Sibos, one of the world’s biggest gatherings of financial services leaders, is just one month away.

As an event sponsor, you want to get the most out of your investment. I’m sure you’re well into your plans – from finalising your core event messaging to pre-scheduling meetings with target stakeholders – but are you maximising this once a year opportunity? Might you have overlooked some of the communications and marketing basics that’ll help you stand out?

Whether you are looking to make a big announcement, engage with existing clients, raise brand awareness or generate new leads, be sure to ask these five questions before your team heads to Sydney:

1. Who are the influencers that you need to engage with to elevate your message?

You need to develop a foundation to build engagement. Research and create a list of influencers and stakeholders to follow on both LinkedIn and Twitter. Online listening helps contextualize the current conversation and find influencers that you should engage with onsite. We often recommend developing a matrix including clients, prospects, media, opinion formers and speakers.

2. How are you warming up your target audience before the face to face?

Being front of mind with your target audience before the event is crucial. Social targeting tools like LinkedIn Matched Audiences can help hone in on priority audiences whilst aligning with account-based marketing activities and existing CRM data. This provides the opportunity to engage with the same targets across multiple touchpoints, taking them from cold target to warm lead.

Put a mix of content in front of your audience. Have one of your subject matter experts (or Sibos speakers, perhaps) share their thoughts on the major event themes or what to expect at the event. By aligning to the topics of the agenda, and more importantly, the pain points of your customers, you will be able to deliver a relevant and timely call to action.

3. What’s your PR strategy to ensure coverage and brand awareness?

Given this year’s event is in Sydney, we expect journalist numbers to be down a little. Plan for one journalist per publication, compared with two or three at a European or Americas event. But expect a wider pool of journalists to be online and engaged with the event remotely. For those journalists attending the event, their time is precious so providing them with a compelling reason to engage will be crucial.

4. How can you own the online conversation?

Being part of the online conversation can be just as important as being part of the offline conversation. Develop daily wrap up blogs that summarise the key sessions that your team attended. Bring your point of view to the forefront. Distribute short form content across your owned channels to boost engagement and increase share of voice.

5. How can you extend the life of your content beyond the event?

Taking a strategic approach to Sibos engagement will help nurture leads and build profile over a longer period. Most businesses overlook the importance of the post-event content and follow up. We’ll often recommend developing video footage during the event which you can use afterwards. Think about how you can gather data too, for example sentiment from your buyer community, to share in innovative ways after the event.

Cognito has a strong track record at Sibos over the past 10 years. We have helped a range of clients, from large banks to emerging FinTechs, maximise their exposure. We are working with some of the industry’s top names on this year’s event, delivering integrated communications across marketing, social media, content and mainstream media relations. Our teams are helping clients to develop impactful content and engaging with the media to secure opportunities before, during and after the event.

To discuss your Sibos plans, do not hesitate to contact us on [email protected]

Phil Chadney is a business development manager at Cognito based in London