What should a social media marketer’s business card look like?
It’s an exciting time for Brand Networks – we just moved into some killer new space in Boston’s South End, and the change of address means its time for new business cards. But in the past year since my last round was printed, I’ve become heavily involved in all sorts of new social media communication channels. I’ve noticed, for instance, that many of my colleagues in this industry now list their Twitter names in addition to the usual stats. I’m open to the idea, but how do you know when you’ve gone too far?
Mike Davis will gladly tell you that he doesn’t carry business cards, but that’s not a luxury afforded to most professionals. My ideal business card would look like the one that Danny Ocean slips Matt Damon’s character in Ocean’s Eleven. It’s simple, elegant, suave, and doesn’t give too much away. Unfortunately, until “scheuguy” becomes a household name, I’ve found it’s best to give people a little more information about how to contact me. Here’s what I’m afraid of, though:
Yikes! Sure, I’m in the social media space professionally, and all of these services are great contact points for getting in touch with me, but not only is this complete overkill, it’s hard to take very seriously. So I pose this question to you social media mavens:
What’s on your business card?
(I’ll go ahead and preempt those who would point out that my company’s name is not listed on the card — it’s on the back!)
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5 Responses to “What should a social media marketer’s business card look like?”
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I’m at a loss here as well. I’d like something simple, but at the same time, I want something that makes me stand out. And on the other-other hand, I know I’ll get bored very easily by what’s on my card.
Lots of great ideas here:
http://flickr.com/groups/94357154@N00/pool/
http://flickr.com/groups/artofthebusinesscard/pool/
http://flickr.com/groups/bizcard/pool/
Jamie — you know what is on my business card, I believe, because I gave it to you last week! However, if I were to design ones for myself, I would think about first creating a central location for my identities — for example, listing one site (perhaps my blog) that links to all of my other accounts.
The exciting part (and occasional problem) of social media is that it is always changing. By the time you use up your new batch of business cards, you will probably be using other tools, and letting less useful ones fall by the wayside. If you’re paying for business cards, you want them to always be current.
I’d say, go the “Danny Ocean” route — name on the front, one line website on the back (ex. DannyOcean.com) Not only will it stand out because it’s incredibly clean, it will always be in style.
If you’re worried about segmenting (if Flickr friends should get different cards than Twitter buddies), you could always get some mini cards on Moo (http://www.moo.com/products/minicards.php) — they’re really neat, and let you choose up to 100 different images of your own per pack.
Good luck!
Jenny
Name, website, number. What’s nice is I’m branded everywhere under my own name. If you put it into Google you get all of me.:)
You’re on your way to pick up your new bizcards right now, so this is a little late, but a good site to open an account at is http://www.retaggr.com/ Its like an online business card that aggregates all of your social media accounts. You can link directly to it or embed a badge on another site. I haven’t completed my entire profile yet but you can see an example here: http://www.retaggr.com/Card/cptvitamin
You can put this link on your print biz card and then just keep it updated when your details change.
Hey hey! GREAT article. Great perspective. If I do ever go back to carrying a business card, I will definitely seek your advice.
But my vote is for scheuguy to be a household name :)
Keep on rockin’ the casba!
There’s no recession on passion!
–Mike.