The Conversation Prism image courtesy of Brian Solis and JESS3.

When planning your strategy for content marketing, it’s easy to think you have to use every popular channel that exists—Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, SlideShare, Google+, Instagram, and the latest app for the week.

You have a choice to choose which type of content you want to promote (i.e., blog posts, white papers, special reports, podcasts, videos, etc.) and then how you want to promote that content (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

I recently heard Joe Pulizzi speak at an event where he related the story about a big brand marketer. She explained that her company was on Facebook. He asked why. She had no answer.

Just because a social media platform is popular doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be there.

Go where the fish are

You first need to understand who your target audience is and then find the channels they use.

A way to do this is look at your current list of clients and customers. Start asking them if they use Facebook for business or if they like using the Twitter search feature to stay on top of their industry.

When I worked for an technology company, I knew our audience were men between the ages of 30 – 55 who didn’t spend a lot of time on social media. They especially didn’t use Pinterest, which is used primarily by women.

So, we didn’t have a Pinterest account.

As my husband would say, “Go where the fish are.” He used to be a fly-fishing instructor and would observe which type of flies were in season. He’d then use that type of a “fake” fly as bait in order to catch fish.

It’s the same with marketing channels. If your customers are on LinkedIn, try joining the groups they like. Also consider posting a LinkedIn ad or beef up your LinkedIn Company Page.

Unless you have an army of assistants, it is very difficult to maintain a presence everywhere while still creating meaningful, value-filled content. The good news is that you don’t have to be everywhere. Just where your “fish” are.

Master the channels you use and share

If you use a smaller number of channels, you’ll have an easier time keeping your content marketing strategy flowing.

If you’re a solopreneur, once you publish any content, immediately promote it through your channels. One tool I’ve used is TwitterFeed to push out my blog updates to Twitter. I then promote my posts on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Once you start to consistently use your channels, you’ll start to build an audience who will share your content.

It also helps if you share other people’s content. There have been many times when I’ve viewed someone’s updates and all I saw were self-serving announcements. No engagement. No sharing of anyone’s content. No re-tweets.

In order to connect with the influencers in your industry, you need to keep up with what they’re talking about and then contribute to the conversation by either responding to them or sharing their content.

This type of marketing goodwill will bring its own rewards when you reach out to someone who could possibly make a difference in your own strategy. Influencers are much more open to sharing someone’s content if it’s a person who has faithfully shared theirs.

Test and measure

If you’re not sure if a certain channel is working for you, test it. Use an analytics program to track whether your audience is engaging with your content through that channel or if they prefer another one.

By doing this, you can stagger your involvement with your channels. It may be that people comment more on your content when it’s posted on LinkedIn versus your blog. You could then still update your blog but promote your LinkedIn page through Twitter and Facebook updates.

Invest in the channels that get the most results. In the end, it isn’t about having a collection of icons on your site where someone can find you but being responsive and active in the places you find your audience. You’ll build your own “tribe” as a result.