In this ever-evolving digital world, conventional business practices are getting redefined day in and day out by advancements in technology. One such innovation involves the digital business card, which is a modern alternative to the familiar paper card professionals have used for decades. These digital versions bring ease, added functionality, and interactivity that their paper versions cannot boast of. As businesses and people increasingly continue to adopt online networking and remote communication, the digital business card makes such activity seamless: sharing contact details, tracking interactions, and keeping connected with clients and partners. This tutorial will outline the advantages and disadvantages that come with digital business card creation, as well as the platforms on which to create them, to provide an overview of why they are becoming an imperative tool for the modern professional.
What is a Digital Business Card?
A digital business card is essentially a virtual replacement for the traditional business card, but it is tailored to be distributed or exchanged over the Internet rather than in printed form. In many ways, they are much like physical cards because they carry critical contact information about the owner or provider of the card, including name, title, company, phone number, and email address. The features included in them go way beyond that. Many applications and online platforms provide the user with a lot of ease in the creation and personalization of digital business cards.
Linlet is among the popular applications that allow one to create a digital business card. From Linlet, you can create your business card with a QR code. You are capable of distributing or sharing your digital business card with Linlet for free. This digital replacement means one saves the cost of printing paper and offers interactive possibilities that paper cannot compete with.
Benefits of Digital Business Cards
Compared to traditional business cards, one of the most significant advantages of DBCs is that they are interactive. They have several functions that complement a simple display of contact information, making networking and communication more effective and lively.
Save Instant Contact
Digital business cards save the contact details directly into a phone book or CRM system with a single click. No need to log in the details manually, hence less chance of errors, and it saves much time.
Interactive Features
DBCs can include links to websites, portfolios, or product pages. QR codes can be integrated to take the receiver to a place of relevance or offer analytics as to who looked at your card and how they then interacted with it.
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Flexibility
The main positive aspect of digital business cards is the ease with which they can be updated. In the event of changes to your contact information, address, or job title, you will be in a position to edit the card on the spot and notify your contacts about the change. In such a way, you would be able to ensure that your business associates or clients are always in touch, despite all the twists and turns.
Cost Efficiency
It doesn’t need printing, hence there’s no printing cost involved. In companies or individuals who usually update their information very frequently or work internationally, DBCs do some magic of reducing costs.
Eco-Friendly
Just by going digital, you are contributing to going green. Digital business cards cut down the paper waste that traditional cards only add to.
Moreover, digital business cards are stored on devices, reducing the possibility of losing important contact information. They also offer tools to track who has saved your information or interacted with your card, giving valuable insight into how your network grows.
Challenges of Digital Business Cards
Even though the shift to digital business cards provides a fair number of advantages, many more still exist that prevent the universal adoption of their use.
Company Resistance
Even though digital business cards are increasingly gaining popularity, many companies have shown slow adaptation to this very interesting field. In effect, this has caused the situation whereby individuals find themselves needing to use both physical and digital cards simultaneously, creating inconsistency in their circle and problems regarding contact information management.
A possible workaround for this comes with business card scanners that help convert physical cards into digital ones by extracting contact details from paper and saving them digitally. However, the need for such a workaround in itself is a sign that many are still transitioning to being fully digital networking solutions.
App Dependency
There are some electronic business cards requiring specific apps to create them and store them in, and share them. In such cases, this will be a problem if the recipient doesn’t have an installed app, or sometimes the card will not be compatible with certain operating systems. The sharing is going to be constricted only to particular groups or sites; thus, the accessibility of these cards is quite low.
Technological Constraints
Digital tools, such as QR codes, are easy to come by. However, not every recipient is conversant with using them. In such regard, using the QR code or some of the newer technologies may be cumbersome for some clients or business associates and, therefore, lessens the effect of your digital card.
How to Use a Digital Business Card
A digital business card is no different from a traditional one but somewhat enhanced in its functionality. You create and start distributing it through many channels, depending on where you have created it:
Messengers and Email
Once a DBC can be sent via WhatsApp or any other chat application, or via email.
Social Media
You can share your digital business card on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter with a fantastic audience.
Email Signature
Attach the digital business card to the email signature for the convenience of the receiver to save your contact info.
Advanced functionalities of DBCs go way beyond contact information sharing. You can attach links to your website, product catalog, or portfolio, or even use it as a call to action in order to invite people to check out certain offerings.
Moreover, some of the digital business card applications, like Linlet, can also have creative features like animating one’s card in order to make it more appealing to certain audiences. Companies dealing in marketing, media, or creative niches would want a card that really pops.
Aside from sharing contacts, digital business cards can be used to collect information from other people. For example, some services allow users to exchange their email or phone numbers for their DBC. This type of reciprocity can be a powerful tool when trying to grow your contact list, particularly if you are marketing yourself to the masses online.
Tracking the Performance of Your Digital Business Card
One of the cool benefits of using digital business cards is the tracking interactions. Most apps give insight into how one’s cards are being consumed. Here are some examples:
- You will know how many people viewed your card.
- You can know who saved your contact details.
- You can receive data on how your card was shared—an interesting insight into which marketing channels function most effectively.
It is these analytics that enable the business person or professional to understand how effective their networking is and where they need to change strategy.
Where to Get Your Digital Business Card
To get them, one has quite a few options:
- DIY: You can create your digital business card on your domain if you have the budget. Full control over design and features means you can add tracking tools that show you just what visitors are doing, so you can collect analytics data. However, a custom card takes technical resources to build and might be quite expensive.
- Get Online Platforms: There are a number of online platforms and apps that provide easy ways to create a digital business card. These services generally don’t need technical knowledge and thus can be adopted by anyone. However, some applications place limitations on subscriptions or hold certain features until upgraded to a paid premium service.
- Social Media: Most social networks have already developed tools that enable the sharing of digital contacts. For example, there is an option to share contact information on LinkedIn and Instagram, but usually, it links directly to one’s profile and does not share any email or number. This also works really well for small businesses that exist primarily online.
How to Make a Digital Business Card for Free
To create a free digital business card, the following options are available:
Social Networks
From LinkedIn to Instagram, there’s a variety of platforms enabling users to create simple digital business cards linking to their profile. While this may be free, it is not as fully featured or customizable as some of the apps dedicated to the purpose.
Linlet Expo
Linlet Expo is a user-friendly interface that provides free, easy creation of digital business cards. Users can create multiple cards track views and edit information at any desired moment. Linlet also allows sharing via QR code, link, and social media with no need for downloading any special software from the receiver.
Top 5 Digital Business Card Apps
Following are five top-rated applications for digital business cards:
- Linlet: It is functional, with the ability for immediate contact saving, QR codes, and even tracking of interactions.
- CamCard: Melds digital business card functionalities with card-scanning technology.
- Business Card Maker & Creator: Houses a library of card templates within for creation, including digital and printable ones.
- Business Card Maker by Unified Apps: This application features customizable profiles and card format options.
- Business Card Maker by Digital Smart Apps: This application provides functionality to easily make printable cards with your logo and font.
Are Paper Business Cards Dead?
No, paper business cards are very much alive. While digital business cards are fast catching up, there is still a place for the printed variety of cards, particularly in more traditional settings or businesses where in-person networking is commonplace. They still have that touch of class and professionalism that is not fully replicated with digital cards.
One is not inherently better than the other. A really great solution is to get the best of both worlds by placing a QR code on a paper business