Company values are an incredible way to connect with your followers on – and off! – Instagram.
They are the framework behind nearly every business, guiding decisions and opening possibilities. Plus, they’re the number one way a company or brand can become a force of good in the world!
Take Tailwind, for example. In “Why Your Brand Values Matter to Your Followers – More Than Ever!” we told the story of why we decided to launch the Android app this week.
(TL;DR: One of our six core values is Inclusion – and we wanted to make sure that we were including all of our Tailwind members in our mission to make world-class marketing easy for everyone!)
Then, style blogger Chloe Alysse opened up about her experiences building an authentic, values-driven brand in “Instagram vs. Reality: 6 Ways to Live Your Values Online.”
Now, we’re rounding out the series with a look at 10 real brands that are living their company values on Instagram – and totally winning with them!
Want to see what brand values look like in the wild? Keep reading!
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1. Brass Clothing
If there’s one thing that drives founders Jay Adams and Katie Demo crazy, it’s fast fashion.
That’s why the pair started Brass Clothing 2014.
They had enough of cheap, poor quality pieces that were totally inappropriate for working professionals.
Timeless quality and versatility are the main company values Brass Clothing lives – and operates by.
The team is also passionate about sustainability, body positivity and diverse representation.
Just look at their feed full of real models of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds!
How Brass Clothing is demonstrating its company values on Instagram:
- Transparency about sustainability practices – The company includes an explainer saved in their Stories highlights to discuss their approach to sustainability.
- The Real Model Database- Brass Clothing uses real women to model their clothing, with an emphasis on representing all body types. Women are encouraged to apply to the Real Model database, and Brass Clothing will reach out if they’re in the models’ area for a shoot!
Not only does this support a growing call for models that everyday women can identify with, but it also reassures Brass followers that these pieces will work for their body types.
2. Doing Well
Daphne Javitch is the nutrition and lifestyle coach behind Doing Well.
After struggling with chronic pain that resulted in an emergency room visit, Daphne began exploring holistic health practices to improve her health at a cellular level.
Her experiences eventually led to Doing Well, a nutrition and lifestyle coaching practice that also provides health and wellness information and inspiration to thousands of Instagrammers daily.
Today, I believe we are each designed and hard-wired to express health.
It is my intention to include, guide, and empower everyone with that truth.
Daphne Javitch
How Doing Well Lives Company Values on Instagram:
- Motivational Content – Daphne frequently peppers her Instagram feed with motivation for her followers – including encouraging them to be kind and patient with themselves when they slip!
- Recipes and Health Tips – From tips for preparing bone broth to get maximum nutrients to practical causes and cures for bowel issues – Daphne freely educates her followers with bite-sized tips to improve their health.
What you can learn from Doing Well:
Share your knowledge freely with followers, especially if it can help make their life better in some way!
This reinforces the value you bring as a company and builds trust and loyalty in your follower base.
3. Dazey LA
Founder Dani Nagel created DAZEY LA to combine her passions of art, photography, fashion, and feminism.
The sustainable brand quickly gained momentum on social media, and now heads a culture of “Art apparel with a mission to empower women through conversation and community.“
How DAZEY LA Lives Company Values on Instagram:
- Sustainability – All of DAZEY LA pieces are hand-drawn and made to order in LA to eliminate waste and protect the environment.
- Supporting Women– DAZEY LA also carries and promotes apparel and accessories made by female entrepreneurs. also, ethically sourced!
- Telling Stories of each product and showcasing entrepreneurial journeys.
What you can learn from DAZEY LA:
Highlight inspirational stories that align with your values in your Instagram content! This builds a strong sense of community and purpose for your followers. It also makes them feel good about their consumption of artists, brands and content creators that also match their values!
4. Sol de Janeiro
The sun-loving, carefree lifestyle of Brazil first inspired Sol de Janeiro’s line of moisturizers and skincare.
Their mission? To bring great skincare and the Brazilian Beautiful lifestyle to the world!
Brazilian Beautiful is fun, spontaneous, full of life and always contagious. It’s about freeing your mind and playing up your best assets!
Sol de Janiero
How Sol de Janeiro Lives Company Values on Instagram:
- Skincare tips to get your best glow – Sol de Janeiro frequently talks about weathering the seasons with skincare and moisturizer- so you always look and feel your best.
- Acceptance and Diversity – We love this post in honor of National Coming Out Day. Sol de Janeiro values boldness, confidence, and happiness, and encouraging everyone to be their best selves.
5. Aerie
Aerie is a sub-brand of American Eagle that made national headlines in 2014 with the launch of the #AerieREAL campaign.
The company decided to embrace the mission of empowering all women to love their real bodies and pledged to be retouching free in their campaigns.
Since then, the company has built a network of diverse and beautiful models who are comfortable in their own skin – and curated a community of empowerment on social media.
How Aerie Lives Their Company Values On Instagram:
- Unretouched images – Cellulite, freckles, wrinkles, and tummy rolls are welcome on the Aerie Instagram, encouraging women to love the skin they’re in.
- Diverse Representation – You won’t find a feed full of models who all look the same on Aerie’s profile. The company frequently regrams product users of all shapes, sizes, and colors.
6. The Bee Fund
This influencer account is one of our very favorites to follow. The star of the show is B., an international bee influencer.
However, the organization behind the account is Fondation de France, and they use their friendly bee influencer to raise support for the Bee Fund, as well as promote eco-preservation and animal protection!
