How to Include Social Media Icons into Your Business Card Design

With the use of Twitter and other social media applications (i.e. Linked In, Facebook, Buzz) on the rise, small business owners are beginning to reconsider the traditional business card design and opting for designs that include their social media links. Some techie oriented entrepreneurs are even foregoing hard copy, card stock business cards altogether in favor of virtual business cards or including QR codes on their traditional business cards. Regardless of what you decide to choose, in this Web 2.0 world, it is advisable to include your social media links especially if it is the way you predominately market your business.

Even if you opt for the virtual card design, it still might be a good idea to have a basic hardcopy version of your business card to exchange at networking events or conferences. Make sure you consider including social media links in your design or if you wish --frankly, you can choose to have both. But don't forget there is some basic information you should always include in your design and other items you can drop altogether. The following are the typical elements included in your standard business card design.

• Name of Individual

Obviously you will want to include your name. This is probably the most important information to include on your business card and should be prominently placed on the face of the card. Try not to make your name so obscure that your client or customer has to flip your business card around to find it. A prospective client or customer will want to know who it is they want to contact.

• Name of business or organization

You will also want to include your business name. If you work for a large corporation, this will usually be a standard option when you request your business cards. If you are an entrepreneur or solo professional you want your client or customer to remember the name of your organization and not confuse it with your competition.

• Address

In this internet age, a physical address is not as important for web based businesses (of course that depends on the type of business you run); however, it is important if you want your customer or client to go to the place where you conduct your business. For example, if you own a coffee shop and you want to direct your customer to your location. For web based or freelance professionals they usually include other forms of contact information.

• Phone number

Most people list multiple phone numbers and typically they include their voice, fax and mobile phone number. However, with so many elements competing to be listed on your business card you should only include the most important contact phone number. Some entrepreneurs who work with international clients are including their Skype phone number on their business cards and are faxing documents online, so fax numbers are not relevant for everyone.

• Email Address

Including this element is important for web based businesses but may not be for others as it is not their preferred method of contact. However, the general rule that should apply is pick the elements that best reflect how you like to conduct your business and communicate with your clients.

• Website address

While there still is an ongoing debate whether a website should be included on a business card because there are still many businesses that do not have websites or blog, I would recommend that you include it on your business card. Most people search the internet first in order to find the products or services they are looking for and including your website (or even your blog) address will give your prospective customer the opportunity to find you online even if your location is a few blocks away from their residence. There are many internet searchers in the wee hours of the morning (I know because I'm one of them) and having your website address accessible enables to find out information about your company or business when you would not be normally available-- 24/7, 365 days out of the year.

• Job Title

This element is becoming less frequently used especially for independent contractors. Listing job titles is more frequently used with large companies or mid-sized businesses who need to designate the job position or the department a potential customer or client will be doing business with.

• Social Media links

There are many entrepreneurs or business owners who are actively using their social media networks like Twitter, Linked In, Youtube and others and use these applications as their main marketing and contact tools. Here is where you need to be selective as to what social media network to include. With so much information already competing for space on a standard sized business card, you might want to include the top one to three social media networks that you are active in. Or you can just list one social media network if that defines the way you work. Don’t forget to use social media icons in your graphic design. They are highly recognizable graphic elements and can only enhance the final design of your business card.

Now that you have determined what information you will include in your business card, it is time to consider the graphic elements of your design.

Logo

Your company logo is probably the most important graphic element that you will need to include in your business card design. If you work for a large company or corporation your logo will be already predetermined by the company or organization you work for; however, you have a lot more options if you are the owner of your small business or an independent contractor. A great deal can be said about the effectiveness of the right kind of logo design for your business that can’t be addressed in this article alone, but it is enough to say it is the most important graphic design element for your business since it identifies your company and will be included in many of your marketing materials and/or in your online advertising such as your website.

Layout

The layout of your card includes the decision you have made regarding the placement of any object or design element that will be included on your business card design. It could be that you desire your logo on the left hand side or near the top. Or perhaps, you prefer a business cards that has the information and logo design laid out vertically.   Many of these elements are a matter of personal preference.

Bleed edge or not

No , this does not refer to the roughness of the cardstock or potential paper cuts you can get from your business card. Rather a “bleed” is what graphic designers and printing companies define as the area in which an image or graphic element runs off the edge of your design. If you choose this element in your business card design, this feature needs to be correctly designed by the graphic designer you use as any mistakes in this area will potentially run up the final printing cost of your business card.

Cardstock

Your cardstock choice will determine how sturdy your business card will be. The rule of thumb is the heavier or fancier the card stock the more expensive the overall printing costs of your business card will be.

A new graphic element that is being added on business cards by techies and software geeks or the technically savvy is the QR code. (Although I have not had the experience of designing a business card with a QR code for any client). According to Wikipedia, a QR Code is a matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with a camera, and smartphones (i.e. Android or iphone). The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded into the square can be text, a URL or other data.

(Author's note: As stated in my comment below these codes are very popular in Japan, where it was created by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave in 1994, the QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. QR is the acronym for Quick Response, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed. The barcode scanner that reads QR codes for the Iphone is called i-nigma and a highly recommended one for the Android is Barcode Scanner by ZXing.

Zazzle is an online business card design company that lets you design a business card that actually looks like a Linked In website or other social media like business cards. TwtBiz is an online virtual business card company that you can use to create a mini website for your twitter information and include all your contact information on a dedicated website. Retagger bills itself as a company that enables you to have "A central location for your personal info, and a gateway to all your online profiles and networks".  Magntize is a  similar online virtual business card company that offers a specific domain and variety of services or ways to include all your social media links on one webpage.

If you have a gmail account, under the settings tab you can select your profile and add your picture, photos from Picasa and information including social media links as a virtual business card! To go directly to your google profile page, go to www.google.com/profiles to create your virtual business card and remember that any information you include here will turn up in your google search resultsl