Your business has thousands of assets, which makes them hard to find when you need them. Once you implement digital asset management software, you’ll have an easier time keeping track of them. However, software won’t automatically make your agency more organized.

7 Best Practices for Digital Asset Management 

Before implementing your asset management strategy, be sure to check out these digital asset management software reviews. They’ll help you choose the right software for your needs.

1. Audit All of Your Brand’s Assets

The first step to building an incredible digital asset management strategy is conducting an audit. You need to know what assets you have, their versions, the types you manage, their categories, and their general use. An audit can determine the best management solution for your needs.

For example, if you have a variety of multimedia assets that are distributed across multiple sites and social media channels, you’ll need software that includes built-in distribution and approval capabilities. You’ll also need software that can store and categorize assets in bulk/groups.

2. Collaborate Within Your Software

Team collaboration helps us problem-solve and become more efficient. When it comes to asset management, don’t rely on back-and-forth emails and duplication when sending your assets to other employers. Instead, collaborate inside the app to keep track of edits and asset versions. 

3. Utilize Analytics to Create Assets

Digital asset management software can track what was used when it was used, and for what purpose. A really sophisticated software can link up to your website and display key KPIs, such as click rate, share rate, downloads, content efficiency, engagement time, and much more.

When it’s time to create new assets, you can use your analytics, data, and KPIs to discover what your marketing team uses the most and what existing assets can identify gaps. If you aren’t getting the results you want, track different KPIs and see if they produce better data.

4. Use Alerts to Avoid Copyright Issues

If you edit and store rights-managed stock photos, you can add restrictions based on campaign or usage numbers. If you don’t do this, there’s a possibility your assets will be overused without approval. Alerts and notifications can prevent copyright issues and remind you of renewals. Check out Creative Fabrica to obtain incredible stockphotos!

5. Add Asset Permissions for Security

While permissions can avoid copyright issues, they’re also useful for preventing unauthorized edits, exchanges, and creations. You can use a password system to encrypt certain assets, or you can set roles based on positions, campaigns, seniority, and asset type, among other things.

A digital asset tool with versioning capabilities can include check-in and check-out functionality, which ensures only the most updated assets are used by your employees for campaigns. Or, you can store unusable assets under their own category to reduce confusion and mistakes.

6. Automate Workflow to Save Time

A cultural adoption of automation could free up six or more hours in a work week. By using software, you can automate tasks like content distribution and image conversions. You can use that free time to create more assets, streamline content creation, or improve your marketing.

7. Standardize Naming Conventions

There isn’t a wrong way to organize your assets. With that said, you need to standardize how you store your assets to ensure your employees search them up. We recommend standardizing your naming conventions and creating metadata that will make finding your assets a breeze.

For example, if you have a project named “Leaping Lemurs,” start all assets used in the project with “Leaping Lemurs.” Then, follow each image up with a date or its usage. One asset could be called “Leaping Lemurs: Cover,” while another can be saved as “Leaping Lemurs - 10/10/10.”