If you have a business that creates high volumes of content, you will know how difficult it can be to organise and manage everything. It can be challenging to ensure that the latest versions of digital assets are always used, and that content is easily accessible by the required people.
When there are flaws in these systems, productivity dips and branding can become inconsistent. Any inefficiencies in the content lifecycle will have a negative impact on marketing results and ultimately, business success.
A digital asset management (DAM) system can support every stage of the content lifecycle – from planning and creation to publication, distribution and updating and managing your content. A DAM system provides a streamlined, user-friendly solution to overcome many of the challenges you face throughout the content lifecycle.
An advanced DAM system will drive efficiencies across every stage of the content lifecycle:
At the initial phase of content planning, DAM provides a centralised system to store all your planning and content strategy documents. As you create new content, DAM features such as metadata tagging, keywords and descriptions will ensure that your assets are easy to retrieve. Without this, the larger your content library grows, the more difficult it will be to locate your assets.
Many DAM systems have automatic metadata tagging, which will assign descriptive data to digital assets. This reduces the manual workload and establishes a consistent way of organising content. Version control is also easily managed, with DAM tracking versions so the latest version is always used. The approval process is streamlined, as creators are able to submit assets for approval through a designated workflow. Feedback and revisions are recorded, and users are notified when approval is obtained.
Another way that DAM supports the content lifecycle is by providing controlled access to ensure that only people with the required permissions can access assets. Collaboration is seamless, as any user with the designated access levels will be able to locate and edit the latest content versions. All the digital assets created through various creation phases are stored centrally, so collaborating on work becomes easier. The version controls ensure that multiple versions are not being worked on and all assets are quickly retrieved with the search functionality.
DAM systems can be integrated with marketing automation tools such as email automation platforms and content management systems. Rather than continually switching between platforms, once content is created and approved, distribution and publication is seamless. This saves time and boosts productivity, while the DAM system can also export files in different formats and resolutions specific to the channel being used.
Once content is distributed, this is rarely the end of the journey. Your content library will evolve, with regular reviews to update content, repurposing of content and ongoing optimisation to drive even more marketing results from your assets. DAM stores information about when content was last reviewed, and you can schedule review dates in the system to ensure your assets are up to date and optimised.
DAM systems provide automated archiving features to help manage your library of assets more effectively. You can set criteria to archive assets that have not been accessed in a certain time period, while ensuring they will be available if required in the future.
If you are looking for a user-friendly solution to organise your assets and enhance the whole content lifecycle, you can find out more about the capabilities of DAM. Schedule a one-to-one demo or speak to a friendly member of our team for more information.
