The effective application of digital technologies to guide individual social behavior has been a critical practical and theoretical issue in intelligent society governance. Digital identity codes (DICs), widely employed to regulate social behavior, function by digitally representing compliance with social norms and applying corresponding policy instruments. The effectiveness of DIC governance hinges on the alignment between social norm orientation and policy instruments. A case study of four local DIC practice reveals that value-oriented norms align with advocacy and incentive tools, while compliance-oriented norms align with coercive tools. When policy instruments and norm orientation are misaligned, digital technologies may not enhance but even hinder governance effectiveness. Conversely, proper alignment can significantly improve governance efficiency.