Four Questions You Should be Able to Answer about Your DAM
by: Tim Mulholland
Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher said, “Change is the only constant in life.”
This statement holds true in digital asset management (DAM). Whether you’ve implemented your DAM system yourself from the ground up, or inherited the system from a previous DAM manager, it will change and evolve over time.
It is easy for DAM managers to get lost in governance processes to keep up with all the changes over time. The following four questions, which you should be able to answer about your DAM, will go a long way towards keeping up with best practices:
Can your users find what they need?
With powerful search engines and smart devices, individuals are used to finding the information they are looking for in an intuitive manner. This creates a high expectation for all digital repositories. A DAM needs to be easy and efficient to be incorporated into workflows and if individuals struggle to find what they are looking for, they will simply revert to their old habits of avoiding the DAM.
A comprehensive taxonomy with descriptive metadata always serves as the basis for efficient retrieval but because terms, processes, and workflows change, a DAM manager should routinely be monitoring the success of searches in the DAM. Examples of system efficiency audits might include training course refreshers, frequent check-ins with user groups, and governance council meetings. In addition to the user-focused review of your DAM, monitoring system metrics will lead to data-driven insights for aligning terminology. A useful metric is to measure frequently used terms and searches that yield no results so you can diagnose the disconnect.
Which assets are getting used the most (shared)?
As DAM systems have matured, most, if not all, vendors now offer some form of asset-level insights regarding downloads, views, and shares. Taking those insights and extrapolating beyond the asset level to determine performance in context can really bring valuable insights not only to DAM management but to creative operations and marketing in general. The DAM manager can become an integral member of the marketing strategy team by providing this information.
Beyond the strategic implications, information on which assets are being used the most can help determine the optimal configuration of your DAM site. If users are consistently downloading logos or icons for example, you may consider a link for those valuable assets on the homepage of your DAM.
Who is uploading and what is their process?
As your DAM grows, an organization may have users from several new internal departments using the DAM. Depending on the workflow processes in place, creative agencies and/or freelance photographers may also upload assets directly to your DAM.
This adoption is great, but it is important for a DAM manager to revisit the questions discussed at initial implementation of the DAM. Are these uploaders still the best fit for efficient uploading and application of the metadata? Often it comes down to training and making sure these users still feel comfortable consistently uploading and tagging in your system. Are they communicating when they are uploading these assets? Most DAM systems have some functionality around duplicate detection but that does little for the time wasted in uploading. Checking on uploaders and their process is an important step towards getting the most out of your DAM.
What is your process for auditing your DAM?
Unused yet active assets clutter your DAM and make it difficult for users to find what they need. Sorting by most recent uploads does not always tell the full story, nor is it always accurate. In addition, users that find multiple similar or duplicate assets may grow wary of making the right choice between options.
Grouping assets in the DAM by type, and routinely auditing their value to the business is one avenue of evaluating active assets. Another mode of auditing is to schedule maintenance on retiring their DAM assets (five years, three years, two years, yearly, even quarterly in some capacities). Many companies will audit their DAM every two-to-three years, but each company is different and what works elsewhere may not work at yours. One way to determine a sound maintenance strategy is to routinely audit which assets are being downloaded and shared most frequently and compare it to the year it was created. If assets over two years old are rarely getting used, that would represent a low value to the business and a great example of assets that just simply take up space in your DAM.
Final Thoughts
Utilizing a Digital Asset Management system is a collaborative process across your organization. Collaborative processes require routine assessment as adoption increases and processes evolve. Taking time to think about and answer the four questions in this post can help DAM leadership get ahead of potential problems and increase return on investment.