Miss France: before each contest, the miss influence war on Instagram<

They were more than 87,000 to follow on Instagram the daily life of Cécile Wolfrom, crowned Miss Alsace, between photo shoots, sports routine and volunteering, before the Miss France contest. The wanderings of Léna Massinger, who became Miss Champagne-Ardenne, were scrutinized by more than 50,000 subscribers, against 25,000 for Diane Leyre, alias Miss Île-de-France, who won the election on Saturday December 11 in Caen, and now has 505,000 subscribers.

"These young women gain, on average, between 10,000 and 50,000 followers when their participation in the Miss France contest is announced," says Clément Brygier, managing director of Digital Insighters, a reputation management firm. Hence the importance for candidates for the election to create a "showcase" on social networks - understand, to appear there in their best light.

“The audience thus has the impression of knowing them better, continues Clément Brygier. They expose on Instagram facets of their lives that are more difficult to present in a formatted interview of a few minutes. Before adding: “Their presence on Instagram promotes the creation of a story around their candidacy.” This is confirmed by Malika Ménard, elected Miss France 2010. "It's not just a beauty contest, people need to be touched or to recognize themselves in the one who will represent them", supports the author of #Fuck complexes: Accept and love each other beyond the filter of social networks (1).

The keys to good communication? “Show that they have a healthy lifestyle, play sports and are well surrounded”, assures Alice Detollenaere, ex-miss Burgundy 2010. Codes that these twenty-nine candidates fed with Instagram notifications have mastered to perfection. "We are in an era where young women of 20 are all present on social networks," abounds Malika Ménard who, when elected in 2010, did not even have Twitter.

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Without telephones

Another major difference, the Misses were, at the time of his election, not authorized to reveal the backstage of the competition. “We couldn't use our phones too much, nor show the backstages, remembers Alice Detollenaere. During the day, they were lined up. I posted almost nothing during the month preceding the election, especially not pictures of the costumes or the other candidates.

Eleven years later, times have changed a lot. This year, the candidates were indeed authorized to use their smartphones during their training on the island of Reunion, in order to post content on their respective profiles. Only downside, some of them would have broken the rules set by the production by publishing, in particular, pictures of their comrades.

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To the point that one of the chaperones decided to prohibit the young women from using their phones during the rest of the stay, at least in the professional context, as revealed by TV Mag, November 24. A choice approved by Sylvie Tellier, the general manager of the Miss France company. “We don't want to infantilize them, so we give them a framework, she said then. Afterwards, we can't do it on a case-by-case basis, so they can no longer take photos during makeup and hairdressing or by the pool. They only use it (their laptop, editor’s note) for personal purposes.”

A new "rivalry"

If social networks offer a non-negligible showcase for the competition, they can therefore escape the control of its organizers. “The candidates are all influencers, which can have a positive impact on the Miss France society, says Alice Detollenaere. The disadvantage is that he cannot control from A to Z what is broadcast, and he does not like that.

Witness the warnings of Amandine Petit, elected Miss France 2021, on the pictures posted by the candidates, according to her too retouched. “Ladies, be careful, you are in the Miss France contest, not in the Instagram contest! she warned. So you forget your applications, because you are in reality. By retouching too much, you risk causing disappointing reactions when you arrive in the Miss France adventure.

A duality that Clément Brygier goes so far as to qualify as a "rivalry" between the company Miss France and Instagram. “Both are based on the attention of the public, explains the specialist. The candidates have an interest in having a maximum of interactions with their fans, while the challenge for TF1 and the Miss France company is to control everything, to concentrate moments of attention. For decades, they wanted to create desirability around the candidates. Which supposes preserving a part of mystery. Impossible, however, to do without these strategic and powerful communication tools. "Miss France's audience has become younger," says Lisa Wyler, media relations consultant. Last year, the show broke a historic record: it recorded 72.5% audience share (PdA) among 15-24 year olds, and 67% among 15-34 year olds, according to Endemol Shine. » A public extremely present on social networks.

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"They won't trigger a tidal wave"

Would social networks have all the powers, including that of changing the vote? Xavier de Fontenay, author of The Secret History of Miss France (2), prefers to qualify. “The candidates will have their supporters, of course, but their communities will not trigger a tidal wave, he believes. This tidal wave will rather take place on the evening of the show. There are Misses who have hardly emerged during the competition, and who suddenly reveal themselves, like Linda Hardy.” An opinion shared by Malika Ménard. “I think the spectators look at the profile of the Misses, she concedes. But those that emerge on social networks are not those that have won in recent years. There are always favorites, followed and watched, but everything is decided when we go on television. Amandine (Petit, editor's note) was really not the most followed, she had fans, but it was her telegenics that blew her up. This is also evidenced by the victory of Diane Leyre, who was also not the most followed of the candidates during the 2022 edition of the competition.

Future plans

The candidates can capitalize on this new visibility to prepare for the post-Miss France era, also underlines Lisa Wyler. “The question is whether the competition is for them an objective in itself or a step towards a more distant project, details the consultant. Some of them consciously use Miss France because they have career plans. And Lisa Wyler underlined the many opportunities now offered by the competition: “Some Misses have become presenters, influencers or models. Since 2020, Laury Thilleman has even officiated on France 3 (she hosts the program "Come on, I'm taking you", Editor's note).

If the competition proves to be a formidable career "accelerator", the candidates must find a way to perpetuate this reputation. "Today, they need to maintain a link with their audience, but also to continue to exist on the media scene, thanks to their Instagram account", supports Clément Brygier. In addition to the use that the Misses make of it, in the future, the company would have every interest in betting more on social networks, adds the CEO of Digital Insighters. “Today, the relationship of the Miss France company with the social networks is very strong and growing, especially because there is so much positive attention from people who are interested in the life of the Misses, he concludes. This is a huge opportunity for the competition to go work with these audiences, to offer them more regular content and, potentially, to get their hands on the editorial line of the candidates. And why not, dare Clément Brygier, decide one day to do without TF1 … to broadcast the election on TikTok or Instagram. The Miss France company, for its part, did not respond to our requests.

(1) #Fuck the complexes: Accepting and loving yourself beyond the filter of social networks, by Malika Ménard, published on October 13, 2020, Ed. Amphora, 323 pages, €19.95

(2) The Secret History of Miss France, by Xavier de Fontenay, published in November 2009, Ed. Flammarion, 360 pages, €20.20

*This article, originally published on December 10, 2021, has been updated.

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