Last post I discussed blending social media into your business cards, now let’s get into those biz cards again. With Pubcon and other conferences coming up, a lot of business cards will be being dished out. Stay on top of your social connections and utilize some of these resources.

Creative Business Card Ideas

MOO minicards are smaller versions of the classic business card format. They allow you to print 100 different images on the fronts. This can be great with promotions or coupons.

moo-1

Here is a great business card Flickr set of inspirational, beautifully designed business cards. Also check out the Business Card Group Pool at Flickr for some more creative ideas.

flckr-1

Humor can be a great way to capture someone’s interest and keep in memory. It also serves as an icebreaker of sorts and can easily get a conversation moving along.

humor-1

humor-2

Virtual Business Cards

Some are advocating a paperless business card world, but the technology (or acceptance of this technology) isn’t there just yet. Sure, it’s cool to ‘bump’ your iPhones and share contact information (or maybe you would rather shake?), but not everyone is carrying an iPhone and this makes virtual cards unstable.bump-1

There are also hundreds of sites that offer services to make a virtual business card. Card.ly and Contxts allow users to make a “tiny” portfolio online in which they’ll be able to integrate into networks (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) or share via SMS.

cardly-1

Although I think the main idea and green aspects of a paperless business card are commendable, I won’t be jumping on that anytime soon (much like how Kindle hasn’t make the paper page go the way of the dodo yet). I recommend recycled paper for card, as the environment matters. The one big advantage printed business cards have over any virtual method is that they serve as a reminder. Once information goes into your phone or PDA, how likely is it you’ll remember to look at it again?

What to Do with All Those Business Cards You Have?

CloudContacts is a service that scans all of your business cards that you have gotten over the years from conferences and networking events and transcribes and connects your business cards on social networks, email services and CRM systems. This allows you to access your business card contacts from anywhere in the world. Or you could just throw them all away…

cloud-1

Personally, I have a bin of business cards that I have gotten or collected because I met the people or I just saw the card and thought it was visually appealing. Some are beautifully designed and given such personal touch, while others are clean and classic. Whatever the reason that I saved these cards, I like the tangible aspect of them- hard proof that they are out there doing business! These cards are more than just information about how to contact someone; in a way, they are a piece of each person.

Making the most out of your business cards can sometimes be the difference between making a connection or breaking one. By using some creative ideas and utilizing other networks, you can be sure to stick out of the stack of cards.