Digital Business Cards: Everything to Know About in 2023
With the increasing reliance on technology, digital business cards have become more indispensable in networking than before.
As a result, more businesses are shifting their focus from paper business cards to virtual options, such as NFC digital business cards, to expand their network base.
The sudden turn of events may leave you wondering, “What is a digital business card?”
Well, digital business cards are a modern way to share contact information and keep up with growing networking demands. Moreover, they are safe and convenient.
Today, I’ll show you everything you need to know about digital business cards and the benefits of using them to share your contact information.
You’ll also learn how to design digital business cards and use them to your advantage.
That said, let’s get started!
What Is A Digital Business Card?
A digital business card is an electronic file used to share contact information over the internet, hence the other names virtual business cards and electronic business cards.
Digital business cards serve the same purpose as physical cards.
The difference is that the virtual options are created and shared via the internet rather than the usual paper print.
You can create digital business cards using a smartphone or a desktop computer.
The good news is that many digital business card apps and websites can help you with that.
Unlike their paper counterparts, digital business cards come with clickable links to your official website and social media profiles.
Besides, they are more affordable than paper prints.
The good news is that you can share digital business cards with anyone through emails, social media, near-field communication (NFC) tags, and a QR code.
What makes electronic business cards better is that you can customize and design them based on your needs.
Thankfully, you can easily update the design to suit your changing needs.
What are the Benefits of Using a Digital Business Card?
Now that you understand what digital business cards are, you probably have an idea why professionals would choose digital business cards over their paper counterparts.
However, there are more reasons to use digital business cards, including:
Digital Business Cards are Affordable
Digital business cards are cheaper than physical business cards. You don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars to print paper cards that may get lost or thrown away by recipients.
Rather than hiring someone to design a paper business card, you can simply use free digital business card templates to create a virtual business card by yourself.
You can redirect the savings to other crucial parts of your business by saving on printing costs.
Source: Pinterest
No Chance of Forgetting Your Card at Home
Nothing is more disappointing than when you run out to meet a potential customer only to discover that you forgot to carry your paper business cards at home.
With an electronic business card, the chances are less that you’ll forget it at home because it’s always on your phone. Besides, it’s always hard to forget your phone at home.
The good news is that you can store the card online and access it anytime using any device.
Digital Business Cards Are Convenient
You can quickly access your digital business card, provided your computer or phone is within reach. Besides, you won’t have to worry about a low paper supply as everything is electronic.
Another reason digital business cards are convenient is that they are editable.
For example, you can update your contact information when you change your phone number or switch jobs.
Since electronic business cards contain clickable links, clients can click the links to interact with you conveniently.
They can even scan the QR codes on the cards to save your information.
Digital Business Cards Are Eco-Friendly
Besides reducing printing costs, going paperless can help protect the environment by saving trees. That’s because paper comes from trees, and digital business cards don’t use paper.
Millions of trees get cut yearly to print paper business cards; unfortunately, 90 percent of them end up in dustbins within the first week of getting exchanged.
You can create and share digital business cards electronically rather than printing them.
As a result, this reduces paper wastage significantly.
You Can Follow Up Seamlessly
Following a connection can be more challenging when using a physical business card.
Besides, your prospects may toss the paper cards into a drawer and never revisit them.
You may also forget the people you had conversations with and fail to follow up potential leads to lost connections. Thankfully, seamless follow-ups are easy with virtual business cards.
Besides, you can group your new contacts, set follow-up reminders, and include a few notes to remind you about important information. As a result, you’ll create stronger connections.
Allow Contactless Sharing of Contact Information
Since virtual events and online meetups have become part of everyday life, sharing contact details using a digital business card makes more sense.
You can share virtual business cards with potential clients over emails, texts, or social media platforms. As a result, you don’t even have to worry about contracting germs.
You can hold up a QR code in front of your camera and encourage potential clients to scan using their mobile devices to get your contact information.
Digital Business Cards Make a Statement
Sharing an electronic business card can help you make a statement about yourself and your brand. It also shows that you are up-to-date with the latest technologies.
By sending electronic business cards to potential customers, you’ll stand out from the crowd to win more sales. It will even be better when you are the first person to pioneer your clients.
However, you must strive to create a good impression by designing a unique digital business card that can make a positive impact.
How do Virtual Business Cards Work?
A virtual business card offers the fastest and most convenient means to share your contact information electronically in real-time.
You can customize your digital business card with unique information and be as detailed as possible to include all the necessary information about your business.
