A report from PulsePoints suggests that marketing campaigns must adjust to the behavior of web users and cross-channel analytics should drive strategies to succeed.

A report from PulsePoint found that many marketers, agencies and content publishers are struggling to generate content that appeals to their target audiences across channels. As more consumers and B2B buyers access content from computers and various mobile devices, the need for dynamic, multi-faceted campaigns becomes increasingly clear and Pulsepoint’s study indicates many marketers struggle to keep up with evolving internet behavior.

According to the study, agencies have been more successful than marketers and publishers in launching campaigns that appeal to their target demographics on several different fronts. Fifty-seven percent of those included in the study said their multi-channel efforts are very or extremely effective.

It appears as though agencies are looking to improve their ability to gauge the strength of their campaigns. More than 41 percent of agencies said a top priority was adopting new metrics to assess campaigns better.

Twenty-seven percent of publishers said their multi-channel efforts are effective, while just 15 percent of marketers considered this to be true.

PulsePoint said that multi-channel campaigns are common now given the multi-platform behavior of consumers. These efforts are effective in the sense that they improve presences in several different areas. However, insights for campaigns are too frequently analyzed separately when they could be combined to gain an understanding of cross-web influence, according to PulsePoint. Essentially, social metrics are applied only to social, rather than using data gathered from Twitter, Facebook and other platforms to improve website content or email campaigns.

Cross-channel campaigns, which PointPulse defined as any effort that uses insight from different channels to inform actions in others, are more likely to help companies succeed moving forward. Similarly, real-time interactive marketing efforts, which allow organizations to make changes to their campaigns more quickly.

By and large, agencies believe their cross-channel campaigns and real-time interactive strategies are effective. However, marketers and publishers are less successful with these kinds of strategies, PulsePoint found.

Adjusting marketing practices to make campaigns adaptive to audience responses will help companies moving forward. Consumers are increasingly active on the web, using multiple networks and channels as part of their daily lives. Failing to aggregate data and provide prospects with an experience that transcends each channel can hurt businesses.

Despite marketers’ current struggles in providing a truly cross-channel experience, their efforts are likely to change based on priorities set for the coming months. For example, 42.3 percent of publishers said they hope to be more active on new channels soon, while 45 percent of marketers will reportedly work to better optimize their efforts this year.

Changing consumer behavior has been well documented, and it’s likely that the shift will continue as people make more technology a greater part of their lives. Brafton has recently highlighted a number of studies that illustrate the increasingly dynamic behavior of web users. For example, a report from Nielsen found that more than 70 percent of consumers turn to the web while shopping to learn about electronics they look to purchase. Businesses trying to better integrate their online web presence can consider using website content marketing to appeal to these shoppers doing brand comparisons as well as social content discussing new products to reach those checking social channels and encourage users to learn more on their sites.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.