What happens when you put seven B Corps in a room and ask them where purpose-led marketing is heading?

A seriously thoughtful, hopeful, and energising conversation.

We recently brought together a group of marketers from across the B Corp community for a roundtable. No sales pitch or fixed agenda - just a shared curiosity about how we’re all navigating the evolving world of purpose-led marketing. We came with a few bits of research and some big questions to get us started, but the really good stuff came from the people in the room. Everyone shared what’s working for them, what’s not, and throwing out ideas for others to build on. We’re so grateful for that generosity. It made the conversation what it was.

We covered a lot - AI, authenticity, B Corp comms, employee advocacy, and why good old-fashioned social networking might just be the most “anti-AI” marketing move out there

Here are some of the big themes that came up. We’re sharing them in the hope they spark something useful for you and your marketing and comms teams.

From L-R: Victoria King (Plus Accounting), Taylor Leaming (Abatable), Tonina Takova (Social for Good), Emily Pattullo (One Aldwych), Jessica Gjini (London Speech Workshop) , Amber Hawkes (Bywater).

AI is here to help, but humans still lead

We all know that AI is everywhere, but no one in the room wanted a future where content all sounds the same.

We can all fairly confidently spot AI-written copy these days - especially when it’s over-polished, generic, or missing any kind of personality (the stats definitely back that up). Also, what we’re starting to see now is that It’s becoming more common for young people to lean so heavily on AI for writing that it has starting to knock their confidence in real-world conversations - pitches, meetings, interviews. It's brilliant for speed, but it can also chip away at the communication skills we actually need at work. And this could well be a big problem over the next few years.

The consensus in the room was:

🛠 AI should be a tool, not a crutch
It’s great for getting unstuck and help with brainstorming, first drafts and edits. But it can’t replace the human voice that’s so key to how purpose-led brands need to show up on social.

✨ Authenticity will be a differentiator in 2026
Gen Z and Millennials in particular are quick to reject generic content, sniffing inauthenticity a mile off and will scroll right past it. They’ll pay more attention (and more money!) to B Corp brands that feel human.

🤔 B Corps have a choice to make
One idea that came up was - “If we’re a B Corp, perhaps our purpose means we invest in people rather than tools in certain areas” For some, being able to say “real people made this” is part of the value proposition. We’re interested to see how this kind of thinking might impact B Corp’s decisions re AI use in different aspects of business.

But having said this, we also discussed some very smart, practical ways to use AI well. One marketer asks young, less confident communicators, to voice-note their thoughts and ideas, then pulls out their real language and tone. That language is then used to train a custom GPT to help them find their authentic voice in written content. AI then becomes an amplifier of authentic human voice, not a replacement. Fascinating!

B Corp: less announcements, more storytelling

We also got into the question of how (and whether) to talk about B Corp status in marketing.

Some brands barely mention it. Others weave it gently through their content. A few would love to shout about it more but are wary of being lumped in with greenwashing.

Some interesting experiences were shared:

👀 Show, don’t tell
Rather than leading with the logo or having a B Corp “pillar”, many preferred to talk about what they’re actually doing in a more subtle, integrated way and use B Corp as context, rather than the headline.

🧃 Greenwashing vs greenhushing
There’s a very real fear - especially for bigger brands - of getting called out, especially around climate claims. As a result, lots of good work is happening quietly in the background. The group talked about how powerful it would be to land somewhere in the middle: evidence-based claims, told clearly and confidently, with zero spin or self-congratulation. But that takes confidence - especially in a social media landscape that can feel like cancel culture on standby. No one wants a PR nightmare, so teams are constantly weighing up the very real benefits of transparent communications against the (often smaller, but louder) risk of public backlash.

🌱 Quiet purpose can be powerful
For many audiences, B Corp is a kind of silent pull factor. Clients might not bring it up in the pitch meeting and customers might not mention it, but they notice the tree planting, the inclusive hiring, the community partnerships, the way your people talk about where they work. That stuff lands without needing a B corp tagline.

The thread running through all of this is that purpose has to be lived before it’s marketed. When that’s true, the stories write themselves.

People-centred social: UGC, EGC and the power of real humans

All good marketers know that the most impactful content comes from people, not brand channels.

We dug into a few key areas

Employee-generated content (EGC)

From internal recognition schemes and peer shout-outs, to thought leadership programmes and proper LinkedIn training, brands are finding ways to help their people show up online.

