Smojoe blogs with Siera Bearchell
Post by Robert Campbell on Aug 21, 2009
Smojoe and the Miss Teen Canada beauty pageant have just recently extended their business relationship. Now social media training is part of the package.
One Weds Aug 19th 2009, Smojoe met Siera Bearchell the 2009 Miss Teen Canada- World winner, three days before her flight to Houston Texas to compete for the Miss Teen World crown. The subject of newspaper stories and TV appearances it’s become clear that Siera is going to be a very popular beauty queen, and Smojoe has been retained to help transfer some of that buzz into the blogosphere.
At 12:30 pm we walked and talked in downtown Toronto near the Adelaide St and Jarvis offices of EnCourse Business Development. It was a super hot day and instead of sitting in a sweaty cafe I decided we’d get some pictures in the park and relax in the shade. Well it was a very busy park, and people were staring and that sure makes it hard to relax…
As an official beauty queen, Siera is required to wear her sash the entire time she’s in Toronto, esp when in public on official meetings. She doesn’t need it though. I swear if she didn’t have it people would probably still stare at her and know she’s special for some reason. Indeed it was a little weird because as we sauntered along just about every single person we met on that narrow concrete path was somehow affected by our passing. Some folks in the distance pointed and called loudly to nearby friends while others ventured closer and snapped cell phone pictures and jeepers it was odd. Is this what its like being a teen celebrity?
- Moments after winning the crown 25th July 09.
Siera was selected by a panel of Judges in front of an enthusiastic live audience in the John Bassett Theatre of the Metro Toronto Convention Center on Saturday July 25th 2009. She came out ahead of fifty three other contestants that night and its no wonder why; Siera captured the hearts and minds of everyone because of her strong presentation of self. Her story resonated right along with her abilities and poise and tremendous stage presence and all of this impacted the judges, and the audience.
Smojoe would like to believe that Siera Bearchell’s OnSugar contestant blog was a big part of her victory; its a fact she scored high with me because she used the magic of story. Specifically, Smojoe was moved by the unhappy tale of how Siera Bearchell overcame the trauma of living through a house fire and the resultant devastation and subsequent rebuilding of her life that occurred thereafter. She hooked me and branded me right there in that one blog post.
Siera Bearchell is a golfer and that’s another big part of her life and personal story. Oh I jumped on that element and soon insisted that she write and submit a golf course review for a high end Canadian golf ezine. If she embraces this popular online sports community, her MTC-W blog will grow more and more popular after every game.
Here’s a girl that’s good with a club, and that’s an intriguing combination. That dichotomy would make interesting reading in so many niche golf zines. I told her that being a good blogger could allow her to play free golf at any course in Canada. Think about it. What golf course wouldn’t pay her expenses and let her play with other VIP members to get in the center of her online popularity? It would be hot content and premium social capital.
As we walked back to the office I described story funnels and how to use three or four different online platforms to communicate tiny bits of the same first person adventure. Siera’s Flickr will soon be full of the images chronicling her quest in Texas and some of these bits should link to the MTCW blog platform, the former home of Katie Stark. Siera Bearchell’s Twitter and the official Miss Teen Canada- World Twitter (updated more frequently by Michelle Weswaldi) accommodates official news bulletins and links. Siera’s comments on other blogs, her stories in the press, and other photo sharing sites will all hopefully link out and back to her blog. Her own skills using social bookmarking services (Digg, Delicious, Reddit and StumbleUpon) will help reinforce incoming links and highlight her best content as she creates the ultimate Miss Teen Canada- World blog.
Siera Bearchell, you are Canada’s most celebrated teenager, and your star is set to rise even higher in Houston Texas at the Miss Teen World competition. Good luck and don’t forget to write.
