What is a Digital Asset Management Tool Used For?

Businesses are under pressure to create seemingly endless digital assets to support customers during every phase of their buying journey. But with the large amount of digital content that companies need to manage, it’s easy to lose track of every asset that is produced and distributed across its media chain. Disorder is almost guaranteed as the list of media assets to use and manage grows by the day. The best way to resolve this is with a Digital Asset Management (DAM) tool. These systems have quickly proved to be essential to the efficient access, organization, structure, storage, retrieval, and distribution of digital files held by an organization. Curious how your organization could benefit from a DAM tool? This guide is here to help you find out:

Centralize Files

DAM brings all digital assets to a central location and stores enriched and embedded data about each file, including its name, origin, technical specifications, copyright, associated keywords, etc. 

This data allows you to search and find your files faster by using advanced search filters.

A good digital asset management solution will also have built-in features like filing rules and category tags to standardize how users save and distribute files.

Simplify the Process of Managing and Distributing Files

A DAM system allows everyone with permission to easily find, share, and track whatever files they need from the central hub at any given time, from anywhere in the world, and from any device. This creates a more streamlined and automated way of working across the entire company while minimizing miscommunications in the workplace, so everyone knows what they need to work on and the status. Since it’s possible to track each file’s history and updates, there won’t be any mismatched information between staff, departments, and even headquarters.

Ensure Brand and Marketing Compliance

Most digital assets have licensing agreements attached to them. It can get challenging to keep up with these requirements, especially if you have a massive database of logos, audio files, photos, videos, and content management solutions. Failure to comply with such agreements can make you liable to pay fines, disrupt core business practices, and even tarnish your brand’s reputation. A digital asset management solution can track all licenses and legal documentation that play a crucial role in meeting governmental regulatory or industry-driven compliance demands. This ensures all licensing agreements are upheld at all times and all copyright information is up-to-date.

Speeds Up Time-To-Market

Market trends are constantly evolving while new business technologies emerge. A DAM tool allows businesses to keep up with these changes thanks to an intuitive interface, streamlined processes, integration capabilities, and a collaborative environment. A digital asset management solution also makes it easy for marketers to find and share content. This speeds up their content management solution and ability to execute marketing campaigns right from the ideation stage to development to execution.

Keeps Content Secure

It’s no secret that companies and organizations get hacked every day; plus, digital files can get corrupted, others get lost, not to mention servers crash and fail. Luckily, with DAM, administrators can control how different user groups interact with assets and provide different access levels so data doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. Other standard security features you get with a DAM tool are two-step authentication, a watermark in visual assets, etc. Cloud-based DAM systems even come with additional safety features like AI, rights management, data rendering, versioning control, and more.

It Saves Time, Money, and Effort

Searching for the latest, approved version of files can consume a lot of time. And when an employee can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll soon ask another employee to help find it or have to recreate the file. This will steal working time and, in turn, reduce productivity. Since DAM creates a central location where all digital assets are updated and approved, they are easy to retrieve. This eliminates the resources that would otherwise be used to search for or recreate lost or misplaced material. The system further facilitates collaboration between different teams/departments, thus reducing costly miscommunications.

Maintains Brand Integrity & Consistency

Company logos, photos, videos, fonts, and color palettes are all frequently shared across a digital portal. People often use outdated images or old logos because they weren’t aware or couldn’t find the current versions. Did you know that customers tend to purchase from a brand they recognize? As such, even the slightest shift in color motif, tagline, or slogan is more than enough to make customers question the authenticity of a product. By having a centralized repository for your assets, everyone, including departments, teams, partners, agencies, and even affiliates, will always have access to the same and up-to-date versions of files and brand management solutions. This ensures cohesive brand messaging at every customer touchpoint.

Take Control Of Your Digital Collateral

Do you value your digital assets and believe they are vital for your company or organization’s success? Given the many benefits that a DAM tool can offer, it’s undoubtedly the best way to take control of your digital assets. A DAM tool that meets your company’s needs and goals with customization and advanced search capabilities can improve project workflows.