Benefits of a Virtual Business Card

Business cards are not dead, they simply reincarnated into a new form-the virtual card. The changes are merely physical. Instead of a paper card, people are now exchanged digitized cards. Nonetheless, the purpose and functions remain the same. As with traditional cards, people use virtual business cards to share business information and network with people.Traditional cards are in print form, and the paper that bears your company information comes in wallet size. One hands out the cards in person, such as during a party. However, times have changed. More and more companies are bringing their businesses online. Along with these are the changes ways people reach out to customers or potential business associates. To network with people, business professionals are embracing online business profiles such as LinkedIn as well as social sites like Facebook. Use of smartphones and other portable wireless electronic devices has become widespread. All of these have ushered in a new era for the business card.Traditional vs. Virtual CardFor most people, exchanging cards is a social ritual that has become part and parcel of the networking process. For some, it is also a personal statement, a way of making an impression on new contacts. For some, it is a status symbol: if you don’t have a card, you don’t have a real job. With the coming of digital address book, however, the swapping of information has gone from handshake to hard drive.For a new material to be adopted on a large scale, it has to supersede the benefits of the product it attempts to replace. The rapid shift from physical to digital exchange shows that people recognize the advantages of the online business card over their physical counterpart. There are so many advantages associated with virtual business cards enticing many people to go digital.Benefits of Digital CardsWith the growing concern for loss of forests, online cards make it possible to network with people in a sustainable, more ecologically responsible way. There are no paper produced, no ink used to print the cards. There’s also no carbon footprint associate with shipment of paper stock or the business card themselves.Ecological reasons notwithstanding, keeping physical cards can be cumbersome. If you have 500 business contacts, would you carry 500 business cards in your wallet? Looking for a card among your stack of cards is not the most convenient either. With a virtual card, searching for a person’s business profile is a simple point-and-click affair. They take up less physical space in your wallet or office and won’t cause any clutter. While they lack the tactile impact of a physical card, updating business information is quick and easy.All in all, they are cheaper over their paper counterparts. There are no first prints or reprints to worry about. You don’t need to go a print a shop and wait for days to have your cards delivered. With online business card, you only pay once for use of software. Since everything can be done online, creation and production can be done without leaving your office.