The push to make everything digital has accelerated in the past couple of years. From meetings, workshops, seminars, conferences, job interviews — to baby showers, bridal showers, even attending a wedding — we’ve relied on digital platforms to make things work.
It is no wonder that exchanging business cards — a practice that has been around since time immemorial — has gone digital, too. Digital business cards became increasingly popular in 2021, and we see this trend continue, especially at a time when individuals and companies commit themselves to lowering their carbon footprints.
What are digital business cards, and how do they work?
Simply put, a digital business card is an online or virtual means to exchange contact information. These electronic business cards can be created on an iPhone or Android, iPad, or computers, and can be customized and shared with anyone.
Like paper business cards, you can put all the vital information on it, as you see fit. However, with a digital business card, you can further customize and personalize it with a video, photo, badges, PDFs, and more.
How do you make your digital business card your best marketing tool?
Your business card is not only a great tool for expanding your social network by sharing your contact information. It is also another avenue to market your business. This is why it is important to consider how your digital business card impacts anyone who receives it.
Below are some ways to utilize your digital business card as a marketing strategy.
Make a good first impression
As with anything, first impressions last. So, give your digital business card a creative and impressive look. Design your digital business card in such a way that it’s pleasing to the eye and makes the reader want to read through everything on it.
Use complementary colors together, and choose colors that highlight your personal brand messaging. Every color conveys a certain message. For example, yellow exudes optimism, green represents peace and health, gray is associated with calm, red with boldness, and so on. Take the time to experiment on which colors best fit your brand and personality.
Make it functional and user-friendly
Your digital business card must also be functional and easy to navigate. Your contact information is one of the most vital parts of your business card, so make sure that it can be easily downloaded to their phone’s contacts and mailing list. This ensures that customers and potential partners can easily reach you, and gives them the idea that you care about the user experience when you created your digital business card.
Your customers will also appreciate it if forms can easily be downloaded and submitted through your digital business cards, as well. If your business deals with a lot of forms, and document exchanges, this would be a great strategy to make sure that transactions go as smoothly as possible.
Include a few testimonials
Customers are naturally inclined to check how past and current customers like your products or services. So, instead of directing them to your website or social media page to see reviews and comments, why not put a couple of testimonials on your digital business cards? This makes your business card a one-stop shop for giving your brand a head start on building a good relationship with customers and partners. Make sure to still direct them to your website and social media page by adding a link to the rest of the testimonials and reviews.
Include social media handles (but only the accounts you update!)
Every business is now expected to have a social media presence. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have been continuously helping brands gain traction and recall in recent years. Your digital business card must include links to your social media accounts. However, you must only include social media handles that you update regularly. If your Twitter account has not sent out a single tweet in two years, better not include it just yet, as this will not leave a good impression on the customer. Only include social media accounts where you upload and post regular content to.
Mention causes you support
Social responsibility continues to be a prime consideration for customers in choosing brands. It will help your business if you mention the causes and advocacies that you feel strongly about. This also gives a more holistic picture of what you and your brand stand for. Advocacies and charities related to the environment are great examples of causes that resonate well with customers today.
Final thoughts
While physical business cards will probably not go away anytime soon, digital business cards are definitely a well-received addition to countless innovations and advancements in the last few years.
Implementing new technology for your business, such as the use of digital business cards, is a step in the right direction. Not only does it align with the current direction where businesses go today, it also creates a new avenue to market your business and reach more people.
