Kipin - The Digital Business Card Review
We’ve covered a few times about your online identity, focusing on security-related topics, such as Password Managers and Two-Factor Authentication. But, how about sharing your information with people? For business or personal, it is equally important.
Let’s combine your online and real-life identity. Kipin is a web service from Italy that can help you get more from your business card!
Business card? For any business, and for every position (almost) within an organization, you should have your own business card. i.e. a form of your real-life identity. Your information and contact are printed on it, and that is how we maintain business relationships with others.
Guess what? Even in this digital era, we are still using business cards all the time. People exchange business cards when they meet and greet. Some people consider it a form of identity, while others use it as a marketing strategy, with some fancy design to catch potential clients’ attention.
Problems of the Traditional Business Cards… and why e-business card?
So, with business cards, there are some problems you may have encountered…
- How many business cards have you received a month?
- How many of them have you kept at your desk?
- Have you organized them in a way that you can search for easily?
- Can you find me the contact of Mr. Smith from Whatever Enterprise you met last December?
- How about the business card of Miss Johnson of OMG Insurance at the conference last month?
After you collect on various occasions throughout the years, A lot of cards are being lost to nowhere. Likewise, it is probably the ending of most business cards you give out… if not so lucky!
They are often lost and gone, and your business cards, unfortunately, fail to accomplish their task. This is just not very effective and efficient!
How to Digitlize and Customize Name Cards?
We can’t just replace the form of the business cards here, yet it is still practical in some ways. Anyway, let’s try to upgrade your business card to a new level with Kipin! It is digital and interactive, as the recipients can:
- Click on your email address to send you an email
- Click on your phone number to call
- Click on the link to visit your website
- Click on the social media icon and visit your page
- Click and add you to their address books
And, the creation process is simple and easy: Just take a few minutes to fill in the blanks about your information. That is all!
Let’s have a look at the various plans offered by Kipin, and pick the one that suits you the best.
Kipin Free (Creating Business Cards for Free… for Forever!)
Kipin supports mobile platforms (Android and iOS), and it is a web service, so you can easily access it on a computer. It helps you create your business card online, and share it in many ways, email, SMS, and WhatsApp.
The Free version allows users to create as many business cards as they want, without restriction on the number of shares.
Don’t worry! The recipients do not need to install or access Kipin, in order to receive or view your card. Your business card is reachable on the web through a dedicated address.
For any business (almost), we do communicate with people via email. Many people have created their own signature that is attached at the end of all emails. It is basically another form of your business card, isn’t it?
Of course, I’m not talking about plain text. You can generate an HTML signature, which is compatible with most email services or programs, such as Gmail, Outlook, AppleMail, and Mozilla Thunderbird.
You can create as many business cards as you can, so you can customize one for each purpose or occasion. For example:
For Work: name, title, phone, work email, company website, office address, LinkedIn, skills, etc.
For Personal: name, phone, personal email, social media, personal blog, qualifications, etc.
For Leisure: name, phone, another personal email, organization, hobby, awards, YouTube channel, etc.
This is very much about its Free version. It may sound quite limited in features, yet it is completely free (and forever!). Not a bad way to have a trial and see if Kipin fits your needs. You may upgrade to more advanced plans at any time.
Kipin Silver (12euro/year)
Kipin Silver is the first upgrade after Free. As expected, it includes all the Free version’s features, plus more…
Instead of exchanging business cards, you can share them via a QR code using Kipin. Your clients can simply scan it with their smartphone. So, your detail is stored on their mobile phone, instead of losing somewhere or hiding in a pocket of the jacket.
This may not be the usual fashion of business card exchange, but it is certainly an interesting topic to start a conversation with people, isn’t it?
OK, should you prefer the old-fashioned way and give out an actual business card, of course, you can… but why not do it in a better way? Let’s have the QR code printed on it! This way, your client can scan and store it digitally.
Along with sharing a QR code, you can customize the URL of your card. It is in the form of https://kipin.in/tuacard, so you can simply send it to people, or share it on other platforms. Just click and open!
In addition, with Silver, you can have additional data on your cards, such as Claim, IBAN, and coordinates for electronic billing. These may be ideal in certain businesses, like eCommerce.
The last two features are particularly useful. After you have shared your Kipin business cards, do you wonder how many people actually access your cards?
Monitor the number of views of your business card…
You can easily monitor the statistics of your cards, checking the number of views per day or week, etc.
