Photo by fauxels

A company’s mission, vision, and values are what make your brand communicate who you are, what you do, and why you can help someone solve a problem. Internally, it also paves the way for creating your goals and maintaining your image to your target audience. With a clear mission, vision, and values you and your team will have a clear understanding of what direction they need to follow in order to continuously grow and reach your full potential.  

Mission Statement

Your mission statement answers the question of what your company does. Your mission should outline your business strategy from the perspective of your customers. In other words, it is what defines what your brand does and how it does it. So, how do you do this?

NISM’s mission is “In partnership with organizations and lifelong learning enthusiasts we will create a community for professional development and set the standards for social media education, assessment and certification, and consulting.” Our mission answers the questions: what we do, how we do it, and who we do it for. You can create your mission statement by answering those exact questions. This statement sets the tone for your organization’s culture and tells your audience what they should expect by using or working with your brand.

Vision Statement

Your vision should be created to support your mission statement. It should also answer the why to your brand. A vision statement highlights what success looks like to your organization. This is important because it also allows you and your team to set your goals based on where you want to accomplish and clearly states how your team can do it. When you create your vision statement you ask yourself what your potential customers and current customers want and how you can tell them that you can provide it. 

Values

Values are you portray what your company stands for and your beliefs are. This is your who. These values can be short, simple, and measurable. For instance, one value could be trust. The NISM has trust as a value because trust is a feeling of confidence in the work we do for our customers. Values are what help you connect with your customers by showing them that your values align with theirs. It should be your moral compass when you are establishing your goals, and help you prioritize what is important.

Why does it matter?

Every business should keep in mind who they are, what they do, and why they do it. Without your mission, vision, and values as your guide, your business could lose its identity. These are what make you stand out against your competitors and what help your customers decide to choose you. They are used as a road map to success.

 

Author: Taylor Munghia

NISM Social Media Strategist Intern

Taylor Munghia is an intern for the National Institute for Social Media, who is working towards achieving the Social Media Strategist certification. She is a recent graduate from the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in marketing. She is also educated in social media content and strategy.