Get Smart and Show It
Let's Get Started
Welcome to NTCA’s Smart Communities! You have joined a robust network of broadband providers committed to driving growth and creating opportunities for your neighbors.
Below is a list of resources you can use to share your provider status with your communities and additional materials to keep the momentum going throughout the year.
Feel free to get creative! As long as you have signed the SRC licensing agreement, you are free to embrace the brand as you would like – just be sure to follow our brand guidelines.
Step 1: Download the Logos and Style Guide
Please refer to the Smart Style Guide for full editorial guidelines on each logo and directions on how to use them. Once you have decided which one is right for your company, put it on everything! Some examples of how others have used the logo:
- In employee e-signatures
- On the company website
- On social media graphics
- On community signage and banners
Click on the tabs below for links to download these logos.
- Smart Rural Community Logos
- Smart Connected Community Logos
- Smart Tribal Community Logos
Step 2: Share the Good News
Whether you’ve been an NTCA Smart Community member for a while, or are new to the program, you have access to graphics to share the good news.
- New Member Graphics
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Are you proud to be a new Smart provider? Share this graphic on social media to spread the news. - Current Member Graphics
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Social media is a great way to engage with your community. Click on each graphic below to download the graphics and sample social media copy. Don’t forget to use #SmartRuralCommunity!Show how proud you are to be a Smart provider:
- Example Press Releases
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Let your community know about your new Smart Community provider status through the media. Download the New Smart Provider Media Kit to access press releases.
- Social Media Resources
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Celebrate your success with our Smart Rural Community Social Media Kit.
Step 3: Engage with Your Community
Show your community what it means to be SMART. You can celebrate your community’s status as a Smart Community–from presenting your mayor with a certificate of membership, hosting a ribbon-cutting event, adding a road sign or posting decals to your office windows.
- Certificates
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Show your community what it means to be SMART. There are so many ways you can celebrate your community’s new status as a Smart Community – from presenting the mayor with a certificate to hosting a big ribbon cutting event.Certificates to present to your communities:
- Fiber Road Map
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Smart Rural Communities are about critical collaborations with your community partners and advocates. Use your Fiber Road Map to win funding and generate statewide support. SRC providers can leverage support and enthusiasm for their fiber expansion plans based on new funding opportunities. With your Fiber Road Map you’ll show what you are doing and must do to build out fiber networks while also showing your community stakeholders their roles and how they can knock down roadblocks to fiber expansion. Fiber Road Map provided by Plus One Communications. For questions, contact Tanya Sullivan / [email protected]. - Road Signs
- Smart Rural Community Flyers
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Download the What Does It Mean To Live In A Smart Rural Community Flyer - Smart Notes Editions
Step 4: Keep the Engagement Going
Throughout the year, keep sharing the benefits of a Smart Community. Download a variety of social graphics and materials that showcase the benefits of being a Smart Community.
- Economic Development: National Small Business Week (April/May)
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National Small Business Week is April 28–May 4, 2024. Celebrate with the following resources.- Smart Rural Community Small Business Social Media Graphics
- Smart Connected Community Small Business Social Media Graphics
- Smart Tribal Community Small Business Social Media Graphics
Broadband creates jobs. Bringing broadband to rural communities can create and expand telework job opportunities in the community, increasing local wage and tax revenues.
- Community Connections: Digital Inclusion, Advocacy and Telling Your Story (June/July)
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When you think of a story, there’s usually a hero. Who are the heroes in the Smart Rural Community Story? It’s not the broadband provider – it’s the teacher who can connect with their students. It’s the doctor who can provide telehealth services now. It’s the family that moves to a new neighborhood because it’s connected. It’s the grandparents who can video chat with their grandkids across the country. As you think about the way you tell your company’s story, and the Smart Community story, think about how you can celebrate those heroes. - Education and Workforce: Back to School (August/Sept)
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Smart Community schools get an A+ for broadband access! Celebrate your local teachers and students:Consider dropping off school supplies or technology to your local school. Host a workshop for teachers and parents on how to use the latest technologies available to them. Sponsor a local pep rally or school sporting event. Partner with your high school to do job training.
Suggested Posts
Social media graphics:- Smart Rural Community Education Social Graphics
- Smart Connected Community Education Social Graphics
- Smart Tribal Community Education Social Graphics
Sample copy:
[Company Name] is proud to be a #SmartRuralCommunity provider, serving [x] schools with robust broadband service. Connected by fiber broadband, students and teachers can achieve more.Consider getting a quote from a local educator to add to the graphics!
- Healthcare: National Rural Health Day (Oct/Nov)
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Broadband access changes the game for health care. Think about ways you can partner with your local hospitals, clinics, and health care providers:- Meet with hospital officials to discuss technology needs
- Sponsor a blood drive or an event with a local hospital
- Consider setting up a telehealth space, like a Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) Virtual Living Room for veterans
Social media graphics:
- Smart Rural Community Health Care Social Graphics
- Smart Connected Community Health Care Social Graphics
- Smart Tribal Community Health Care Social Graphics
Broadband delivers health care. Broadband-enabled telemedicine promises easy access to greater health care benefits and significant economic benefits for rural America.
- Agriculture: National Ag Day (Feb/March)
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Broadband enables precision agriculture. Bringing broadband to agriculture driven communities enables precision agriculture; improving efficiencies and empowering farmers to make better production decisions.Social Media Graphics:
Step 5: Showcase Your Work
If you are creating opportunities and enhancing the quality of life in your rural communities using your robust broadband networks, we challenge you to showcase your work by applying for the Smart Rural Community℠ Showcase Awards.
Your company has worked tirelessly throughout the year to promote rural broadband networks and broadband-enabled applications in your community through innovative economic development, education, health care, government services, safety and security, and other vital needs.
Share your achievements with the industry and inspire others in the SRC network by submitting your application. Together, we can work toward building a brighter future for rural America.
Step 6: Advocate
Invite Your Elected Officials to Visit Your Company
Use this letter template to invite elected officials to visit your company. Included are tips for hosting a successful visit with elected officials.
DOWNLOAD SRC SAMPLE CONGRESS INVITE AND TIPS
Advocate
Smart Communities offers a powerful advocacy brand that you can use to share your story with legislators and policymakers. Smart providers are welcome to use this recommendation letter from NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield when applying for grant funding. Please alert [email protected] if you plan to use this letter.
Advocacy examples:
KanOkla
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., visited the community of Caldwell, Kan., served by KanOkla Networks, to recognize Caldwell as a Smart Rural Community. “This milestone for the Caldwell community is a step forward in making certain rural America is equipped with the same resources and access as other parts of the country,” said Moran. He also praised the partnership between KanOkla and the Sumner County Hospital District 1.
HTC
Highland Telephone Cooperative (Sunbright, Tenn.) General Manager Mark Patterson celebrated the company’s new Smart Rural Community designation at an event with officials from the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development and the office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).