The Simplest Guide on How Digital Business Cards Work

The exchange of contact information has evolved to keep pace with modern technology. Digital business cards, also known as virtual business cards, are replacing the normative paper business cards as a more effective and eco-friendly alternative.

Case in point, the digital business card market is forecast to grow significantly in the coming years, reaching an estimated market size of US$ 242.3 million by 2027.

Combine this with the rising interest in digital business cards vis-à-vis the interest in paper business cards over the last 2 years.

Source: Google Trends US

This growth indicates an increasing recognition of the numerous benefits digital business cards offer—including contactless sharing, real-time interactivity, cost-effectiveness, and improved client engagement. 

If you are looking to switch from traditional to digital business cards but are confused about how they function, we’ve got you covered. 

In this post, we’ll guide you through the entire mechanism of digital business cards—from their creation to how they are shared and received. By the end of this post, you’ll have a solid understanding of how digital business cards work so you can effectively use them to build strong professional connections and grow your business.

Table of contents

1. How do digital business cards work?
2. Choose Beaconstac for an instant, contactless, and ROI-driven networking
3. Frequently asked questions

How do digital business cards work?  

A virtual business card may seem complicated at first glance, but in reality, they are incredibly easy to create, access, and share.

Let’s take a closer look at how digital business cards work:

#1 Creating your digital business card 

#2 Sharing your digital business card 

#3 Letting your recipients view and save your virtual business card 

Note: We’ll depict the entire process using Beaconstac’s digital business card solution.

#1 First, create your digital business card 

To begin with, you should opt for a solution that makes the creation process of your digital business card effortless. Choosing Beaconstac ensures that you have all the features and capabilities you need to easily make the best-possible digital business card for your use case.

To create a digital business card on Beaconstac’s platform, start by choosing your preferred layout, setting up your profile information, adding all relevant links, and designing your digital business card to match your company branding.

Once you have customized your digital business card to your liking, simply download it, and you are ready to start sharing it with your clients and prospects.

#2 Next, share your digital business card

Virtual business cards securely store your contact information in a Virtual Contact File (VCF or .vcf) format. This VCF format enables your card to be easily accessible across devices, including smartphones (across all OS) and PCs, making card-sharing quick and efficient.

With Beaconstac, you get the following convenient and contactless options to share your business card:

#1 As an Apple Wallet pass (or Google Wallet pass) 

#2 Through Apple’s Siri 

#3 On social media platforms 

#4 As a QR Code in email signatures

#5 As a URL

For more detailed information on each of these card-sharing methods, check out our blog post on how to share a digital business card. 

#3 How can a client receive and save your digital business card?

Once you share a digital business card with your clients, they can receive it either as a QR Code or a URL.

Here’s how your client can view and save the card in both scenarios:

#1 As a QR Code 

Every digital business card you create with Beaconstac is powered by a dynamic QR Code. This feature means regardless of how you choose to share your card, whether it’s digitally via Apple or Google Wallets or physically via a paper business card, it will always have a business card QR Code embedded.

To save your contact information, a recipient simply needs to follow the steps below:

1. Scan the QR Code with their smartphone’s camera 
2. Click on the URL that pops up on the screen
3. Tap ‘+ Add to contacts’ 
4. Tap ‘Create New Contact’
5. Click ‘Done’ 

#2 As a URL

If you prefer sharing your digital business card’s URL, you can do so via SMS, instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp, or any other medium that supports link sharing. 

When your recipients click on the URL, they can quickly view and save your contact information on their smartphones, just as they would with a business card QR Code.

Choose Beaconstac for an instant, contactless, and ROI-driven networking

There you have it—this is how easy and quick Beaconstac makes the whole process of creating and sharing a digital business card.

In addition to this easy card-creation process, the platform enables you to add as many interactive details to your business card as you want. 

For instance, realtors use digital business cards to link to their latest property listings or virtual property tours. Doing so allows potential buyers to directly explore properties through realtors’ cards.

Similarly, healthcare professionals link virtual business cards to their credentials and certifications. These details provide patients with the reassurance that they are qualified to provide the best medical care.

The best part? This seamless creation, distribution, and information sharing is possible without the need to download an app.

These capabilities, coupled with Beaconstac’s enterprise-grade security features, make it one of the best digital business card solutions for professionals across industries.

Frequently asked questions

#1 What format is a digital business card stored in? 

Digital business cards are typically stored in the VCF (Virtual Contact File) format, which is recognized as the industry standard for digitally sharing contact information.

The VCF format provides a convenient way to store and share contact information as it can be easily shared through email, text message, QR Code, or any other digital means and can be opened using most devices like smartphones and PCs. 

#2 Are digital business cards secure?

Conducting networking activities via digital business cards is completely safe when you choose a secure digital business card solution such as Beaconstac.

This is because Beaconstac safeguards your business card data through industry-leading security measures such as GDPR and SOC 2 type II compliance, SSO login, data encryption, multi-factor authentication, and more. 

#3 How to store a digital business card on my mobile device?

Through Beaconstac, you can create and share a digital business card as an Apple and Google Wallet pass. Upon scanning, this digital pass can then be saved on a mobile device and accessed with just a few taps.

Moreover, you can also store your digital business card QR Code as an image on your mobile device, which you can easily share through messaging apps, social media channels, or email signatures. 

• Author Details

Author Details

Harshika Alagh

Harshika is a content marketer at Beaconstac who’s passionate about creating compelling content that educates businesses on leveraging the latest tech to unlock their full potential. Her interests also extend to AI, automation, and productivity tools.

[email protected]