The moment you start creating and utilizing visuals for your brand is the second you start losing them. As a small startup, you may get away with putting all of your assets in a single folder, but without a digital asset management system, you’ll have a hard time organizing your repository.
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What is Digital Asset Management (DAM)?
Digital asset management refers to how brands store their digital content repository. Brands will usually keep their assets in a marketing asset management system, which is a centralized software that stores creative files, photographs, presentation decks, video, audio, and more.
Digital asset management tools operate at their best when they’re accessible to the whole team because they can easily swap assets and communicate feedback directly inside the platform.
A DAM system can maximize the value of your brand as they automate workflows, encrypt files, and set expiration dates for licenses. They also have a search function that makes finding what you need a breeze, provided you named and organized your assets in a logical way.
How Can DAM Software Improve Your Company?
From creating unique assets to asset distribution, DAM software can provide endless benefits for your company and team.
Here are 7 ways digital asset libraries improve your business.
1. Digital Asset Management Software Maintains Brand Consistency
According to studies, brands with the strongest assets are 52% more salient (memorable) than their competition. But it isn’t enough to make unique assets; you also have to stay consistent. DAM software can ensure that only your most up-to-date files are seen and used by your team.
2. Digital Asset Management Software Can Track Asset ROI
It’s sometimes hard to gauge how relevant, popular, or successful your assets are, but DAM tools can offer you this information. You can track views, shares, and downloads separated by users, organization, or collection, so you’ll instantly know what’s performing well and why.
3. Digital Asset Management Software Keeps Your Content Safe
Without a DAM, your assets will be scattered. That means you have to encrypt every single file across multiple computers, a process that isn’t scalable. However, DAM software limits the risks associated with mismanagement, as all assets are stored on one dashboard in the cloud.
4. Digital Asset Management Software Accelerates Access
Unless you make a copy of every asset you own, you may have dozens of the exact same asset on each team member’s desktop. Without any way to establish version control, you could spend hours trying to find the right asset, but a cloud-based DAM tool makes everything easy to find.
5. Digital Asset Management Software Improves Collaboration
Poor communication can cost your company a lot of money in wasted time. You’ll want your team to be on the same page, regardless of their department, time zone, or location. A digital asset library can define roles, set permissions, and offer feedback to help limit project confusion.
6. Digital Asset Management Software Mitigates Legal Risks
Most stock assets come with a licensing agreement, and it’s your job to keep track of it. If you’re using assets past their expiry date, you could damage your reputation. Fortunately, you can set flags on your DAM system that notify you of asset expiry dates or automatic asset renewals.
7. Digital Asset Management Software Helps You Stay Trendy
When you cut down on the time it takes to search for brand assets, you’ll have more to spend on creating valuable content. Since you’ll speed up your time-to-market, you can search for trending topics and capitalize on them as soon as they happen. What results is a higher ROI.
