People have been passing out business cards at events for as long as there has been business. This is the new and proven way to "leave a mark" on your prospective customers, and it does away with the uncertainty that your regular card will eventually get lost in the shuffle. Here are some real practical applications for it:
Trade Shows - When people go to a trade show they grab the first big bag they can find to fill it with as many "tchotchkes" as possible. When they come to your booth, you hand them a regular business card and they throw it in there with all the others. Contrast that with the ability for you to text them your digital card, and even for them to text a keyword to a short code (see Text Marketing) to get your card sent directly to their phone.
General Networking - Similar to a trade show, you might come home from a networking event with a pocket full of business cards. Most of us pile them on our desk until it gets too cluttered and then we just throw them away or stick them in a drawer. Even if you're not that person, many of your colleagues are, and that means your card has a good chance of getting ignored. However, if you have texted your card to them and they have pushed the download button, you and all of your info (including your picture) are now in their phone contacts!
Everyday Use - How many of us bring our business cards everywhere we go? When was the last time you wished you had one as somehow in a natural conversation with a new person, the subject of your business came up? Well as long as you have your phone with you, you have access to your digital card.
In Your Marketing - Imagine being a chiropractor and you have a sign on the back of your company vehicle that says: "Text pain to 77948." Or maybe you are a real estate agent who has the words "Text Homes to 21000" on all of your listing sign riders. (These are real clients with real working numbers.) When people complete that action they get your card delivered right back to their phone. This tells people that you stay up on the latest trends in technology so you must be doing the same throughout the rest of your business.