With digitalization becoming a norm for most businesses today, digital assets have become some of the most crucial elements that businesses should protect and organize. They’re usually too complex, too many, and too diverse to store and retrieve using outdated methods. So, to ensure a well-organized data system in your company, you should develop effective digital asset management or DAM strategies.
Digital assets can vary in form. They can be marketing collaterals, files, or anything that has been created (and need to be stored) digitally. They should be easily discoverable, well-kept, and organized because they‘re valuable to the company.
Consider this guide if you want to level up your digital asset management.
1. Choose a DAM System
To improve your digital asset management, you’ll likely need support from others. This is where partners or service providers come in. You must partner with the best provider or system that aligns with your business goals, vision, and needs.
It’s also essential for you to understand why a DAM belongs in the cloud. One reason is that such a platform enables users to access and retrieve company digital assets wherever they are, as long as they have internet connectivity.
When choosing your partner or provider, there are other factors to consider. For instance, you should work with a reputable partner with a track record of successful deals with other businesses. Read customer testimonials, review their site, and check their products and services.
Chat with their representative and send inquiries to get estimates for their services. You should have a few candidates in mind before finalizing your decision.
Knowing their staff and how professional they are in handling queries also matters. Choose one that responds politely, patiently, and expertly to all your questions. Some DAM services come with a demo trial to see if the system fits your operational needs.
2. Build a DAM Team
The next step is establishing a team in charge of digital asset management. You need the right people on this team to support the entire organization in transitioning to a cloud-based DAM. This is one way to take your company to the next level.
These team members can support other departments and teams struggling with the DAM transition. To form the DAM team, get one representative from each department to help their respective teams organize and store digital assets.
3. Consider your Budget
Like any other additional investment in the company, it’s crucial to factor in your budget for this project. Though you may believe digital asset management platforms have many benefits, you might not control the budget.
The finance team should be able to consider how much the budget would be for your DAM. Educate them on all the benefits of DAM and its investment returns.
For instance, aside from the general advantages, you can consider the time savings generated through effective DAM, which can be computed as money savings. Software savings should also be considered. Having good DAM would mean some software can become unnecessary, so you won’t have to invest anymore.
4. Establish your Goals for DAM
An important step is to establish goals for your digital asset management. This will be done by meeting with your DAM partner and the entire company. Stakeholders will be invited to attend a meeting with the onboarding team to discuss everything from layout customization to asset collection. DAM’s technical processes and procedures will also be discussed during this meeting.
An agreement will be drafted after the initial stages stating how the vendor will work with your organization. This is an excellent reference for the management or operations teams to have available so that everyone knows how the ongoing relationship is progressing. It will also serve as a working guide for those the company will recruit.
5. Train Employees
The digital asset management vendor will train employees on using their platform. The top management will have to decide how the training will be conducted.
Employers can decide to have the training in teams, departments, or individually. There should also be strategies for training new employees efficiently regarding DAM.
Choosing an approach that works efficiently for everyone, including the trainers, is essential. Due to changes, some DAM vendors prefer regular training for staff and employees to get the hang of effective DAM. Also, staff should be available to entertain concerns and issues about digital assets.
6. Stay keen on details
As you implement digital asset management, you’ll need to be keen on checking its details. It’s essential to work closely with vendors and use their DAM-related processes and templates because they have the most experience with this.
DAM partners can provide expert advice regarding the technicalities involved with your digital assets. Their experience and support will help you design a comprehensive and workable DAM solution for your unique needs.
Lastly, decide who will have access to the available digital assets and which ones should be encrypted with passwords. For instance, some assets can be available as a read-only file for normal employees, but key or authorized company leaders can modify such files.
Conclusion
Digital asset management software and services are the best investments to help your staff do their best job. Teams benefit from DAM strategies since they save time and money.
When high-quality assets aren’t properly tagged and stored, it’s easy to lose track of them. Therefore, ensuring that your DAM is effective and well incorporated into your business workflows is crucial. Consider all of the steps in this guide when investing in the best DAM solution for your company.
