When starting a business, one of the most important things is networking with other professionals to build brand awareness. Traditionally, you would do this with physical business cards, which you can hand out to prospective clients, vendors, and other partners. Today, however, a paper card is somewhat old-fashioned. Now, it’s much better to invest in a digital business card. Here’s why.
What is a Digital Business Card?
A digital business card is a virtual collection of all your contact information, as well as some details about you and your business. Typically, digital business cards come in the form of a link, a QR code, or an RFID tag. When users click the link or scan the code, they’ll see all your various contact details, such as a phone number, website, social media pages, and more.
If you want to combine both the physical and digital elements of a business card, you can get a card with an RFID tag embedded inside. This tag syncs with a user’s phone, so you can just tap the card to their device, and your business card link pops up automatically. This option is useful if you do a lot of face-to-face networking and want to leave a lasting impression.
Benefits of Creating a Digital Business Card
If you’re used to handing out physical cards at networking events or to prospective customers, the idea of a digital card may seem a bit foreign at first. However, there are some compelling reasons why it makes sense to switch. Also, because you can create a QR code for all your contact information, you can print that code on your physical cards if you still want to hand something to someone.
More Cost-Effective
Printing costs can be pretty high, particularly when making hundreds or thousands of business cards. Plus, the more information and design elements you add to the card, the higher those costs go up.
By comparison, you only have to create a digital business card once. Best of all, you can update your information or add new details without having to reprint a full batch of business cards every time.
This cost-effectiveness also enables you to create multiple digital business cards. One could be customer-focused, highlighting the benefits of your brand and what it has to offer. Then, you can create a vendor or partner-focused business card that illustrates the advantages of doing business with your company.
Seamless Integration
These days, everyone checks your website or social media profiles to verify your business and see what you’re all about. With a physical business card, the person has to manually enter the website name or find your social profile. With a digital business card, all they have to do is click a link.
By reducing the amount of work involved, it’s much easier for prospective clients or vendors to check out your business on the fly. For example, at a networking event, you can see them interact with your website or social profile in real-time and get immediate feedback. Plus, if someone wants to share your information with others, they just have to send a QR code or digital business card link instead of a photo of a physical card.
Promote Multiple Communication Channels
For a long time, the main business communication methods were phone calls and email. Now, you can connect with customers and partners across various channels. Direct messages, chatbots, VOIP lines, and SMS messages are all available, and many people prefer these channels over traditional phone calls.
Best of all, you can add, adjust, or remove different channels on the fly. For example, if you start a new social media account, you can just update the card digitally, and anyone with the link can see the new channel. You can even incorporate small blurbs about your business and products, giving prospects even more of a reason to connect with your brand.
Never Worry About a Lost Card
One of the main problems with physical business cards is that they can be a pain to carry around. Ideally, you should always have several in your pocket so you’re prepared for any situation. But what if you run out of cards, or you forget to bring them entirely? With a digital business card, you can just give someone your link or QR code, and they’re ready to go immediately.
How to Create a Digital Business Card for Your Brand
Now that you know the benefits of switching to a digital business card, how can you create one for your brand? Thankfully, the process is much easier than you think. Just follow these steps.
Choose the Best Digital Card Platform
There are quite a few options available for creating your business card, and it can sometimes seem overwhelming. Here are some critical factors to consider when comparing digital card creators.
- Price – Most digital business card companies charge a monthly or annual service fee to keep your card active and up-to-date. Ideally, you want to pay as little as possible while getting as many features as possible. Look for free trials so you can test multiple options before committing to the right one.
- Customization – One major appeal of digital business cards is that you can customize your layout and design. For example, you can incorporate brand logos, graphics, and colors to seamlessly transition from the card page to your website. However, too much customization can be off-putting to prospects, so don’t assume that having more options is better.
- Ease-of-Use – Building your contact details shouldn’t be complicated or time-consuming. Opt for a digital card creator that has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
- Security – Although you’ll be giving your contact information to prospective clients and vendors, you don’t want someone to hack into your link and change your details. Make sure the creator site has security systems in place to prevent unwanted intrusions.
- Sharing Capabilities – The best digital card creators offer multiple solutions to share your contact information. In most cases, getting a physical NFC card or device is ideal, but you also want a QR code or hyperlink.
- Networking Features – Since networking is a big part of giving out your business card, it can help to choose a provider that offers networking capabilities within the system. For example, you may be able to integrate your digital card with your CRM software to make it easier to put prospects into a sales or marketing funnel.
- Individual vs. Team Cards – If you’re managing a team, everyone needs a business card, but they don’t all need the same functionality. Some providers are better at creating cards for teams, which you can update as necessary from a single dashboard (i.e. if someone moves to a different department or changes their job title).
Collect All Your Contact Information
At first, it may seem like more is better when designing your digital business card. However, you should be strategic with the various elements you include and why. For example, consider where a prospective customer might go when they click on your social media profile link. Do you want that to link to your main profile or a specific post about your company? Similarly, when someone clicks on your website link, should they go to your homepage or a specific landing page?
Basically, you should treat your digital card as a call to action, and each link within the card as a different route a person can take to interact with your business. This way, you can direct prospective customers to a specific sales funnel and get a better ROI from your card.
Also, consider that you can update your contact information at a later time. So, while you may start with just your phone number, website, and main social page, you can add other links and landing pages as needed once you start using your card.
Design Your Card
The best digital card providers will give you plenty of design options for both the digital layout and the physical card itself (if applicable). While most NFC cards have limited colors and graphics available, you should be able to get pretty creative with the digital version.
That said, make sure you use the same graphics, icons, and colors as your website. This way, when someone clicks on a link, they don’t feel confused or wonder if they clicked on the wrong button. Also, focus on simplicity, and don’t try to add too much that could overwhelm your audience. Remember, this is just a gateway to interact with your brand, so you shouldn’t design it to be engaging or overly informative.
Determine Suitable Sharing Options
One of the best things about creating a digital business card is that you can share it both physically and digitally. The final step is to figure out where your card will have the most impact. In this case, see where it fits best within your sales or marketing funnel and promote within that layer. For example, if you find most of your prospects via social media, you may post a QR code that directs users to a card with specific landing pages.
Overall, when starting a business, how you communicate with your customers and partners matters. So, take the time to craft a compelling digital business card and see how well it can impact your brand. When done correctly, a digital card can supercharge your outreach and brand awareness, putting you on the path toward success.
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