The new generation of Swiss comedians has been making headlines for a few years now. One of its members (and not the least!) is the comedian Yann Marguet. A real darling of the French-speaking part of Switzerland, he now has several million views on social networks.
In his column, Les Orties, on Couleur 3, Yann talks about everything. He tackles all the themes, from picnics to homosexuality, including emojis. No subject is too serious or too banal. His only common thread: a simple and frank humor.
It was by chance that I met him. But chance does things well and I had the pleasure of getting some advice from him on how to break into French-speaking Switzerland.
But to start with and as he himself would say:
Yann Marguet, who is he?
-> Definition!
Robin von Känel: Who are you? What are you trying to achieve through your columns?
Yann Marguet: I would like to embody the greatest possible humility, the greatest simplicity, always include myself in the critiques. It comes across in everything I do. I have this physical thing, a kind of bonhomie. I hope that people will start to see me as a friend. Even if I talk about subjects that can be disturbing, I would like them to see me as a friend who annoys them. The Vaudois accent, combined with my style, my face and what I say, it confuses the issues. The guy who thinks that hipsters are all idiots will be able to tell himself that we can still go drink beers and milk cows together. It is an anti-identity approach.
Where my image is reflected is in the desire to include people. I don’t see the point of an awareness campaign that starts with “you’re shit” because people will skip it. By embodying Mr. Everyman, I manage to include myself in the criticism too. It makes people want to identify with it and the message gets across more easily.
In addition to your columns, you have collaborated on several societal projects (for example the street harassment museum). Why is that important to you? What do you want to bring to people?
I don’t really claim to have an impact. It’s also important to say it. It’s just about making a contribution. I think it’s important, in terms of humility, not to have gigantic ambitions. It’s not with a video that we’re going to change the world, but it’s a start.
For the project on harassment, I had few expectations. I was really happy to participate, but I didn’t think it would have any impact. It was at the press conference, when I saw all the cameras and they told me it was going to be on the 7:30 p.m. news, that I understood that it could work. The idea of changing the world came later. It was almost a side effect. The initial impulse was to do something cool.
You have now become an influencer. Did you seek out this notoriety?
>I don’t know. When you do this job and it starts to work, you want to be able to do it for a long time. It’s horrible because it’s super artificial, but when you see your number of views decreasing, it’s scary. But that doesn’t mean I would start trying to change or do a market study to find out what people expect.
I know that I wanted this notoriety because it doesn’t come by itself. I spent a lot of time wondering if it was self-centered or not to launch a public Facebook page. After a while I said to myself “fuck it, I’m doing it”. I really can’t tell if it’s for a self-centered purpose or if it’s so that my projects have more impact, but it’s true that the more I’m seen, the more I can get a message across.
Unlike other comedians who perform on stage, most of your activity takes place online. What is your strategy for staying close to your community?
There’s no real magic recipe for staying close. In any case, I don’t have one. Inevitably, you learn that there is a strategy after all. I kind of made fun of the community manager profession. I always wanted to ask them “Did you want to do this job because you like Facebook? Are you good at Facebook? With the change in Facebook algorithms at the beginning of the year, I felt like an idiot for needing them. That’s when I realized how complex the machine was and how important the rules were. My strategy isn’t super elaborate: don’t publish fifty posts on the same day, don’t publish stuff knowing it’s going to flop. It’s not a huge brainstorm, but there are still a few things to manage.
Do you often meet your digital fans in the real world?
I am often surprised when I receive messages where people tell me that they have done five nettles and that they feel better afterwards. For example, the other day I met a young guy getting off the bus. He came to talk to me and told me that he loves what I do, that I helped him a lot. He took out his phone to take a selfie and I saw his wallpaper with a handsome muscular guy. Then I understood that he was gay and I had his life path coming at me. He must have suffered. And that moved me to tears.
How do you react in this kind of case?
I try to take what comes, not to pretend. But I take the time to answer everyone. It is not a question of being close or not close. You are as you are. I think that unlike politicians, we do not do this to please people. In life when you are a public figure you have to do your best, but we can’t ask more of you.
If there is no magic recipe, there are probably things to avoid. What would be your worst advice for…
…choosing your profile picture?
That’s funny. Instinctively the first thing that came to me was to take a selfie with a guy you consider better than you. Pretend you had been knighted by this guy when everyone knows you went to bother him to get a selfie. Like I’m with Gad Elmaleh, we’re monster friends. Or a racist photo. No better: a selfie with Dieudonné.
…build a community of thousands of followers?
Well here I have an example, it’s a rapper I followed. He posted all these states of mind on his public Facebook page, super emotional stuff. I find that really bad. People who subscribe want to see content. If you’re a comedian they want to laugh, if you’re a musician they want to listen to music. Then you can put some personal stuff.
…post on Facebook?
My worst advice would be to not post anything. Make a page where you post one video per year. A good piece of advice, especially in my case, is to offer exclusive content. That’s what justifies having your own page. For a very long time I only relayed the content of the radio stations I worked for but those are things that are only on another page. The real native page is that of Couleur 3. Mine is used to throw out new stuff. That’s what gives people a reason to follow my page.
…reply to a comment on Facebook?
Taking things too much to heart. It’s hot because it’s the first reflex you have. I think that not responding is the best response. You can’t change people. Just by answering them you prove them right. The best thing is to just ignore them.
A final piece of advice?
Be yourself! Never change! [laughs]
No but seriously you shouldn’t do what is expected of you and change to please. It won’t work. That’s just my business but especially if you’re a comedian it’s important to keep your integrity. You can’t last if you don’t have something to offer, a real artistic approach. You definitely shouldn’t compromise yourself to gain popularity.
To remember:
Yann Marguet made a name for himself by creating his own style. He says it himself, his humor consists of embodying those he parodies in order to include himself in the criticism. It is an approach that is above all humble and authentic.
If humility alone created stars, we would know it. Other ingredients also come into play in Yann’s success. Indeed, he first knew how to identify what his audience liked and how to bring them value. He then located where his audience was (YouTube, Facebook and Instagram) and he maintains a sustained activity there. Each of these media is used differently, in order to reflect the desired facet of his positioning.
Regardless of the communication channel, the tone used is always consistent. He thus manages to communicate clearly and thus reinforce his image. His authenticity, never at fault, allows him to adopt an intensive publication rate without appearing arrogant. He is above all human, which makes you want to know him and follow his communications.
And so: Yann Marguet, who is he?
-> A bearded man wearing his eternal sailor’s cap, who knows how to make himself vulnerable to make us laugh, but also think.
*This photo is not a dubbing selfie 😉
