Digital business card and LinkedIn: how to use them together

A LinkedIn profile and a digital business card do not replace each other; they complete each other. The profile is where someone who does not know you reads your history; the card is where someone who has just met you saves you to their contacts and calls you. This article describes a setup that uses both: a LinkedIn link on the card page, a card link on LinkedIn, both in the email signature, and which one comes first in a face-to-face meeting.

Two tools, two jobs

A LinkedIn profile holds work history, recommendations, posts and a network; reading it takes minutes and expects the other person to have an account. A digital business card is a matter of seconds: the card page opens, the save-to-contacts button is tapped, and name, title, phone and email enter the contacts list; no account or app is needed. During the meeting the card works, after the meeting the profile does. Bringing the two together in one place lets the other person reach whichever they need with one tap.

A LinkedIn link on the card page

The digital business card page has a dedicated field for social profile links; when you enter your LinkedIn address there, it appears on the card with a proper icon and the visitor moves to the profile with one tap. The order of links matters: on sales and consulting cards phone and email at the top with LinkedIn right below; on recruiting and business development cards LinkedIn can move up. How often each link is tapped is on the analytics screen; update the order every quarter using that data.

Shorten your profile address: LinkedIn's settings give you a custom URL in the "linkedin.com/in/first-last" form. A long address with numbers does not look bad on the card, because the card shows only the icon; but in an email signature and on a printed card the address itself is written, and the short one reads well.

A card link on LinkedIn

The reverse works just as well. Add your digital business card link to the contact info section of your LinkedIn profile and, if you use it, to the featured section. Someone who reads your profile and wants to talk moves to the card page, saves you to contacts or leaves a request through the contact form on the card page. This two-way link between profile and card means the other person ends up in the same place whichever door they came through.

Both in the email signature

The email signature is where LinkedIn and the digital business card most often sit side by side. The suggested layout: name and title, phone, the digital business card link (with the text "My card") and the LinkedIn icon. With the card link in the signature, every email sent becomes a business card delivery; when the recipient wants to save you, they tap the card instead of typing the phone number from the signature by hand. See the email signature article for the details and a company-wide layout.

Face to face: card first, profile second

In a meeting the order is clear: card first, profile second. The card lands on the other person's phone by QR code or NFC card in seconds; the profile opens after the meeting when they look you up. Saying "find me on LinkedIn" during a meeting makes the other person do a search; handing over the card removes the search. Thanks to the LinkedIn link on the card page, the profile is at hand with the same tap.

Setup for teams

On every card in the company account the LinkedIn field sits in the same place; the employee enters their own profile address, the design and the order come from the template. When an employee leaves, the card is deactivated; the LinkedIn profile goes with the person, the card stays under the company's control. That separation means company communication stays with the company and the personal network stays with the person. See the team management article for the team setup and the digital business card page for the whole product.

Summary

LinkedIn tells the past, the digital business card gives the present. Profile link on the card, card link on the profile, both in the signature; face to face, card first. Once this setup is in place, the other person finds you, saves you and calls you whichever door they came through.