Leaders are shifting too: one CEO explicitly tells staff, “It’s OK to be on LinkedIn at work – it’s part of your job.” That’s a big shift from a few years ago. And importantly, it’s not just for the brand’s benefit - it also supports employees in building their own profile, credibility and career opportunities. It can be a slow and arduous journey getting your team on board with this (was that you nodding your head there?), but it’s one that’s ultimately worth trekking. The reach engagement is so much more powerful.

User-generated content (UGC)

We heard a wonderful success story from one guest about how a bold seasonal installation outside their hotel in London sparked massive organic traction: tourists taking photos, buses stopping, collaborations with other venues.

But the story wasn’t just about appearances. It was about the human skill and craft behind it and the hours of work hand-creating the installation. That sense of real people doing beautiful work became part of the narrative and made the content even more compelling.

More UGC than you can throw a stick at - all from an initial post done really well, focused on a human story.

“Engineered but hands-off” storytelling

Another marketer described supporting a former client to share her own story about a new venture. They could see it was an interesting story, but knew it wasn’t theirs to tell. They helped behind the scenes – shaping the narrative and timing – but she owned the story and the post.

It exploded with engagement and emotional responses precisely because it felt personal, vulnerable and real. The story just always lands so much better and means so much more when it comes from an individual’s perspective.

AI might help shape a caption, the brand might guide the implementation, but it’s the real person behind the post that builds trust. And trust is what will get cut through in 2026.

Culture first: you can’t fake this stuff

You can’t build purpose-driven marketing on top of a culture that doesn’t support it.

That came through in multiple stories about how the way we work has shifted, and how purpose only really lands when it’s baked into the day-to-day.

🧭 Old-school control vs modern trust

One person recalled the days when businesses were so nervous that every tweet needed CEO approval on another continent. By the time it was signed off, obviously the moment had passed.

Now, the direction of travel is towards clear guidelines and more trust, not micromanagement. it’s the only way, we can keep up with the pace that social moves.

💛 Values that actually live in the business

What’s nice about one business’s ‘Social Star of the Month’ scheme is that the focus isn’t on rewarding the most-liked post - it was on celebrating colleagues who show up in ways that genuinely reflect the organisation’s values.

Other ideas were flying too - like internal leaderboards and friendly competition to get people posting more on LinkedIn. Because getting employees involved in EGC takes time. But, over time more people do start to recognise that LinkedIn can be a tool to build their own profiles as well as that of the business - and it’s a win-win.

🙋‍♀️ The confidence barrier

For many, the sticking point for employees communicating purpose is confidence rather than strategy - actually putting themselves out there!

Fear of negative comments
Fear of getting it wrong
“Oh god, I could never do video”

You can’t tackle that with a content calendar. You need coaching, encouragement, and safe spaces to build confidence in small steps.

In other words: if you want your marketing to feel human and communicate your purpose with authenticity, your culture has to support humans showing up.

So… what does this mean for purpose-driven marketers?

Our roundtable left us feeling optimistic. Yes, AI is changing the landscape of working in marketing. Yes, trust is fragile and audiences are more sceptical than ever. But there is a hopeful path forward. And it’s one we can shape together.

These 5 things are what stuck for us.

Keep humans in the foreground, AI in the background.
Use AI to support the process - research, structure, editing, and even to capture individual’s real tone through tools like custom GPTs – but let humans hold the story, the nuance and the final say.
Talk about impact, not just accreditation.
B Corp is brilliant and it’s something worth being proud of. But what really resonates is the proof. Progressive policies, programmes and partnerships and the real stories that show what you stand for.
Invest in your people as advocates.
Your employees, clients, communities are your most trusted storytellers. Give them tools not scripts, and the encouragement and space to show up as themselves.
Design for connection, not perfection.
Some of the best-performing content is low-fi, heartfelt and a bit scrappy. Don’t be a perfectionist. Let go of the polish and prioritise real moments and emotional resonance.
Remember: networking beats any algorithm.
It was very interesting that, for all our talk of AI, when it comes to best performing social content it’s still human relationships, journeys and experiences - people’s stories told authentically - that drive the most engagement and meaningful opportunities.

At Social for Good, we believe social media can be a force for good when it’s rooted in real people, real purpose and real impact.

If you’re a B Corp or purpose-driven brand wondering how to bring that to life in your marketing - or how to find the balance between AI and authenticity - we’d love to keep the conversation going.

The future of purpose-driven marketing: insights from our B Corp roundtable