Business cards have always been the gold standard of networking. That’s why even in this digital era, 10 billion business cards are printed annually. 

But what you may not know is that 8 billion of those business cards are tossed away within a week. 

The reason?

Paper business cards have numerous limitations, such as tedious contact saving, limited space, and high printing costs. But what’s certain is that traditional business cards aren’t totally effective at sharing contact information and building connections.

Electronic business cards fill this gap by adding digital capabilities to your networking efforts.

Here’s all you need to know about electronic business cards, their benefits, and how to create them.

What is an electronic business card?

An electronic business card, also known as a virtual business card or digital business card, is a web page containing your information. 

You can think of an electronic business card as a virtual or digital version of your paper business card. It comprises all the information you have on your business cards, such as your name, occupational details, and contact information. 

Besides, you can include social media links, web links, images, videos, and other information on your digital business card.

Hence, a digital business card is a one-stop destination for all your information.

How does an electronic business card work?

An electronic business card is a web page with a unique URL. You can host it either on your website or with a digital business card provider. 

Once you host the digital business card and have its URL, you can share it with your potential connections. They can visit your digital business card page on their smartphones or desktops and obtain your contact information. 

However, the best way to share your digital business card is by creating a QR code for its URL and printing it on your paper business card. This way, you can hand over business cards as you’ve done in the past, but the users will be able to scan the QR code to save your contact instead of manually entering the contact information. 

How to create an electronic business card?

There are various platforms for creating an electronic business card. Our team has been using QRCodeChimp for a while and has seen excellent results, so we’ll use it for this tutorial. 

Here’s how to create a digital business card. 

1. Visit qrcodechimp.com. Go to Solutions, then on vCard Plus, and then on “Switch to the new vCard version.” 

2. In the Content tab, enter the page URL, select a template, and upload a profile photo. Now, fill in all the needed information fields.

3. In the Design/Settings tab, select a background and choose a color, font style, card style, and page loader to design your digital business card. 

4. In the QR Code tab, create a custom QR code using QR Shapes, Pre-Designed, Stickers, Colors, Shapes, Logo, and Decorate Picture options. 

5. Click on Save, name your digital business card, select a folder (optional), and click on Save. 

That’s it. Your digital business card will be saved into your dashboard. 

Benefits of an electronic business card

Electronic business cards are helpful for professionals across all industries. Let’s look at some essential advantages of electronic business cards and why you should use them. 

Send your contact details fast

An electronic business card lets you send your details quickly and effortlessly to your potential connections. They can scan your QR code to open your digital business card and save the information. 

This is multiple times faster than saving information using a paper business card, where the user has to manually enter the phone number to create the contact. 

Share in-depth contact information

Since a traditional business card has limited space, you can’t share all your information. A digital business card resolves that hurdle. You can include all your data on your digital business card, including images, videos, social media profiles, and website links. 

Edit your details anytime

Suppose you print a digital business card, and your phone number changes. What would you do? There’s nothing you can do except reprint the business card. 

However, a digital business card gives you the flexibility to update your information. And since a digital business card is dynamic, you can edit it multiple times without changing the URL or QR code. 

Let’s say you create a digital business card and print its QR code on your business card. Even if you update your digital business card, you won’t need to reprint your digital business card. 

Reach a broader audience and build more connections

You can only reach a limited audience with a paper business card. But with a digital business card, you can reach potential connections across channels. 

Here are some ways to share your digital business card to reach more people:

• Put the QR code on your business card and share it. 

• Include the QR code in your email signature. 

• Put the QR code on your offline marketing materials, like brochures, newspaper ads, etc.

• Share your digital business card URL with an NFC business card. 
• Share the digital business card URL directly with your audience. 

All in all, you can share a digital business card across channels and reach a broad audience. This would help you build more connections and skyrocket network growth. 

How to make your electronic business cards more impactful?

Your digital business cards will dictate the success of your networking. Here are some best practices to make your electronic business cards more impactful. 

• Share complete information: To leverage a digital business card’s full potential, you must fill in all the information fields. Not only will it help users know you better, but your digital business card will also look more professional. 
• Design your digital business card to perfection: The design of your digital business card goes a long way in creating a solid first impression and engaging your connections. Choose a spectacular design for your digital business card, which hooks in the users and boosts engagement. 
• Track the analytics: Most digital business card solutions allow you to view the analytics of your digital business card, including the time, location, and device of scanning. You can use these analytics to understand your audience better and make informed decisions. 
• Leverage retargeting: Many providers will also allow you to add a Google Analytics Tracking ID and Facebook Pixel code (now Meta pixel) to your digital business card. Be sure to use them to show retargeting ads to people who visit your digital business card but don’t take action. 

Final thoughts

The adoption of electronic business cards is increasing across industries as professionals move towards digital networking. An electronic business card allows you to share your contact information digitally and almost instantaneously. 

If you also want to take your networking to another level, switch to an electronic business card today. 

There are various digital business card solutions out there. Do some research and find a solution that fits your needs.