As belief declines and client expectations rise, model values have change into important. You possibly can see this in how folks choose manufacturers on social media.
In keeping with a Q3 2025 Sprout Social Pulse Survey, practically half of social media customers (47%) usually tend to purchase from firms that talk out about particular causes or matters within the information, with this quantity rising to 63% for Gen Z. And in response to a separate, Q2 2025 Pulse Survey, the boldest factor an organization can do on social is be upfront about their merchandise, providers and what they stand for.
By incorporating your values into your model technique and your model storytelling, you’re higher positioned to construct belief, strengthen your status and encourage customers to purchase from you.
Learn on to see how main manufacturers put their values into motion and to learn to outline and talk yours on social media.
What are model values?
Model values are the beliefs that information a corporation’s enterprise practices. They assist leaders make strategic choices and allow workers and clients to gauge whether or not the group resides as much as its acknowledged values.
Together with a number of different foundational components (like mission, imaginative and prescient, story, voice, and many others.), a model’s values play a key function in its identification and notion, each internally and externally.
Why model values are vital for companies
If you wish to construct a memorable model with a loyal following, you want model values to face out, construct belief and join with audiences on a deeper degree.
To show this, let’s contemplate the shopper journey of shopping for a pair of sneakers. Whereas manufacturers could be comparable when it comes to value or design, the choice usually comes all the way down to which model’s values align with the patron’s personal. Values are the distinction between “I like this shoe so I’m going to purchase it,” and “I like what this model stands for, and shopping for from this model makes me really feel good, so I’m going to purchase this shoe.” Model values set up an emotional connection between customers and your model.
This shoe instance illustrates the affect that model values have on buying choices. Values give your model one thing to face on that’s larger than your services or products. However right here’s the catch: You must talk your values clearly and frequently so customers affiliate them together with your model.
Working your values into your social media content material technique makes it simpler to inform genuine tales that mirror what your model stands for. In keeping with The 2025 Sprout Social Index™, customers ranked authenticity as an important trait of name content material.
And authenticity pays off. In keeping with Sprout’s Q2 2025 Pulse Survey, 41% of social media customers say they’re almost definitely to name out a model for unethical habits. This exhibits individuals are paying consideration, and while you constantly again up your values with motion, you stand to strengthen your model status.
6 examples of sturdy model values
Worth-driven manufacturers encourage model loyalty and inspire folks to behave. By constructing on sturdy values, you’ll be able to create a office workers are proud to be part of, a model customers belief and a presence followers wish to interact with on social.
Step one is making your values seen. Values-driven companies don’t draw back from making their values accessible.
Beneath are a number of manufacturers which might be main by instance with sturdy values. Be happy to make use of this as inspiration you’ll be able to apply to your personal model values.
1. Sprout Social
Sprout’s values are constructed into the instruments we develop and the best way we current ourselves to clients. After 15 years of innovation, we not too long ago refreshed our values to mirror the place we at the moment are.
Listed below are Sprout’s up to date values:
Be a pleasure to work with
Put your identify on it
Change the sport
All in, all collectively
By creating options like Sprout’s Social Buyer Care instrument, we assist manufacturers be a pleasure to work with by streamlining workflows and permitting folks to deal with significant interactions that strengthen buyer relationships and construct loyalty.
Sprout lives its put your identify on it precept by constantly publishing unique analysis, like The 2025 Impression of Social Media Advertising Report, to share insights that profit entrepreneurs throughout the trade.
You possibly can see how Sprout is all in, all collectively by way of exterior partnerships like our expanded integration with Salesforce, and in the truth that workers and executives are sometimes the voice of our social content material. These examples present that we worth collaboration, each internally and externally.
The lesson right here is that evolving your values is simply as vital to staying genuine as dwelling them. As a substitute of clinging to values that not serve your model, updating them as your model evolves can open up new methods to innovate and join.
