A business card is pretty much one of the first business tools we all get when we start a business. Despite this, I constantly hear about the death of the business card due to the proliferation of mobile and other tools that make it easier to exchange information. The reality is that business cards are still very much used in trade-shows and other business gatherings and are still exchanged across the table in first face-to-face meetings.
The question really isn’t whether technology will make business cards obsolete. It’s more about whether technology can improve and give us new opportunities to use business cards for what they’re intended: Promoting yourself and your business and causing a good first lasting impression.
Most business cards today do a really poor job at those things. They merely serve as a way to deliver contact information, and at this, I agree they’re probably going to be extinct very soon.
Let’s not give up on them completely. Think about them as a new channel and opportunity to promote yourself and your business. Today’s technology makes creating a better business card that delivers on this promise a snap.
New Opportunities with Mobile
The Mobile Web, QR Codes and Email are the pieces that, when put to work together, allow us to use our business cards as a way to promote our websites and online profiles. You can get people to follow your Twitter account, connect with you on LinkedIn or become your Facebook friend right on the spot. This gives you tremendous power to follow up with them later.
Flaretag recently launched FlareCard™, a digital business card platform that allows anybody to create a mobile web version of their card and use a QR Code or email autoresponder to their physical business card. It supercharges the back side of your business cards making it work for you. It sure beats having it used as a notepad!
Make Better Connections
Now imagine that you discover that the person you just met and you share a common friend on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. This can spark immediate conversation that can end up as a memorable encounter. You’ll certainly stand out from the 10s of other people before you.
You can also promote your blog and your interests. Research shows that the best way to initiate a personal connection with somebody is through shared passions. So go on, let people know more about you, use your business cards with a service like FlareCard™ to stand out and you’ll be making better connections in no time.
Check out FlareCard. It’s FREE >>