Business cards are not dead, they just reincarnated in a new form: the virtual card. The changes are merely physical. Instead of a paper card, digitized cards are now exchanged. However, the purpose and functions remain the same. As with traditional cards, people use virtual business cards to share business information and network with others.

Traditional cards are printed and the paper that carries your company information comes in wallet size. One delivers the cards in person, like during a party. However, times have changed. More and more companies are putting their businesses online. Along with these are changes in the ways people approach potential customers or business partners. To engage with people, business professionals are adopting online business profiles like LinkedIn, as well as social sites like Facebook. The 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 card

For most people, exchanging cards is a social ritual that has become an integral part of the networking process. For some, it’s also a personal statement, a way to impress new contacts. For some, it’s a status symbol: if you don’t have a card, you don’t have a real job. However, with the advent of the digital address book, the exchange of information moved from the handshake to the hard drive.

For a new material to be widely adopted, it has to replace the benefits of the product it is trying to replace. The rapid shift from physical to digital exchange shows that people recognize the advantages of the online business card over its physical counterpart. There are so many advantages associated with virtual business cards that entice many people to go digital.

Benefits of Digital Cards

With growing concern over forest loss, online cards make it possible to network with people in a more sustainable and ecologically responsible way. No paper is produced, no ink is used to print the cards. There is also no carbon footprint associated with shipping paper or the business card itself.

Despite the ecological reasons, maintaining physical cards can be cumbersome. If you have 500 business contacts, would you carry 500 business cards in your wallet? Searching for a card among your pile of cards is also not the most convenient. With a virtual card, looking up 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 than their paper counterparts. There are no first impressions or reprints to worry about. No need to go to a print shop and wait days for your cards to be delivered. With the online business card, you only pay once for the use of the software. Since everything can be done online, creation and production can be done without leaving the office.