“You have to network if you want to get ahead”, is probably one of the most overly recited quotes by anyone who administers career advice. But who cares about networking, right? If our team has learned anything, sometimes it’s not “what you know”, but “who you know” that gets you ahead of the pack. You’ll benefit from reaching out to people and building a network of contacts – that will become indispensable as you progress, no matter where you work. Even more so, if you’re a Creative Professional or a New Media Digital Marketer, where you can also level up some of your insights and knowledge this 2020 – starting with Asia!
First of all, what is #DMWF Asia 2020?
DMWF Asia 2020 is part of a quad-series of valuable strategic content and digital marketing insights. It’s focused on digging into how consumers are engaged, bettering the management of brand perception, and finding new potentially untapped audiences through our very diverse media landscape. For us, we’re keen to explore the increasingly important role that data plays within digital marketing, and how do that responsibly.
So why should I attend?
There is no bigger event happening this early in the year, that can offer these many unique opportunities to explore the future of digital marketing technologies. We also have to admit that it has a pretty stellar speaker line-up of executives from some of the most significant Fortune 500 companies in the world! After all, one of the fastest ways of learning is to hear from, observe, and analyse from the best of the best, including their latest saucy case studies.
But what if I don’t like networking?
Well, whenever you hang out with a couple of friends for dinner or drinks, you are essentially, networking! If we were to give a clinical definition to it, networking is: building a support structure where individuals and groups can share information (and even services) to others with common interests. Interestingly, it seems most Creatives get uncomfortable thinking about “networking events” because feel them being full of pressure and also see no immediate returns from spending time doing so.
But when you’re in a conference full of other Creatives and Digital Marketers, we’re sure you’ll find someone you can get along with! A well-connected Creative will typically have more opportunities than other similarly-skilled Creatives who aren’t as well-connected. You may have no pressing reason for a strong network of contacts now, but we’re pretty sure you’ll run into a future situation where having others you can count on, could be career-saving.
But how do I start?
Well, that depends if you’re looking at online or offline means (and we suggest you have a mix of both):
- First and foremost, bring business cards! Even if yours is as simple as they come with just your name and contact, having a business card to handout already wins you half the battle – giving people a better way to remember you after the event.
- Get your Creative Casual on! While a full-on suit can never go wrong, dressing with some style is a way to show your creative flair, and can make a good impression for those higher up the corporate ladder. Both the men and women in our team agree that a clean look (i.e. a button-down shirt and fitting pants or jeans) is an excellent way to go, and you can always top it up with a blazer of complementary colour.
- Listen and ask questions! Sometimes networking doesn’t have to involve you expanding a lot of energy talking. Just listening to the people you meet can glean you a lot of insight. When you ask questions to clarify further, you inevitably show that you have definite interest what they’re saying, and you build even further rapport.
- The most cliché of all: be yourself! We all have a PR-voice (the one you put on when you need to entertain phone calls), but this fake persona will not lend any help in the long run. Be honest with who you speak with and relax; talk about topics you know, and if they venture into those you don’t – admit you’re new. Odds are, most people love helping out, and fundamentally, they’re just as human like you!
I’m in, how do I join, and learn more?
Well, you can read all about it on their website for more information. Or if social media is more your style, you can do so on their Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter @DigiMarketingWF with #DMWF.
Of course, for you visual feasters, you can watch what to expect at the #DMWF YouTube channel, or even view highlights from last year’s #DMWF Global 2019.
Last but not least, if you’d like to help us out, and also get yourself a nice 30% discount on your conference pass, you can enter the discount code “DANAMIC30” at checkout over here!
UPDATE (17 Feb 2020): In light of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, DMWF Asia has been postponed from 18-19 February to 2-3 December 2020, at Marina Bay Sands. For the latest updates, please visit https://www.digitalmarketing-conference.com/asia.
UPDATE (3 Apr 2020): Taking into account the recent developments of the COVID-19 situation and news reported by the UK government plus the World Health Organization, DMWF Global 2020 has been postponed to 2021, and is slated to happen on 2-3 June 2021 at the Business Design Centre, London.
This article was done in partnership with Digital Marketing World Forum 2020. Photos courtesy of DMWF Asia.