Once you are ready to share your digital business card, you can do that in multiple ways, including QR codes, emails, links, texts, and many other options.
The recipients can access your contact information by clicking the links or scanning QR codes.
You can use the best apps to create and share digital business cards. However, some apps require recipients to have the same app as you to see your contact information.
The good news is that some apps can allow you to share your contact information and let your recipients receive information without depending on a specific mobile app.
Pro Tip: Choose a digital business card app to help you organize and keep track of your contacts and help you remember conversations for quick follow-ups.
Do I Need a Virtual Business Card?
The straightforward answer is “Yes!” You need a digital business card to keep up with the trend of sharing contact information online or virtually.
You can reach several clients with virtual business cards than with traditional paper business cards. That’s because there are multiple ways to share digital business cards.
Digital business cards also provide unlimited space. You can incorporate as much information as you want so long as they are relevant. Examples of things to add are a logo and a QR code.
Since you don’t incur printing costs, you can have multiple digital business cards customized for different customers.
Besides, you can design the cards to complement your brand.
It’s effortless to set your brand apart from your competitors using an electronic business card.
Besides, a digital business card is not an exception when your business is tech-savvy.
The most crucial part is that you don’t have to struggle to design a business card layout or print the design. Instead, you can add your contact details to the ready-to-use templates.
If you switch jobs or change contact details, you can update your contact information without reprinting the entire batch as you would with paper business cards.
How to Design an Electronic Business Card
Source: Satkar Softwares
Electronic business cards are highly versatile as you can design and customize them to fulfill your needs and complement your brand.
Thankfully, designing an electronic business card is a straightforward process, and you can create one within a few minutes and share it on the same day.
Besides, every digital business card app provides special instructions and templates to simplify the design job.
You can change or update the design even after creating a virtual business card.
So how do you design an electronic business card?
A digital business card’s design depends on the type and information added to the card.
You can add as much information as you want to your digital business card, as there are no limits to the amount of contact information to fit in the cards.
Here is some information to include when designing your digital business card.
- Name and job title
- Company name and logo
- A picture or short video link
- LinkedIn account information
- Phone number and email address
- Your brand’s social media accounts
- Bright colors and eye-catching designs
Since digital business cards are easy to design and edit, you can create several business card designs for different purposes, such as for business and personal networking.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do you share a virtual business card?
There are many sharing options for digital business cards, whether you are meeting virtually or face-to-face with your potential clients. So, you can use the option that suits you best.
You can share your electronic business card through the following options.
–> QR Codes: Recipients can scan a QR code using their mobile devices to access their contact info. So, provide your code image during video meetings for viewers to scan.
–> Texts or Emails: Digital business cards provide share options for email addresses and phone numbers for text messages. An app can send your card automatically.
–> Links: You can post the links to your digital card on your social media accounts, landing pages, and anywhere your potential customers are available.
You should make your digital business card more accessible to ensure that your contact information lands in people’s address books and generate sales leads.
2. How to get a free digital business card?
Using free digital business card apps, you can create a free digital business card for yourself.
Many digital business card apps provide free starter plans to allow users to design electronic business cards for themselves. Besides, they also offer free digital business card templates.
Consider downloading a dedicated and well-reviewed digital business card app with free plans.
3. What should I avoid putting on my digital business card?
When designing a digital business card, you must avoid adding outdated information, typos, and visual clutter. The best virtual business card is concise and well-designed to drive action.
Avoid adding a too-long bio to your digital business card. Instead, make it short by only including relevant information.
Also, don’t add an old photo as your profile picture. Instead, use your most recent photograph.
4. What are the best colors and fonts for virtual business cards?
Select a background color scheme to make your business card more memorable and conspicuous. For example, dark backgrounds with pops of bright colors can make a great card.
Your fonts should be easy to read to communicate your brand’s tone. For example, you can use a font size of 10-16 pt for the company name. The font styles must be readable.
5. What format should a digital business card be?
Digital business cards can safely store your contact details in an online format known as a virtual contact file (.vcf) or virtual card (vCard).
You can conveniently share VCF and vCard digital business cards in numerous ways, including via emails, a QR code, NFC tags, and social media.
My Take – Digital Business Cards
Virtual business cards are the future of networking, so you should know how to create a digital business card. The great thing about the cards is that you have the power to customize them.
The good news is that many digital business card apps help design your electronic business app that complements your brand and suits your needs.
Above all, you can create an efficient, long-lasting impression with digital business cards since no one can toss away a virtual business card into the dustbin.