2. Marriott Worldwide
Marriott Worldwide, a widely known hospitality model, has values that align with its attain and focus.
Marriott Worldwide’s core values embody:
We put folks first
We pursue excellence
We embrace change
We act with integrity
We serve our world
Marriott Worldwide places folks first by recognizing hardworking workers with the J. Willard Marriott Awards of Excellence, then celebrating the winners on social by sharing what drives them.
Marriott Worldwide additionally runs a number of initiatives in step with its dedication to serve our world. HotelHelp, a pilot program that donates rooms to supply emergency lodging for human trafficking survivors, is considered one of these initiatives.
By way of these examples, you’ll be able to see how Marriott Worldwide’s values unify each inside and exterior touchpoint of its international model technique. No matter your model’s dimension, you need to be striving for consistency as a result of it’s a constructing block of belief.
3. Blueland
Blueland, a plastic-free cleansing merchandise firm, constructed its complete model round its values.
Blueland’s values embody:
All the time Innovating
No Harsh Chemical substances
Clear with out Compromise
Sustainability
The product vary displays the model’s dedication to all of its values. Blueland provides compostable, refillable packaging and modern liquid-free formulation made with clear elements.
Past the merchandise, Blueland teaches its followers about sustainability in an approachable method on social media. For instance, a TikTok “Spelling Bee” skit that includes co-founder Sarah Paiji Yoo playfully educates viewers on hidden plastics in on a regular basis merchandise.
Edutainment content material like that is precisely what 66% of social customers say they discover most participating, in response to The 2024 Social Media Content material Technique Report.
Blueland exhibits that credibility comes from speaking clearly about your product options and advantages whereas additionally talking in regards to the bigger points behind your values. The very best manufacturers stability each.
4. Reformation
Reformation is a Los Angeles-based sustainable trend model. Though they aren’t listed wherever on the web site, the model exhibits it values environmental duty and transparency by way of its actions.
The model maintains environmental duty by monitoring the environmental footprint of its clothes utilizing RefScale, and transparency by sharing quarterly sustainability stories. On its web site, the model takes a extra severe tone when discussing these initiatives, whereas on social it retains the tone lighter but nonetheless aligned with its values.
For instance, its “Sustainability Road Smarts” TikTok sequence asks folks on the road informal questions associated to sustainability, like “would you date somebody who doesn’t imagine in local weather change?”
Reformation stays true to its model voice and ensures its messaging displays its commitments, whereas adapting its tone to the context (web site vs. social media). This exhibits your values don’t have to sound the identical in every single place, and actually, they shouldn’t.
5. Chipotle
Chipotle Mexican Grill, the beloved fast-casual chain, solely has one overarching worth: all the things we do is actual.
So what does being actual imply? Sourcing recent, high-quality elements, treating workers and companions with respect and being genuine and clear on social media and in model communications.
This worth additionally comes by way of in Chipotle’s irreverent social content material on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, X and Threads. For instance, the model captioned a publish on Fb, “okay fess up,” and paired it with images of orders with humorous names folks made up on them, making it appear to be these had been images folks despatched to the model.
The voice and writing fashion in posts like this mirror how Chipotle’s viewers truly talks and engages on-line, making them really feel extra genuine and fewer company, which aligns with the corporate’s central model worth.
Chipotle demonstrates how having one central worth leaves room for vary and inventive interpretation whereas offering focus. This can be an strategy you need to bear in mind when defining your model values.
6. Patagonia
If you consider a value-driven model, you most likely consider Patagonia, the out of doors attire firm.
Listed below are Patagonia’s values:
High quality
Integrity
Environmentalism
Justice
Not certain by conference
As a couple of examples of how Patagonia practices its values of environmentalism and justice on a enterprise degree, it’s a part of 1% for the Planet and champions environmental activism by way of Patagonia Motion Works.
