Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of LinkedIn. You probably have a profile. And you (hopefully) are using it regularly and effectively. But let’s get right to the point of this blog. Is LinkedIn replacing business cards?

1. Is LinkedIn Replacing Business Cards?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of LinkedIn. You probably have a
profile. And you (hopefully) are using it regularly and effectively.
But let’s get right to the point of this blog.
Is LinkedIn replacing business cards?
The answer takes a little thought.
Let’s take a little peek into the world of LinkedIn for a
moment:
•
•
•
More than 238,000,000 people across the globe
are registered on LinkedIn
LinkedIn averages 396,648,032 visits (as of July 2013). That number has
increased by 40 million every month since September 2011
Tens of millions of LinkedIn Groups exist for discussion on a range of niche
topics
These numbers may not surprise you, but they’re pretty impressive nonetheless.
Chances are that clients, prospects, colleagues—just about everyone you’ve met—is on
LinkedIn.
Networking and the business card.
Look in your purse/wallet/work bag right now—can you find a business card? Turn it
over, look at all the details. Looks nice, right? But what exactly is it for? Why do we
have business cards, anyway?
They offer contact information.
Exciting, isn’t it? Often the one piece of collateral you’re leaving with a client or
prospect—something you can be assured they are carrying out of the meeting with
them—and you’re just putting your contact information on it.
Right now there isn’t scientific data to back this up, but I’ll tell you my own personal
process of handling business cards (one that I’ve verified is pretty accurate with
several other professionals):
1. Exchange business cards.
2. Throw in bag.
3. When I get home, look the person up on LinkedIn and send an invite to
connect.
4. Possibly, scan the business card into my iPhone contacts.
5. Throw out the business card.
It’s a vicious cycle, right? Chances are you don’t even go through those steps, you
might just toss business cards in a pile and forget about them, or toss them in the

2. trash (inadvertently or not). The thing is, we have a lot of paper nowadays, and for
many of us, we like less of it. And we meet or talk to so many people that we might
not have the time or resources to keep tabs on a stack of business cards.
Just as, for many, iPads have replaced notebooks for note taking, it seems that
LinkedIn is poised to replace business cards.
But wait, there’s more.
Here’s the thing: How many of us are only on LinkedIn? Does your company (or you
personally) have a website? Maybe you’re active on Twitter or other social networks?
There’s more to you than LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a great way to build your online personal brand. But, by limiting yourself to
LinkedIn, your prospects, clients and colleagues could be missing out on a wealth of
data. I know I have a personal website, Twitter profile, About.me page, LinkedIn
profile…there’s a bit out there! But if someone only visits my LinkedIn page, they’d be
missing out on more depth of information, opportunities for contact and information
I’d just plain like them to see (Psst. You can also link those pages directly to your
LinkedIn profile, but they can be a bit hard to find, unless you’re looking for them).
Chances are, your employers would like prospects, clients and colleagues to see more
about you too—like information about their business!
Business cards should be more than contact information!
Revolutionize your business cards.
Society’s disdain for paper aside, there is tremendous opportunity to showcase your
entire online presence, as well as your company’s, through business cards. Here’s
how:
•
•
•
Make business cards a portal. Create business cards that are more than a way
to save contact information. Everyone does that, and it’s why so many of them
end up in the trash. Instead, make your business card a “real world” hub to
your “online” persona. Companies should include social profile links on their
employees’ business cards, plus personal LinkedIn links as well.
Include great design. Visually appealing business cards are more likely to get
you remembered and less likely to find their way to the trash bin. Great design
is a key element to memorable business cards that grab attention. And if
you’re on a tight budget, there are options out there. Several of us here at
ClearEdge recently ordered Facebook business cards from Moo. They were free.
Seriously. Just $6 for shipping. And they look awesome. Check them out for a
great example of good design and personal branding, instead of contact
information.
Keep your online presence fresh. Your fancy, new (and effective) business
cards will be driving traffic to your social media profiles and website. That
means that your company (and your employees) should be sure that everything
looks good. Share relevant industry content. Comment on other people’s
content. Stay active on social media. Creating awesome new business cards is

3. pointless if they drive people to dull, barren social profiles. Get your online
branding (like your website and social media) in gear.
How has your use of business cards evolved (or not) since social media became more
prevalent?