Business cards are a good way to share and gather contacts from your customers, partners, and suppliers. It looks professional and classy and had been this way for quite a long time. However, nowadays the world makes a turn to paperless solutions and prefer to store information, documents, and contacts digitally.
Digital Business Cards are pretty much the same business cards - they are created and exchanged via the Internet instead of usual paper print. There are many apps and websites that can help to create one online.
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A great advantage of digital business cards over traditional ones is that they allow making your contacts interactive and embed different functions and features into a card. Good examples can be instant contact saving (to a phone book or CRM system), quick access to web pages or QR codes that enable tracking of who checked your business card or take them to a map location. Also, digital business cards are flexible to work with: in case of contacts, details, address and other changes you can update such a card and notify everyone who has it, potentially keeping in touch with established partners.
To top it off, digital contacts exchange helps avoiding such problems as poor business card management or losing important contacts. And, for sure, it cuts down expenses on printing all those pieces of paper.
Currently, it seems that many companies still don’t join the movement and hesitate to check out this new feature. This results using both digital and physical cards, and it makes difficult for one to manage contact exchange. As a way out, paper business card scanner can be used to analyze and import data from usual cards quickly.
Some digital business cards also require special apps to own and store them, which limits the ability to share such cards with your clients. Software differences can also become a problem in case your card is created via a specific app that doesn’t support some operating systems.
Like your ordinary business card, a digital one is used to share your contact information with partners, customers, etc. Depending on the platform used to create it, you can share your digital card via messengers and chats, post on your social media, attach to your email or resume. Therefore, it’s easy to share it with people abroad.
If extra features added to a card, on top of your contacts you can use it as an invitation to check your site, product, catalog and more directly from a single card. Some apps also allow creating cards with animation. If such an option is really needed for your type of business, it worths evaluating.
With advanced settings, a DBC can also help to gain contact in return, which is really useful in case you advertise to an anonymous audience on the Internet. For example, some services allow users to send their email or phone number to the owner of the DBC right on the same page. It is even possible to set a mandatory email request on your card so that your information would be available in a fair email exchange only.
Don’t forget to check tracking options for your digital business card too. Some services allow counting the number of people who checked a card, saved your contact, etc. With advanced settings, it’s also possible to share a card in several different ways and receive statistics on each one of them separately to see what marketing channel works best.
If you have resources, you can create and code your digital business card to put it out on your domain. The clear advantage is user freedom: it looks and performs the way you like. Page visits tracking and activity statistics you get as a site owner would be a strong advantage too.
You can use special apps or platforms online to create a digital business card. The advantage would be to have the card created and stored without any special skills required from you. Many of the apps, though, limit abilities for creating a card or require buying a subscription. In case you decide to go with an app, make sure you check comparability with different mobile devices and operating systems.
Social networks now offer digital contact info sharing as well. LinkedIn or Instagram have already created functions similar to digital business cards, though they tend to link your "card" to the profile page rather than a phone number or email. This solution works best for small businesses that advertise and operate online via certain social network only.
Cards created in social networks or phone directories are usually free, though with no ability to create multiple DBC for the same profile. And usually, they provide access to the card via QR codes only. Don't get it twisted, QR codes are a great way to share links or information. However, if colleagues and clients of your business struggle to use newer technologies, they may find themselves challenged to use such DBCs.
Free digital business cards can be created in Linlet Expo. It is easy to work with and fulfills most of your general contact sharing needs with some extra abilities to control over access to your card. They are shareable via most of the familiar ways including QR codes, links, messengers or Facebook. There is also an option to create multiple cards for yourself or your team members, tracking, editing and managing all DBCs from one account. Cards can be viewed in a browser from all types of devices without the need for special app or software.
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Absolutely not! Paper business cards are still very popular and maintain their "classy" status. They perform better for certain type of clients or areas. Paper cards also keep their role as an advertisement tool for local marketing and events.
More importantly, there is no need to choose between one or another. Digital Business Card can be embedded in a paper one as easy as placing a small QR code picture to a corner. This will allow tech-friendly people to scan the code and jump into more familiar (to them) digital version. At the same time, paper contacts you receive can be scanned and stored digitally all in one place for easier management and quick access.
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Business cards are essential for small to big businesses and consumers alike across all industries. Today, these cards help in building a brand, besides giving contact details. Knowing the significance, modern entrepreneurs have transformed the conventional paper-based cards into modern digital business cards.
In the modern world of business, marketers are inventing new ways to engage the target audience. One of the cost-effective ways to draw clients’ attention is to hand out business cards.
These cards provide contact details. Clients or customers can get quick access to some key contact information. But providing the details is not the sole purpose of the cards for today’s businesses.
The modern cards are designed to impress clients. They have a planned use of color, typeface, space, logo, image etc. These elements combine to make the desired impact. The impression remains at the back of the clients’ mind and creates some perception about a brand.
Digital business cards, like their paper counterparts, also make a great lasting impression. But the designers have a challenge here. The digital cards are lacking the sense of touch that paper-based cards have.
For example, a thick card paper signals that the company’s products or services are top notches. This advantage is missing when with a digital card. The virtual card relies solely on its overall design for an impact on viewers.
Some marketers believe that the paper card has become obsolete. They list out many disadvantages of the conventional cards. For them, digital cards are the future.
A study also has pointed out that in the US nearly 77 percent of small and medium businesses believe that digital presence helps them in customer acquisition. This shows that the future is digital and it includes digital business card as well. However, the fact is that both the types have their pros and cons.
Paper-based business cards can instantly make an impression the moment a client touches it. This is because of the thick paper of the card. A thick and quality paper with perfect business card size speaks favorably about the high quality of a company’s products or services.
