I met up with Fiona and Caroline recently, and towards the end they handed over business cards. I didn’t have any on me and it made me think – should I still have them?
I’ve had so many different styles of business cards in the past, and learnt to have text on both sides. More recently I included my photo on my business cards and thought that would help people remember who I am. Having changed my hair colour and moved on from rocking the 1950s look mine don’t reflect who I am.
To me, business cards also seem outdated, when I meet people I look them up on Twitter or LinkedIn and connect with them right away. But is there a need for business cards? I found a Forbes article on this topic and many agree with me
- You can email people and find them online
- Being on LinkedIn and especially including a video provides a much richer amount of detail on someone
- Most people don’t keep a business card, they scan read and either look you up online or bin them
- Using business cards can make you look a bit old fashioned, although in an online world maybe it’s good to be different!
BUT
- A business card can be a physical reminder and make it easy to find someone when we can have hundreds of online connections
- Business cards can be shared if they stand out in a good way
- Business cards can show your brand and style – good if its on high quality paper and nicely styled, not so if cheap and flimsy to the touch
- Employees like them as they feel valued and part of an organisation
So, what about you? Do your business cards stand out in a good way, are they so wonderful people would want to keep them or are they a bit bland and blah and don’t really portray your brand?
And what do you do when you get a business card? I had a special case and used to file them away, but no longer.
And read what other people think via this article on the Forbes website
