Digital Business Cards

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF HIHELLO

Following a year in which 55% of people worked more hours at home than at a physical office, it is no exaggeration to say that digital business cards will be one of the most important networking tools of 2022. If you’re anything like me, then printed cards somehow seem out of vogue owing to their inconvenience. When was the last time you attended an event only to realise you had forgotten your cards at the office, or lost cards that new contacts gave you? If you are a diligent card keeper, the situation could be even worse. The cards in the top drawer of your desk are probably stacked a mile high and kept in order of receipt, despite your yearly resolution to put them into alphabetical order. Then there are those slick metallic cardholders—the ones that leave an unsightly bulge in your trousers or that fall out when you’re getting out of your vehicle. They may look good on the outside but once you open them, out flaps the long plastic row of unsightly empty ‘cardvelopes’ waiting to be filled. The good news is that digital business cards have arrived

You can share your card via QR code, text, e-mail, link, widgets, and more. On apps like HiHello, you can also include your QR code on a virtual background on your screen while you are taking part in a video conference with colleagues and clients.

and they are a much easier and more practical way to exchange contacts.

A digital business card is simply an online way of sharing your contact information. You can create it on any device that has Internet access. With digital business cards, you are the designer, and you don’t need a printer. You can customise and share your creation with anyone via e-mail or social media.

One pretty cool aspect of digital business cards is that you can include more information than your logo, name, telephone number, and e-mail You can add photos, a little ‘About Me’ section, a summary of your specialities and interests, and symbols that will lead your readers to other pages. For instance, if you are a realtor, you might include a symbol that will lead viewers to your current listings. If you are a restaurant, you can invite potential customers to book a table.

You can also have different digital business cards for different groups. For instance, you can create one card that has specific information for people you might encounter at an event, a second card for general use, and a third one for friends.

Cards can include your social media handles (think LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram), blog, or other sites of interest. They can even include links to video content.

Digital business card apps support a host of apps, platforms and fields – everything from payment apps like PayPal to Skype, chat apps like WhatsApp, gamer tags, creative platforms like Patreon, and indeed, any link you wish to include.

Digital business cards are also easy to amend. Forget about throwing away boxes of cards just because your phone number changes or your office moved to a new address.

Finally, they fit right in with the zeitgeist of 2022: sustainability. You don’t need to cut down or even recycle trees to make it easy for contacts to find you. Everything can be kept and filed online alphabetically or by category without taking up space or messing up your office drawers or shelves.

To make a digital business card, you will need to download an app on a mobile device or your desktop computer. Top apps to consider include HiHello, KADO Networks, CamCard, Switchit, and About.Me. Most are free but they do have fees for those wishing to access premium features.

When deciding which app to download, consider aspects such as card scanning (which will help you manage your contacts), sharing features (via a link or QR code), and manual note-taking and voice recording. If you have a large team and you need unlimited user access, then going premium (paying a small fee per month) is a good idea. Premium membership will entitle you to engage in privacy management (which will enable you to determine and change contacts and access levels for specific people or teams). e