Think Before You Engage: 100 Questions to Ask Before Starting a Social Media Marketing Campaign

76. Do I Still Need a Business Card?

The short answer to the question, “Do I still need a business card?” is a resounding “yes!”

There are a number of mobile and web applications that seek to replace the traditional business card. Some of these services want to enable the trading of information through quick response (QR) code, bumping phones, Twitter hashtags, email exchanges, or friending.

A QR code is a 2-D barcode that can be scanned by a smart phone, and then downloads information embedded in the QR code into the phone.

Although all these services certainly make trading information easy and efficient, the bottom line is that not everybody uses them. If your core audience is another business or brand that is heavy into social media and tech, these services may be sufficient for your needs. However, business trends come and go, and no normal standard exists for exchanging business information other than the business card (see Figure 12-1).

FIGURE 12-1: My business card has both traditional and social information on it.

Many professionals in the tech and social media bubble automatically assume that everyone has an email address, website, Twitter handle, Facebook page, and LinkedIn ...