However what Patagonia is most recognized for is its model storytelling. It places the attire on show in an natural method that evokes folks to get outdoors. The model’s “Microbeta” YouTube sequence about Patagonia ambassadors tackling iconic and difficult climbs is an efficient instance of this.
By grounding its storytelling in and across the neighborhood and life-style Patagonia helps, it creates a way of pleasure and belonging. This sort of emotional connection is what makes model storytelling so worthwhile.
Methods to outline your personal model values
Defining your model values isn’t a matter of pulling them from skinny air. You must develop them based mostly on the views, experiences and priorities of your workers and followers. In any other case, your model values could not come throughout as genuine or be actionable throughout all the group.
Observe the tried-and-tested steps Sprout makes use of to formulate its values beneath to outline your values.
1. Set up your workforce
First, it’s vital to herald a various set of voices and factors of view. Invite folks from completely different departments, comparable to advertising and human sources, in addition to opening the invitation to extremely engaged workers or workforce members who work together instantly with clients.
Ensure you have a sampling of various ranges all through the group (i.e., not simply senior leaders). Sprout did this by sending an open invitation to all the firm after which whittling it all the way down to a working group of 15 people.
2. Collect suggestions
For the values growth course of to achieve success, workers ought to really feel possession within the course of. That is why Sprout’s working group held department-based focus teams to reap suggestions from throughout the corporate (amongst different obligations).
Equally, your facilitators ought to acquire enter from numerous departments and people. By the tip of those classes, you must have a large listing of concepts.
Social listening may assist right here, offering particulars about what your clients love about your model and what they suppose you possibly can do higher.
3. Establish themes
With so many concepts to contemplate, it might get overwhelming to slender down your set of values. Begin by figuring out themes among the many submissions. For instance, there could be 10 or 15 comparable concepts round worker progress that may be mixed right into a thematic grouping.
Be sure you focus in your current tradition and your aspirations for the longer term. The place are you right this moment? But additionally—the place do you wish to go?
4. Refine and talk
Now that you just’ve developed a slimmer listing of themes, it’s time to current them to the chief workforce for suggestions. This council will refine the themes all the way down to a manageable set of values that mirror the enter and analysis gathered all through the method.
From there, deal with inside communications to make sure each worker understands and connects together with your newly established values. Management ought to share the ultimate values extensively and in a number of codecs, together with in locations like workforce conferences, inside newsletters and intranet posts.
The purpose is to assist workers see themselves within the values, and video is among the finest methods to try this. Sprout’s new values video is an efficient instance as a result of it explains the that means behind every worth, exhibits how they information choices and encourages workers to carry them to life of their every day work.
By speaking thoughtfully and constantly, inside comms turns model values right into a shared method of working and making choices.
Methods to talk your model values utilizing social media
To speak your model values utilizing social media, you want to make them a part of your content material technique. This exhibits that your values are an inherent a part of the best way your organization operates, attracting extra like-minded customers and constructing goodwill amongst your viewers.
Listed below are a couple of concepts that can assist you begin showcasing your values on social media.
1. Put them in your web site
Technically, this isn’t a social media tactic, but it surely’s so vital it wanted to be included right here.
The extra visibility and transparency your viewers has into your values and the issues that make your model tick, the extra linked they’ll really feel. And as we’ve already established, that results in extra gross sales. Whereas social media is a good place to showcase your values, don’t neglect to incorporate them in your web site, too.
You possibly can add them to your about web page, create a brand new web page to share your mission and values or write a weblog publish particularly about your values. Irrespective of the place you set them, you’ll wish to embody a short and clear description of what every worth means.
As an example, Sprout’s about web page explains that “Be a Pleasure to Work With” means “in each buyer interplay, we ship distinctive worth.” By translating its values into plain language, Sprout makes them simpler to know and determine in motion.
2. Share your story
Folks like tales. It’s how we make sense of the world. And types which might be actually good at telling their tales usually construct a loyal following, too.
