If your business creates media files, you may need help organizing, storing, and sharing your organization's digital assets in a centralized hub where the right people can access them.
Digital asset management platforms are content management systems for all the technical, logistical, financial, and creative files your business generates. Here’s more on how a digital asset management system can help you secure, maintain, and access your valuable intellectual property.
What is digital asset management (DAM)?
Digital asset management (DAM) refers to organizing, storing, retrieving, and distributing digital assets within an organization. Digital assets include text documents, images, video files, audio files, presentations, and other media assets.
A digital asset management solution includes a centralized repository for storing these assets, allowing easy search, access, sharing, and management of digital files. Digital asset management systems run on specialized DAM software that rapidly sorts, archives, and distributes digital content with minimal human intervention.
As brand assets are created and saved on company computers, the digital asset management software can upload these files to cloud storage and then categorize and store them in a digital asset library. Once this is done, the appropriate internal and external stakeholders in your company can quickly access digital assets.
Types of digital assets
DAM systems handle anything in a digital format. Digital asset examples include:
- Documents. Text-based files include PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and ebooks.
- Images. Photographs, graphics, illustrations, and visual content in various formats (including JPEG, PNG, and GIF).
- Videos. Recorded or animated visual content, including video files, animations, and rich media featuring motion graphics.
- Audio files. Music tracks, podcasts, sound effects, dialogue recordings, and other audio recordings in formats like MP3, WAV, or AIFF.
- Presentations. Slide decks, keynote presentations, and similar visual content for demonstrations, talks, or business pitches.
- Design files. Source files used for design work, including Adobe PSD (Photoshop), AI (Illustrator), and INDD (InDesign) files.
- Code files. Source code files, scripts, programming languages, and development-related assets like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Software. Complete programs owned, leased, or otherwise used by your team, including project management software, design software, image editing software, content management systems (CMS), and more.
- Metadata. Information about digital assets, including descriptions, tags, keywords, and other identifying data to help organize and search for files.
What does digital asset management software do?
- Asset organization and storage
- Search and retrieval
- Metadata management
- Version control
- Facilitating collaboration
- Rights and permissions management
- Distribution and publishing
- Brand management
Digital asset management (DAM) software is essential for organizing, storing, retrieving, and distributing your digital company assets. Here are eight key functions you’ll typically find in a digital asset management platform:
Asset organization and storage
DAM software provides a centralized repository for all your digital assets. It categorizes assets using your chosen parameters, making it easier to locate specific files quickly.
Search and retrieval
DAM platforms offer robust search capabilities, allowing you to quickly find assets using various search criteria, such as keywords, metadata tags, file types, or custom attributes. Advanced search functionalities help locate specific assets within extensive collections. For instance, you could use DAM search criteria to find a PNG image uploaded by your marketing director in January 2021 tagged as “spring campaign.”
Metadata management
A DAM solution allows you to add, edit, and manage metadata associated with digital assets, including meta descriptions, keywords, usage rights, creation dates, and other relevant details, facilitating search and retrieval.
Version control
DAM tools let you track and manage different versions of digital assets. You can access previous versions, track changes, and ensure the use of the most recently updated content.
Facilitating collaboration
DAM systems facilitate collaboration by allowing employees to share digital assets across your network. You can set access permissions to enable file sharing between teams. You can also restrict access.
Once you’ve enabled asset access, team members can comment, review, and approve files, streamlining project workflows and communication.
Rights and permissions management
A digital asset manager can help manage usage rights, permissions, and licenses associated with your digital assets, which helps ensure compliance with copyright regulations and control access to sensitive or restricted content, preventing unauthorized usage.
Distribution and publishing
Some digital asset management tools offer distribution functionalities, allowing you to publish or distribute assets to various digital channels, platforms, or integrated systems. This feature streamlines sharing content across websites, social media, marketing campaigns, and other outlets.
Brand management
Creating a centralized digital library helps maintain brand consistency throughout your business operations. This centralization ensures copywriters and graphic designers maintain a consistent brand identity because they work from a comprehensive library of existing digital assets that meet brand guidelines.
Who uses digital asset management?
- Ecommerce retailers
- Publishers and content creators
- Sales and marketing organizations
- Media and entertainment companies
- Large corporate enterprises
Professionals from various industries can use digital asset management to organize digital assets efficiently. Here are five use cases for DAM systems:
Ecommerce retailers
Ecommerce retailers must manage product images, videos, descriptions, and marketing materials across various online sales platforms. DAM systems help organize product catalogs, manage high-quality images and videos for products, and ensure consistent branding. This integrated functionality could streamline the launch of new products and update product listings.
Publishers and content creators
Publishing houses and content creators produce written content, illustrations, multimedia, and layout designs for books, magazines, and digital publications. By providing a central repository for digital files, DAM software helps organize editorial content and ensure version control for publications. You can also integrate a DAM system with a content management system (CMS) and other tools to quickly generate material for web publication.
Sales and marketing organizations
Marketing teams coordinate visual content like images, videos, and logos and skillfully craft marketing copy, often in partnership with clients. DAM systems help organize, store, and manage marketing materials in a centralized location. Marketers can use these tools to access branded assets and ensure consistency across campaigns.
Media and entertainment companies
Media companies create and manage digital assets like videos, audio files, promotional images, and archived content. Media companies leverage DAM systems for efficient cataloging, archiving, and distribution of their media assets. DAM tools can be a key component of asset creation, as different team members contribute to multimedia uploaded to the database.
Think of a film studio using video files to make a theatrical trailer, or a team of music producers sharing audio stems. They use these tools to retrieve footage, optimize production workflows, and support rights management for licensing and distribution purposes.
Large corporate enterprises
Large corporations have many digital assets, including brand materials, training videos, documents, employee records, and internal communications. DAM systems can help large corporations maintain up-to-date assets, making them available in document search across various departments and global offices. Centralized assets can help employees manage employee records, streamline an approval process, or create branded content for external use.
Digital asset management FAQ
Why do you need a digital asset management system?
You may need a digital asset management system to store all your digital files in a searchable database accessible to all relevant stakeholders.
What are examples of digital assets?
Examples of digital assets include text documents, video files, audio files, rich media, presentations, and software code.
What is a digital asset management job?
A job in the digital asset management business involves overseeing the management, storage, retrieval, and distribution of digital assets within an organization. In such a role, you may create asset-sharing permissions, set asset expiration dates, and review asset performance analytics to see how your company uses its files and intellectual property.
Does Shopify offer digital asset management?
Shopify offers integrations with digital asset management tools, like the 101 Digital Asset Manager, through the Shopify App Store. As with all products in the App Store, these programs seamlessly integrate with the Shopify platform, streamlining your ecommerce operations.
