As a blogger, you are always looking for ways that helps set you apart from your competition. Sitting at the GoBlogSocial conference last year, one of the speakers had mentioned "video business cards". I immediately wrote it down on my to do list because it was a great idea to help market myself but I never gave it a second thought after that day...
Until two weeks ago.
I ran out of business cards. The only ones I had were old and ugly which posed a problem because I had/have upcoming events I'm expected to be at. More importantly I am in the process of redesigning our logo which takes time and effort, so I didn't want to waste money on ordering business cards when we'll need more with our new logo. So what did I do? I revisited the helpful tip from the blog conference, put on a nice shirt, slapped some makeup on, and made my first video business card and I absolutely regret not doing it sooner.
Video business cards are an ingenious tool. As a blogger, you are already in the business of digital media, so having a video business card is something that can be included in that category. Some may say that's a crazy idea, but here's why video business cards may be the future of networking:
YOU WILL NEVER FORGET IT
The problem I have with physical business cards is... I always forget them. Even if I make a note to not forget them, I forget them. When I have an event to go to I'm usually switching purses, making sure my outfit coordinates, I don't smell musty, you know, so business cards sometimes are skipped in that equation. What I have found is with networking, most people are now leaning more towards exchanging phone numbers and social media accounts as opposed to business cards. So, when conversing with people who may ask for your business card let them know you have a virtual one and you would be happy to send them a link in their email or even through text if they are comfortable. Most of the times they are so impressed and intrigued that you have a video business card that they want you to play it right there and then. So make sure you have it saved on your phone and let them see who you are!
PUTS A VOICE AND A FACE TO YOUR BRAND
With physical cards you only see what the brand could possibly be by making educated guesses from the font and color scheme. With a video business card, they can actually put a name, face, voice, and personality to your brand which makes the whole experience more personable.
PEOPLE ARE LESS LIKELY TO THROW AWAY A VIDEO BUSINESS CARD
Let's face it, business cards are probably more so thrown away or lost as opposed to ever being used. The last time I actually went looking for a business card was last year. As I stated before, more people are leaning towards staying connected virtually, it's less of a hassle.
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How do you make a video business card? It's simple really. All you need to do is capture who you are, what your blog/brand is about, a few stats, offer the opportunity for partnership, and end with a nice closing. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
*keep your video under 2 minutes*
*mention who you are/what you do for the blog and brand, and a few powerful sentences that describe your blog/brand*
*use this time to show off, mention past collaborations, where you've been featured, awards won, etc*
*at the end put your contact information, social media handles, and where one could find your media kit if they were interested (ex. all media inquiries including media kit requests please email .... or visit ...) similar to a YouTube ending card*
And once your video business card is completed, there are a number of ways to implement and use this tool to your advantage, including:
*sending along with your media kit when inquiring about partnership opportunities*
*use instead of a physical business card when networking (as mentioned above)*
*hyperlink from your resume or email signature*
With everything that I've said please note this, this shouldn't necessarily be a replacement for physical business cards, because those still do serve a purpose, and there will be people who you encounter who just are set on having a physical card they can touch, feel, and read. What I am suggesting is to simply have an alternative given the technologically driven society we live in and the industry we are apart of. It never hurts to be over prepared than to be under prepared!
As a special treat, we have a new printable! This printable is our Video Business Card Checklist, an easy list of everything to include in your business card in order to do what it should do, bring in those new clients!
Available now in our FREE blog resource center! We're also offering editing services for video business cards! All you need to do is shoot the video and we'll take care of the rest, if you're in St. Louis we can shoot it for you too! Email us at justbloggers@outlook.com for more info!
