What started as our favorite place to share our lives with friends through a few square pictures has become a powerhouse for individuals and businesses alike to network, grow their businesses, and more. As Instagram has become an essential part of professional and business growth, digital business cards have become commonplace on Instagram.
The team over at Instagram took notice and released their profile card feature. We’re going to take a look at the profile card experience, cover why it works, why it doesn’t, how to use it, and if you should use it. Keep reading to see what we found.
What is the Instagram profile card?
Instagram's new profile card lives on your Instagram account and is a simple way to share your Instagram “profile” and the information you choose to put there. It’s a simple card with basic information like your name, pronouns, a picture, and a few links of your choosing.
How to make an Instagram profile card
Making an Instagram profile card is very simple because Instagram already made it for you. All you need to do is go to your profile page in the app and click Share Profile to access it. From there, you can tap the pencil icon to edit your profile and customize your profile card.
How to share your Instagram profile card
Sharing your profile card works by opening the Instagram app, going to your profile page, and tapping Share Profile. You can then have someone scan the QR code or send the link. Sharing options are limited and require wifi or cellular connection. It’s also not a great experience for anyone who doesn’t use Instagram.
Is the Instagram profile card worth using?
In our humble opinion, it’s not a great tool. Instagram profile cards, like your LinkedIn QR code, aren’t very helpful beyond sharing your social media profile. Your profile card doesn’t offer much customization, has limited options for adding information, and doesn’t offer many ways to share.
Most people and businesses have so much to offer beyond what’s on their Instagram profile, but these profile cards don’t allow you to showcase who you are outside of Instagram very well. Unless you only want to promote your IG profile, we’d recommend passing on this new feature.
What to use instead of an Instagram profile card
If you’re interested in digitally sharing your profile or contact card but want something with more functionality than Instagram offers, an electronic business card is the perfect solution. They’re free, offer far more customization options, are interactive, media-rich, and can be shared with anyone anywhere. You can even add it to your Instagram link in bio to create an even richer profile.
Learn more about how digital business cards work in this ultimate guide to digital business cards or get started by creating your card for free.
