10 Reasons Why You Should Use A Virtual Business Card
Virtual business cards have been around for a while and they offer several benefits compared to traditional paper-based business cards. Personally I love that you can add dynamic content. You can link to a campaign page for normal use. But, when your are at an exhibition, you can change that link to an online lead capture form – plugged into your marketing automation platform to automatically deliver your sales and marketing collateral to your new contacts email inbox as you stand in front of them.
The two main types of virtual business card
There are two main types of virtual business card – the app based card and the physical virtual card (no that’s not an oxymoron).
The app based virtual card, as the name suggests, is a digital card that exists on your smartphone and uses NFC or QR code for the sharing of data. HiHello is a typical example of this, offering both free to use and premium services.
The physical virtual card is a single card, from a vendor such as V1ce. They have the normal business card data printed on them. You use the NFC chip to tap your card against someone’s smartphone. This then transfers the data to the recipient.
Carry on reading to discover my recommendation for a true virtual business card.
10 Reasons Why You Should Use A Virtual Business Card
- Accessibility: Virtual business cards can be easily accessed anytime, anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection. This makes it convenient for both the owner and the recipient to access contact information whenever needed.
- Environmentally Friendly: With increasing awareness about environmental issues, many individuals and businesses are opting for eco-friendly solutions. Virtual business cards eliminate the need for paper, reducing waste and promoting sustainability.
- Cost-Effective: Printing traditional business cards can incur significant costs, especially if you frequently update your information or need to print in large quantities. Virtual business cards eliminate printing and distribution costs, saving money in the long run.
- Ease of Sharing: Virtual business cards are easily shared via email, text message, social media, or QR codes. This makes it simple for individuals to share their contact information with others, even if they’re not physically present.
- Dynamic Content: Unlike static paper cards, virtual business cards can contain dynamic content such as clickable links to websites, social media profiles, portfolios, or videos. This allows recipients to learn more about the individual or business beyond just contact details.
- Analytics and Tracking: Virtual business cards come with analytics features that provide insights into how many times the card has been viewed, shared, or acted upon. This data can be valuable for assessing the effectiveness of networking efforts.
- Integration with Digital Tools: Virtual business cards seamlessly integrated with other digital tools such as contact management software, email clients, and CRM systems. This streamlines the process of organizing and managing contacts.
- Easy Updates: Updating information on a traditional paper business card can be cumbersome and expensive. With virtual business cards, updating contact details or other information is quick and easy, ensuring that recipients always have access to the most current information.
- Space Efficiency: Unlike physical cards that can clutter wallets or desk spaces, virtual business cards take up no physical space. This is particularly beneficial for individuals who network frequently or have limited storage space.
- Professional Image: Embracing technology and using virtual business cards can convey a modern and tech-savvy image, which may be appealing to clients, partners, and employers who value innovation and efficiency.
Which virtual card do I use?
My first virtual business card was of the physical variety. But I quickly realised that it lacks flexibility – just like a paper card. The ability to link to web pages etc was great, but you could not update the links. So I switched to the HiHello app based card.
I particularly like that I can create a number of virtual cards, to suit the typical conversations that I have.
Here are a few screenshots of my set-up.
HiHello screenshots
The HiHello home screen
The standard free service alllows you to create up to 3 different virtual cards. Here you can see that I have created a card for each of my businesses.
If you were creating virtual cards for your sales and marketing teams, then I would suggest that you could use this function to create a standard contacts card and the use the other two free options to create campaign related contact cards.
The additional cards are great to use at exhibitions for example to track new leads, or to send those new contacts through to a specific landing page with content related to their business need.
The business card
This is the actual business card – showing you the contact info.
There is room to add a brand image and company logo.
You can use different card templates provided by HiHello to display the info and you can choose the colours on the screen.
The business card part 2
You can add all sorts of key data. For example I have added a link to my golf website, but you could be using that option to link through to a specific landing page on your website.
This would be a great option if you were running a a lead capture form at an event. Or you wanted to give the recipient direct access to a piece of content, such as a webinar, download etc
You can even add multiple weblinks using the drag and drop page builder function.
Sharing your virtual business card
HiHello offers three ways for you to share your virtual card.
- A QR code is scanned by the recipient. The user then clicks on the link to access all the data
- Text
Overall, I think that virtual business cards offer numerous advantages. Accessibility, cost-effectiveness, environmental impact, and functionality all make for a compelling alternative to traditional paper-based cards.
10 Reasons Why You Should Use A Virtual Business Card