The Benefits of Digital Business Cards
When working in a field that relies on networking, such as insurance, it’s incredibly important to share your contact information efficiently. Now that we’ve entered the modern age of business, many insurance agents have turned to digital business cards to expand their network and form new connections, rather than relying on the decades-old practice of printed business cards.
Perhaps you’ve already seen digital business cards in your field of work or simply read about them online — or perhaps you’ve never heard of them at all. Either way, if you aren’t yet utilizing a digital business card, you may be missing out on potential deals. Read on to learn more about digital business cards and their benefits.
What Is a Digital Business Card?
If you’re used to old-fashioned paper business cards, you may be unfamiliar with their digital counterparts. Digital (electronic or virtual) business cards are created, shared, and stored on smartphones, often via a QR code. There are many websites and apps that easily allow entire businesses or individuals to create and customize these business cards so that you can include everything from the basics — your name and contact information — to extras like a portfolio of work, your social media accounts, and beyond.
When you form a new connection, they can simply scan the QR code with their smartphone, and it will instantly add your details to their phone. Rather than manually inputting your name and number, for instance, all of your information (including creative design choices) is immediately transferred over. You can also share your card in a photo format or as a document to be saved in someone’s electronic files.
But with those basics explained, what are the actual benefits of a digital business card? Here are five advantages worth considering.
Benefit 1: You Never Run Out of “Cards”
With printed business cards, you run the risk of handing out all your cards — and therefore being unable to offer one to a potential client when the time comes. It can be difficult to know how many physical business cards to keep on your person at all times, especially if you’re attending a large conference or networking event. Luckily, with digital business cards, you won’t face that problem. You’ll have an unlimited supply of your card to hand out, and save on paper and ink, too!
Benefit 2: It’s Always with You — and Them
Who doesn’t travel without their smartphones these days? Whereas it can be easy to misplace or simply forget to carry around printed business cards, you’ll always have your digital card on hand as long as you’ve got your smartphone. And luckily, so will anyone who receives your business card, too! Rather than throwing a physical business card away or leaving it crumpled in a pocket, new connections will have your information at their fingertips when they need it.
Benefit 3: You Can Include Many More Details
On a printed business card, you need to be cognizant of the amount of text you can include on such a small surface. When you go digital, however, there’s endless room to expand! Since digital business cards also allow for clickable URLs, you can hyperlink to websites, portfolios, social media handles, and more that wouldn’t be available on physical cards. You can even include photos and videos to better share your story and brand messaging.
Benefit 4: Updates Happen Instantly
Say you get promoted to a new title, or update your website to a new URL. On a physical business card, you’d need to order replacements (and past business cards you’ve handed out would become irrelevant). But with digital business cards, you can make updates that will instantly update across contacts. This ensures that no matter how long someone has had your digital business card, they always have the correct information.
Benefit 5: You Can Stand Out from the Crowd
Finally, a digital business card is a great way to stand out from other agents in the insurance industry. It’s easy for physical business cards to blend together, but the options for customization for digital cards are endless. From font choice to background color to the multimedia you incorporate, it’s almost ensured that no digital business card will look the same — and today’s plethora of websites and apps make it simple to tailor a card to your personality.
One last thing: Digital cards are eco-friendly and a way to reflect a business’s commitment to sustainability.