Don’t Put your Business Card on the Back Burner

January 24, 2011

It goes without saying that almost every aspect of marketing yourself has changed now that social media has highjacked how we communicate and interact with one another. While the average American consumer has the ability to skip over traditional advertisements, opting to turn on their iPods during radio ads and fast-forward through commercials while watching TV shows, people are still going out and interacting face-to-face with one another. So, until Facebook opens its own digital wine bar, these face-to-face get-togethers will most likely continue to happen into the future.

This is why is it wise to attend networking events, luncheons, happy hours and tradeshows. In most other modern-day situations, it is nearly impossible to be given that much attention from another person. We need to take advantage of the interactions we have. We have become our own personal brands and when we meet people, we have the abnormal ability to have their full-attention and truly sell ourselves.

For nearly 300 years, “the humble business card has been the primary tool for transferring business information to new contacts in a universal and memorable format”, Richard Moross, CEO of Moo.com. Today, business cards are not nearly as cutting-edge or convenient as they once seemed. Critics argue that business cards serve less of a purpose now that other, more efficient technologies have been created to essentially take their place.

Today, we can “introduce” ourselves to potential clients via LinkedIn, create large fan-bases on Facebook, and new event-based marketing companies are even creating small devices that allow event-goers to literally scan each other during events in order to remember their conversations and find each other on Twitter. While all of this new technology is keeping up with the times and connects real people to our go-to digital devices, the most memorable and sincere thing you can do is to reach out to someone in person and hand them your card.

Giving out a business card is the best direct-marketing campaign you can do either for yourself or for your company, especially if you smile while doing so. Although technology is increasing and we can conveniently connect to anyone via the World Wide Web, people still want that warm and fuzzy feeling when connecting to brands, people and businesses, especially during this economy. So, for now, don’t put your business card on the back burner.



About Insivia

We're a SaaS Growth Agency scaling SaaS & technology companies through brand positioning, integrated marketing, web design, sales and retention.