Model storytelling goes past the details to point out the aim and values behind your enterprise. Your services or products continues to be current, but it surely fades into the background so the main focus is on the human tales round your model.
When performed properly, model storytelling evokes folks to take motion: change into model ambassadors, make a purchase order, interact on social or interact within the life-style your model promotes. You possibly can inform the tales of shoppers or workers, or you’ll be able to companion with influencers.
Cariuma’s “Wander Extra” sequence on Instagram is a robust instance of name storytelling by way of influencer advertising. As a substitute of spotlighting its sneakers, the model adopted skater Louise Maurisset by way of her every day surf rituals, espresso stops and neighborhood connections, displaying how she embodies Cariuma’s values of sustainability and aware dwelling.
Take Cariuma’s lead, and inform human tales associated to your model values to make your model extra relatable and your content material extra participating.
3. Companion with influencers
Borrowing the cache of an influencer or content material creator who shares comparable values can multiply the impact of your values-driven social content material.
Each genuine influencer partnership begins with analysis. You’ll find somebody who aligns properly together with your values manually, or use Sprout Social Influencer Advertising to make the method sooner and simpler. It helps social entrepreneurs discover creators who share their model values, monitor the affect of partnerships and preserve compliance and transparency.
If the purpose is to share your values by way of an influencer-brand partnership, a technique is to lift funds for a shared trigger you each care about. You are able to do this by growing a particular product, planning a fundraising occasion or making a social media problem and cross-promoting it.
For instance, Grounds and Hounds Espresso partnered with Doug the Pug, a pet influencer, on a restricted version espresso mix the place a portion of the gross sales went to the Doug the Pug Basis.
Instead, you may as well present influencers with a inventive transient that highlights your model’s values as a substitute of product options.
4. Companion with nonprofits
One other instance of “two accounts are higher than one” is partnering instantly with nonprofits that support causes associated to your values. This could go a good distance towards serving to you authentically embody your model values on social.
You may collaborate on a undertaking or just work together with one another, like sharing one another’s content material. Both method, the symbiotic amplification is a win-win.
Rothy’s created a group of baggage from repurposed supplies in help of Feed Initiatives, and debuted the collaboration on Giving Tuesday.
Working with a nonprofit not solely helps elevate consciousness for a trigger your model (and viewers, by extension) cares about, but additionally exhibits that your values have an precise affect.
5. Showcase your workers
When you consider an organization’s values, you’ll be able to’t neglect in regards to the workers. A model’s dedication to its values can also be illustrated in the best way it treats its workforce members. And workers are those dwelling your values in motion each day.
You possibly can showcase your workers by making them the voice of your model on social, or by making a content material sequence, like #LifeAtGoogle, that provides audiences a glance into the values that form the corporate tradition.
One other technique to humanize your model and improve your attain is thru worker advocacy, which is the place you encourage workers to share brand-related content material on their very own social media networks. Instruments like Sprout’s Worker Advocacy answer make this simple by giving groups a platform to share company-approved content material.
6. Sustain with present occasions
Maintain your model feeling recent and related by weighing in on issues which might be occurring on the earth proper now on social media. The previous few years have proven that customers need firms to face behind what they are saying they imagine.
Patagonia does an excellent job of this. The model isn’t afraid to face up for environmental points, which has earned it a loyal fan base. As an example, they not too long ago referred to as on their followers to take motion to guard The Roadless Rule, a conservation coverage that protects thousands and thousands of acres of US forests from logging, mining and street constructing.
Whereas this kind of content material will be polarizing, while you make it crystal clear the place you stand on vital points on social, it finally helps you curate an viewers that shares your ideas.
Embody your model values to construct belief
Your model values are only one piece of the puzzle on the subject of incomes belief and constructing your credibility. Now that you just’ve developed them, you’re well-positioned to make strategic choices and inform genuine tales on social.
Obtain our social media audit template to verify your values are precisely mirrored in your social content material.
