you help it connect to readers? StoryConnect features a hands-on writing and photography track geared specifically for communicators who write or take pictures for their broadband or utility magazine.

The track, which attendees can pick and choose sessions from, includes picture assignments and an early morning photo walk with photojournalist Billy Weeks. Writers work together, led by Pioneer’s editorial team, to sail the seven C’s. Get tips on writing calls to action, making stories concise and more page-turning strategies.

Want a preview? Read Noble Sprayberry’s post, Compel Connections, Call for Action and Complete the Story, or listen to Billy discuss visual storytelling on Episode 228 of “The StoryConnect Podcast.”

3. Build Your Network

While we’d like to think our story-focused speakers are a big draw, we know they’re not the only reason folks attend. By joining 100 telco and electric utility communicators from across the country, you and the real-world ideas you share are the stars of StoryConnect.

The conference creates several ways to expand your network and hear what works from your peers:

• Pre-Conference Networking Adventures: Start networking on Monday, March 10, by adding one of three optional adventures to your day! Enjoy St. Augustine, the oldest city in America, where you can connect with peers on a sea cruise with fort views, climb to the crow’s nest of a lighthouse or sip and distill your story with local spirits. Tours leave from the hotel between noon and 2 p.m. Monday, March 10, and have an extra fee to cover costs. (Fee paid during registration. You can add afterwards if space is available.)
• NEW! Beach Brainstorm & Brew: Don’t want to be stuck inside all day? Neither do we! Let’s start every day on the beach. Led by Pioneer pirates Becky Mashburn and Sarah Lancaster, hear what stories are working, swing a sword* at shared challenges, brainstorm ways to strengthen campaigns and—if you’re lucky!—find buried treasure. *Pirate swords provided for idea duels.
• Idea Exchange: Nine communicators and marketers take the stage, each sharing a powerful storytelling tactic in three minutes. Have an idea you’d like to share? Tell us!
• Professional Headshots: While we often talk about strengthening utility stories, don’t forget to build a professional network and strengthen your personal brand story, too. Update your image with free professional headshots!

Develop Your Story at StoryConnect

Whew! The final agenda will be published soon. As you can see, we’re getting pretty excited about heading to the beach this spring. We hope you’re ready to ship out, too.