You grab the client’s attention in quick time. But you need exciting graphic design ideas to create an outstanding business card that catches the attention.
You can easily share paper cards with people. All you need to do is to give them the cards personally to your valued clients. Additionally, distribute them randomly at the sideline of a seminar or in a trade fair.
With the paper cards, you build a strong personal connection and relationship with people. The cards are usually shared in warm and happy moments. Therefore, clients have more value for these cards. This ultimately helps in building a loyal customer base.
Most small businesses can afford to have paper-based business cards. The printing costs are within budgets of startups and other small and medium companies. That is a huge advantage for many startups. All they require is to search the term, “business card near me” in Google and they will get plenty of options to create a business card within their budget.
We have helped thousands of business owners from all around the world with their graphic design needs such as a logo design, website design, social media posts, banner and much more.
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Not all small companies can afford to hire an expensive professional graphic designer. Only a designer with many years of experience can create cards that make the desired impression. The average cost of a designer is usually out of the reach of small budgets of new companies.
Most companies change to add new contact details such as web address, phone numbers, email address, fax numbers, etc. This should prompt them to redesign the card. This also results in the reprinting of a new set of cards.
Paper business cards become a good heap of cards in a few months as clients get them so regularly. They occupy a good space in the office. Sometimes, the presence of hundreds of such cards becomes overwhelming.
When sending contact details to someone, you need to enter the information into a CRM. So, you need a business card scanner.
Most paper business cards end up in a dustbin in a few days. In fact, many studies have revealed that 88% of such cards are thrown out within a week.
Trees in a large number need to cut for making paper. This means that paper business cards are responsible for the damage to our environment in which we breathe.
You can easily share digital business cards with your clients and people. All you need to do is to send the card to them via email, social media, text [SMS], and other ways. You do not have to shake a client’s hand before sharing your card.
Since not everyone is using digital business cards, you can easily impress clients and stand out with these cards. While others are still sticking to conventional paper cards, just because of the digital cards, your business looks different. So, make sure that your business card ideas stand out from your competitors’ cards.
Another significant advantage is that businesses can attach a variety of media with digital cards. They can add videos, links to their surveys, subscription lists, sign up forms, etc. This is useful in many ways. You promote your business by sharing video etc.
A client receiving the card has a good impression of your business due to a variety of media included. It ensures a better engagement. You do not have to hire graphic design services to incorporate the media as you can do it yourself.
One of the most significant advantages of digital business cards is that it is a convenient way to store as much information as you want in one place. Unlike the paper cards, there is no lack of space here as you can access business cards online. So, include your URLs, website addresses, social media accounts, fax number, phone number, and more in the card.
A problem with the paper cards is that whenever you update information, you need to redesign and reprint the cards. That made them costly for small businesses. But that is not the issue with the digital counterparts.
A digital business card design lets you automatically update the information. You do not have to reprint a new set of cards and no need to redesign either.
Another advantage of digital business cards is that you have a great experience in managing your contacts. Some apps have optical character reader [ OCR ] that can scan a business card.
The scanner, including a special business card scanner, get the contact details converted into digital text. The app either saves the information or syncs the details with your CRM program.
Customizing of the paper cards is a difficult task as you have to incorporate new elements of colors etc. Then the card has to go again through the printing process.
But digital business cards can be quickly customized to a brand with the help of a business card maker software. Just choose the contact details, colors, typeface, etc., and you have the new card. There is no need to go through the time-consuming designing and printing process.
The digital cards do not require you to spend a lot of money unlike paper cards on printing and designing. In fact, the cost of printing of cards on paper is very high for many small businesses. But the digital cards are free to have as there is no printing required. You will spend some money only on designing the card.
Digital business cards eliminate the need to cut tree for the paper. This helps in keeping the environment safe and secure for healthy breathing of pure air. It also helps in preventing deforestation.
A significant disadvantage with digital business cards is that a larger section of the population is still not equipped well to access these cards. They are simply not accustomed to getting the cards digitally.
Others do not understand the ways to obtain the cards, and contact information, and how to save it. So, while you get free business cards, not all of your clients may be seeing them.
Since you share these cards digitally, the personal touch involved in the paper cards is entirely missing. The handshake, talks, welcome, and other gestures while presenting a card personally to a client are absent when sharing the cards online.
In case a digital business card application has bugs, it can cause some issues when sharing the card with your clients and others. So, be careful. Choose a business card app only if it comes from a reputable company.
For some people downloading and installing an app as well as creating an account for digital business cards, is a boring task. As compared to this, you can quickly hand out paper cards to clients.
What if the client does not open email containing your digital business card? In that case, the chances are that the email is buried down in the inbox and remains unread.
If may be that the client has blocked images in an email to save data or due to spam blockage mechanism activated. That will result in preventing of your card.
Both you and your client must have quick access to the Internet for sharing your digital business card. If the client has no Internet connection or access, the card becomes useless.
In the end, we can say that both paper-based and digital business cards are excellent for making an impression and brand exposure. Both have their own set of advantages and disadvantages.
But whether you opt for digital or paper business cards, you must design them professionally for an impact. When designing, you can depend on Designhill, a leading marketplace to outsource different design solutions.
This platform is home to hundreds of talented designers whom you can access after launching a design contest. You get many design ideas at an affordable price.
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Both paper and digital business cards are excellent when it comes to sharing your contact details and making a lasting impression. Both the cards have their own advantages and disadvantages for businesses. Their use will depend on your branding strategy. It will be good to use both types of cards to gain from their advantages.
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