The Montana Institute is Repurposing, Revitalizing, and Refreshing our Social Pages

Have you seen the recent postings in The Montana Institute’s social pages?

Hello everyone, I would like to introduce myself. My name Christopher Linkenbach and I have recently joined the TMI team to help out in several areas of the business, including social media and its online presence! Our intention with The Montana Institute’s (TMI) recent social media activity is to repurpose, revitalize, and refresh our social media pages. The Spirit behind this work is to use social media as a means for transforming communities in a positive and effective way. TMI also wants to recognize the need for social media campaigns that model the framework of the Science of The Positive and proper norms for communication.  

Why is Social Media Important?

We all know that Social Media is a fantastic way to engage with large audiences with the click of the button; but what if instead of using social media to watch funny videos of dogs or watching sports highlights, we could use social media to create campaigns that transform communities for the better and highlight how the positive plays a role in this transformation (while also watching funny videos of dog and sports highlights)?

What is the Science of the Positive?

The Science of the Positive (Linkenbach, 2010) is the study of the ways in which positive factors impact culture and experience. It is based on the core assumption that the Positive is real and is worth growing, and provides a framework for systematizing the identification, measurement and growth of the positive—in ourselves, our families, our workplaces, and our communities. According to The Science of the Positive, "The Positive" consists of the behaviors, attitudes, perceptions, traditions, language, and other factors that have a beneficial impact on health, culture, and human experience (Linkenbach, 2016).

Our intention is to filter all of our social media posting through the filter of the Science of the Positive. 

What are our Intentions?

We plan to launch right into a ‘30 Days of The Positive’ campaign, outlining the positive and showing that the positive exists and is real. Our campaign is going to follow the same effective communications guidelines that we have been teaching for years now. 

Following the Spirit-Science-Action-Return model, we connect with the Spirit or “the why” of our work by: 

• Following data and Science proven methods and in taking  Action based on the current needs of our social media campaign. 

• Testing our content using survey analysis.

• Posting our content on a regular basis with the intent to outline the positive in our communities. 

• Entering into the Return of our work following the campaign, coming back into a contemplative space and reflecting on what did and did not work.

• Learning and adjusting our action steps in the future for desired results. 

We will then enter back into the Spirit-Science-Action-Return cycle to continue the method for positive norms communication.

What Can You Do to Help?

Some Action steps you can take right now to help bring positive change into your communities is by following our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to stay tuned into what we are doing with our social media campaign We also ask that you share our content whenever you see something that resonates with your message so that others can begin to learn powerful ways to create change in their own communities. 

We would also love to hear some of your ideas and stories and would be happy to share your content on our social pages as well. If you would like to send us content for use, go ahead and Direct Message us on any of our social media pages or email me, the social media coordinator, using the following email: Chris@montanainstitute.com.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas! - The Montana Institute