Digital Business Card Benefits: 7 Reasons to Use Them in Your Networking

Digital business cards offer numerous benefits that put you in a better position to win more clients and expand your professional network. This article discusses the top 7 benefits to give you a clear idea of why digital business cards are a better alternative to their traditional paper counterparts.

Paper-based business cards have been around for centuries. But networking today isn’t the same as it once was. Digitalization has changed how we network, so the tools we use have to keep up. 

This is the reason why many businesses are now making the switch from paper-based cards to digital business cards, also known as e-business cards. In the past, and still sometimes today, professionals and entrepreneurs shared their contact information via printed business cards. However, as digital technology evolves and almost everyone has an online presence, it just makes sense to have a digital business card as well.

But what exactly is a digital business card? And what does it really do? Read on and explore why you should have a digital business card ready to share with your associates.

1. Share Contact Information Quickly and Easily

The primary reason we have business cards is to share information. In the past, this was done with printed calling cards, where all you had to do was to fish yours out from your breast pocket or card carrier and hand it to someone.

While handing out your card is a quick process, there's also the risk that the other person may misplace it. Furthermore, your card will probably end up in a stack of other business cards and be forgotten. After all, if they need something, their first instinct would probably be to pick up their phone and Google it.

Instead of a printed card, share a digital business card with your contact. Some digital cards, when shared on a smartphone, will automatically add you as an entry to their address book. This way, you are guaranteed that your contact will always have your details with them, instead of gathering dust in their office desk drawer.

2. Expand Your Connections

When you create a business card, it would only usually contain your basic information—your name, company, position, email, and telephone number. It might include a link or two, directing your contact to your professional social media profiles. But that's about it. If you try to add more information, you risk cluttering your business card and making it less presentable.

This isn't an issue with digital business cards. Instead of listing links one by one on your card, you can use a QR code or URL that leads to your Link in Bio page to share all your profiles. That way, your contacts can add your profile on their preferred social media platform.

3. Have All Your Details in One Place

Digital business cards can go beyond just expanding your connections on social media platforms. Since you can pretty much place any link on these cards, you can use that feature to add all kinds of details to it.

For example, if you own a restaurant and want to direct clients to it, you can add a Google Maps link to your digital card. That way, when your contacts are looking for lunch or dinner, all they need is to look at your card and tap the link that will lead them right to your dining area.

You can even create a large digital business card that shows your general details when zoomed out. And then, when the person looking at the card zooms in on the image, they can find details like your portfolio. There's no limit to the information you can add to your digital business card, as long as you can find ways to add it neatly.

4. Instantly Update Your Information

Another advantage of digital business cards is that you can instantly update your information without having to print new ones. If you have an app for your digital business card and you have to make urgent changes, you can do so from your phone, and it will update all the contacts who have a copy of your card.

For example, let's say you lose your phone and have to get a new number. Of course, you don't want any of your professional contacts reaching out to the old number. By simply updating your details on your business card, you can ensure that calls will always go through to the correct number.

5. It's Cost-Effective

While many still put a premium on elegantly printed business cards these days, they're quite expensive to maintain. Every time you hand your card to a contact, you're paying for it—after all, you have to pay for the card as well as the printer.

What's worse is that when you make changes in your details, your current batch of calling cards is invalidated. So if you move offices, get a new professional phone number, or get promoted, you'll probably have to get a new set of cards. But if you have a digital business card, all you need is to do is make a few edits to the details, and you're good to go.

You don't have to go to the printers and request a new batch of cards. Furthermore, if you're using a Linked in Bio page or a link shortener, you only need to make changes to the links in the affected pages; no need to edit your card at all.

6. It's Better for the Environment

Aside from saving money, you also get to save a few trees when you switch to digital. When you don't print your business cards, you don't have to purchase paper stock, which is usually created from freshly cut trees. And if you were using a plastic-based material and stop printing cards, you reduce plastic waste.

If you look at the office desks of many corporate professionals, you'll probably find that most of them have stacks of unused business cards stored somewhere. These cards just sit there gathering dust, and when they move on to another industry or retire, the cards will probably get thrown away.

Imagine the millions of trees that have been cut and all the other resources that have been used to provide tons of paper stocks for business cards. We can reduce this waste by reducing our reliance on printed business cards.

7. More Creative Leeway

You have limited space with a printed business card. The 3.5 x 2-inch size of these business cards can only carry so much information. Even if you have two sides to a card, you're limited to 14 square inches when designing it. Furthermore, you can only put text and pictures on it.

But if you have a digital card, you're only limited by your imagination when designing it. Aside from links and QR codes, you can also attach rich media to your calling card if you wish to do so.

You're also not limited by space because you can easily use a smartphone's zoom feature to add minute details to your card. For example, you can create a large, high-resolution business card that shows your general contact information when zoomed out. But when zoomed in, you can use that space to show your portfolio, complete address, or whatever other data you want to add.

It's Time to Go Digital

With all these advantages, it's high time you get a digital business card. It's easy to create, and you can make unique designs that will reflect your business and personality. With digital cards, your creativity isn't limited by the physical realm.

It might still be worth it to have a printed business card; you can reserve it for VIPs who appreciate an elegant and well-made card. But for everyday use, a digital card is a great way to stay in touch and build connections.

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