If you’ve ever wished you could use a remote control to navigate a trade show, BusyEvent’s Event Bookmarking service is for you. The service, which combines software with a key-fob-sized, wireless remote control called a BeLinker, allows users to click a few buttons to collect important data on the people, products and sessions that interest them at the show. Typically, two to three weeks before an event begins, communications are sent to inform attendees and exhibitors about the BusyEvent service and let them know they’ll receive a BeLinker device at registration.

Attendees and exhibitors are encouraged to fill out their profiles on a personal URL (PURL) event bookmarking page prior to the event. The PURL will be shared with the people they meet at the show and can be linked to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. Attendees can enter data such as their company contact information and interests, and exhibitors can upload product spec sheets, photos and promotional materials.

Because the data is entered before the event starts, users can start networking and schedule appointments ahead of time. Once attendees and exhibitors arrive at the show, the BeLinker device is snapped to their badges. Users can then enter codes from badge numbers of people they meet to gain contact information and instantly access social networking functions from their PURL page.

To bookmark a specific product on the show floor, its product code is entered into the BeLinker to access photos, specs and brochures. Session codes can be entered to check in for a session and automatically receive corresponding presentation materials, the presenter’s contact information and a list of other attendees who participated in the session. Users can also use the BeLinker during sessions to participate in interactive polls or fill out session evaluations. Once the event is finished, users return the BeLinkers to a specified location. Users can log into their PURL pages at any time to review the list of contacts they’ve made, products they’ve bookmarked or session materials they want to access.

They can even perform searches to narrow down those contacts or products that match specific interests or tag words. After the event, exhibitors can use the PURL pages for lead management to see which contacts accessed their pages and what content was downloaded to follow up with qualified leads. “Our technology tackles the problem of lists that are never followed up on,” says David Schenberg, Principal, BusyEvent. “It gives vendors and sponsors a means to deliver and promote their business and see who was interested in specific products and whether they downloaded brochures. It all depends on the information entered in the PURL page.”

Organizers can also use the reporting tools to see which content or sessions had the most audience participation or what types of products CEOs, for example, looked at most often. “It allows organizers to better sell sponsorships because you can see that CEOs were very interested in specific products at your last event,” Schenberg says. The BusyEvent service costs approximately $15 per attendee for larger events (1,000 to 5,000 attendees) and is priced on a sliding scale for smaller events. A mobile phone version of the software designed to work with Web browserenabled smartphones is also on the horizon. For more details, call 888-788-4896 or visit www.busyevent.com.