On the other hand, you can maintain a shared history, to keep track of whom you have given the card to. Also, see if a specific recipient has actually opened and viewed your card.
Everyone has different identities in different circumstances, or in front of any given people. There may be information you want to hide from or reveal to a certain group of people only.
Customize a temporary business/company card for a specific recipient
This is another powerful feature from Kipin Silver. You can filter card data for individual recipients, and in other words, you can customize a business card to a specific recipient.
Of course, as introduced in Free above, you can prepare many cards for different purposes or occasions. What I’m talking about here is an on-demand situation…
Say, you do not feel comfortable for somebody you just met to view your YouTube channel… okay, just not yet. Or, it may not be suitable to include your hobby for this person… who you may not ever see again. You can simply untick and exclude some of the items, and Kipin will then generate a temporary web card. This can be accessed via a link that will be expired after a month.
This is how Kipin can provide you incredible flexibility and versatility.
Kipin Gold (24euro/year)
So, if you find Kipin Silver is cool, let’s wait after you hear about Gold. It includes what Silver has offered, and more.
Gold users can save new contacts in an internal WebApp address book, which can be synchronized with Google Contacts. Besides, you can send your business cards to recipients in an address book in Gmail.
You can also customize the business cards in a fancier way, e.g. colors and fonts. And, if you do not have time for that, simply pick a ready-made template, and instantly make your business card look stylish and cool.
Everyone online uses maps (e.g. Google Map) when searching for locations or traffic information. Having a map attached to your card would be helpful if your client is going to visit your office. Even better, the map is interactive and able to zoom in and out.
Apart from integration with Gmail, Gold also focuses more on the appearance of your cards. First, if you do not like the Kipin logo at the bottom of your cards, it has an option for users to remove it.
And, something more practical here: You can include your personal photo plus company logo in your business cards. This allows you to create unique business cards of your own styles!
Kipin Platinum (5euro/month, +2euro/user for each additional user)
Kipin Platinum is a plan made for organizations. It has all the features from the above plans and more features designed for companies.
You can manage users (your subordinates) in Kipin. They are associated with the company domain, and as an administrator, you can enable or disable their accounts on Kipin.
Of course, you are able to create and edit cards for members of your organization. To simplify the process, common details can be shared among the cards, e.g. company information.
Aside from saving time on entering information, the card designs can also be shared and are linked on multiple cards. Therefore, in case you are to make changes to the design, updates will be applied to every card. This can keep the business cards of all your employees up-to-date and consistent. It can save you a hassle!
Naturally, Kipin also allows you to monitor the statistics of the members. You can view to whom the business cards are shared and if the recipients have opened the cards at all.
Please refer to the official website for the latest information. New features may be added while some are currently labeled as “extra bonus” features that may be subject to changes.
Security and Privacy of Digital Business Cards
If you have concerned about having all these data shared online, then don’t worry as Kipin has been serious about taking care of your data. Business cards are shared online using high-security technology.
Kipin claims they will never sell your data, or publish without your explicit consent. For example, you can make your data visible to other users, if you are seeking new job opportunities. Otherwise, your data is only visible only to users themselves and people who know the link to your cards.
Kipin has been keeping things as transparent as possible. Please visit Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and Terms and Conditions for more detail.
Summary
The business card is an important medium to establish and maintain a business relationship. In this digital era, we can make the best out of traditional and online business cards. Thanks to Kipin!
You can first try the Free version of Kipin, and see if it satisfies your needs. The Silver plan does offer significant benefits, with a very reasonable price.
If you are a user of Google services, like Gmail, then Gold is a worthy option as it works with Google Contacts seamlessly. You do not have to worry about the client database you have established.
Platinum is ideal for any organization or enterprise. You do not just print business cards for your employees and have no clue where they go. With Kipin Platinum, you are always in control now, as you can monitor whom the cards are given to, and how the recipients are responding to them. It is so important to establish, but also maintain a relationship in business, isn’t it?
Kipin is not here to change the way we do business yet. However, it certainly enhances the creation, distribution, and follow-up of your business cards in many ways. It assists from the beginning (creating cards) to the middle (distributing cards) and till the end (statistics).
The whole “exchanging business card” process is meant to establish relationships with people. If you want more flexibility and control, to make the best out of each of your business cards, then Kipin is a great tool for you.
Guess what? Kipin also helps you to protect the environment. You are going to print fewer business cards, and that saves trees and the earth! Not bad, huh?
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