How The Bee Fund Lives Their Values on Instagram:
- Educating followers on values-centric initiatives. For the Bee influencer, it’s not enough to be a cute bee that fundraises for a good cause. The Bee Fund educates it’s followers daily on why this is so important!
- Encouraging Action– The bee influencer often includes action prompts for followers, from planting organic and pesticide-free flowers to demonstrating!
What you can learn from The Bee Fund:
Promoting important social causes isn’t always about protests. Find ways to make issues that are important to you and your business resonate with your followers through education, fun, and easy action items!
7. Universal Standard
Fashion company Universal Standard provides timeless pieces and lives and conducts its business by six values.
How Universal Standard Lives Its Company Values:
- Revolutionary Inclusivity – Universal Standard is determined to remove division of size for women when shopping. From 00- 40, Universal Standard is devoted to making sure friends of all sizes can shop together.
- Quality Defined- Only the best fabrics will do! Each fabric is selected carefully to ensure the ultimate quality and longevity.
- Advanced Engineering – The company is committed to its customers wearing their clothes, not the other way around! They don’t just design perfect, fit, they engineer it.
- Fit Liberty – Universal Standard wants to free women from the fear of size changes. Items in their Fit Liberty collection are eligible for a 1-year size swap – for free!
- Do Good, Give Back – The company is intentional with the initiatives it creates like First Step via Fit Liberty, which supports women returning to the workforce.
- Customer-Centric, Always – Universal Standard is committed to surprising and delighting it’s customers, in every way it can.
8. Pura Vida Bracelets
Pura Vida Bracelets was the brainchild of two college graduates on a trip to Costa Rica.
On their journey, they met two artisans selling handcrafted bracelets who were struggling to survive on low wages.
Inspired, they ordered 400 bracelets to take home with them, partnering with a local boutique to sell all of them (in just a few days!)
And so Pura Vida bracelets was born, a brand that supports over 650 local artisans worldwide and brings their handcrafted creations to over a million customers (and followers!)
How Pura Vida Bracelets Lives Their Company Values on Instagram
- Community Marketing – Pura Vida supports a community of artisans and jewelers – and a strong community of followers! Just looking at their feed, you can see that almost all the content is UGC curated from their branded hashtag, #PuraVidaBracelets.
- Limited Edition Products – Pura Vida Bracelets fosters a sense of community and compassion, reflected in their limited edition jewelry created for relief funds and nonprofits.
Check out the California Fire Relief Bracelet, which donated 100% of net sales to the SAVE program!
9. Ivoryella
Like The Bee Fund, Ivoryella is a brand that stands up for an endangered species.
10% of profits from the sales of their jewelry, apparel, and home decor are donated in support of the elephant crisis (and other charitable causes.)
How Ivoryella Is Living Its Company Values on Instagram
- Offering Styling Tips – Ivoryella takes their mission of saving the elephants (with super cute apparel!) one step further. Their feed is full of styling tips and combinations to make the most of your look – and feel great doing it!
- Celebrating the Wins – One of the top ways we mentioned you can begin to live your values on Instagram is to call attention to what’s working – and what’s not. Ivoryella calls out the positive impact from other brands on their page regularly.
Example? When they highlighted Apple’s pledge to donate to elephant conservation efforts with the release of #TheElephantQueen.
10. Tradlands
Like a few other fashion brands on this list, Tradlands eschews fast fashion trends and instead carefully sources quality fabrics with an eye to sustainability.
Everything Tradlands does is intentional, from small, carefully curated launches of essentials as well as retooling their classic designs carefully to ensure a perfect fit and durability that will last.
How Tradlands Is Living Their Values on Instagram
- Asking for user feedback – Tradlands doesn’t just make products for the heck of it. Their Stories and feeds are used religiously to ask for buyer perspectives, from everything to colors, types of apparel and feedback on existing designs.
- Absolute Transparency – Tradlands frequently describes new items on their feed with insights into materials and sourcing. They also take it one step further by defining unfamiliar terms like Tencel (a fabric they use) and explaining the pros and cons thoughtfully.
What Do All These Brands Have In Common?
Now that you’ve seen our top highlights of brands, let’s dive into the details of what’s really working for all of them when it comes to portraying company values:
Be Transparent With Your Followers
Transparency into sourcing, materials, and practices is becoming more and more important to consumers. In fact, 94% of shoppers crave transparency into business practices!
A common theme for all these brands? A look into the reasons they make decisions, what they use and how they use it.
You can build trust with your followers while living your company values by staying away from vague answers. Instead, underline the hows and whys of your brand.
Gently Educate Your Followers On the Thing That Matters
Too often, brands forget this important step, but it’s at the forefront of each of these 10 brands approach to company values. Educating your followers on new facts or engaging new perspectives is a surefire way to earn respect and loyalty.
Plus, with gentle education around your values and missions, whether it be for sustainability, women empowerment or simply good fashion, you can activate your followers to be a force for good in the world.
Embrace Diversity and Real Representation
We often look for ourselves in the content that inspires us, and it has less chance of landing and creating an impact if we just can’t see it. Several brands on this list (except for perhaps the bee influencer!) are well-known for embracing diversity, self-love, and authenticity.
Shy away from the need to be perfect – and have your content be perfect! Show a real perspective that your followers can relate to. One handy way to do this? By generating user content – and letting your follower’s images speak for themselves – and other people!
See something that caught your eye? Share your brand love (for these ten, or any other companies living their values that come to mind!) in the comments.
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