Optimize your workflow with digital asset management systems

Highlights

• Choose the best DAM tools between Contentstack, Adobe Experience Manager, and Bynder.
• Understand how DAM ensures uniform branding across all channels.
• Discover the numerous benefits of these systems.
• Learn to Improve teamwork with shared digital libraries and automated workflows.
• Explore why these asset management solutions are ideal for sales, marketing, education, and the healthcare industry.

Transform your digital asset strategy today. Explore the best DAM solutions and enhance your brand's efficiency and consistency.

Keep reading to learn more!

Did you know your employees spend 1.8 hours daily and 9.3 hours a week searching and gathering information?

Today, businesses need a lot of digital content, including images, product videos, PDFs, documents, branded graphics, and more. Searching for information within thousands of digital assets is impossible without any software.

That’s where a digital asset management (DAM) system comes in.

In this blog, we will discuss what DAM is and how it’s becoming a game-changer for many companies. We will also explore the top DAM tools that help you build a stronger brand.

What is digital asset management?

Digital asset management is software that stores all your digital assets—like images, videos, files, documents, PDFs, and audio files. DAM is not just a centralized content repository; it's a smart tool that streamlines how teams handle digital content across different projects.

DAM works as a single source of truth where everyone, from your employees to clients and contractors, can access all your digital assets and asset library. They can find exactly what they need and when they need it.

With 83% of employees recreating a particular asset because they couldn’t locate it, a digital asset management solution is necessary for every business producing digital assets.

Whether you're a retail company needing to keep track of thousands of product photos or a nonprofit organization wanting to ensure everyone's on the same page with the latest documents, digital asset management platforms easily fit based on your specific needs. Many platforms offer brand guidelines and project workflow tools to manage digital content.

A digital asset management solution is the backbone of content strategy for businesses wanting to leverage their digital assets. 

Brand and marketing assets are spotlighted across various digital channels, including social media. Maintaining consistency in your images and messaging helps you maintain brand consistency. This consistency builds brand authority and ensures business growth.
Extu excels in through-channel marketing, working with 4,000 resellers to reach end users effectively. They now use Contentstack and its services, including a DAM (digital asset management), to manage multilingual content, streamline workflows, and integrate with their technology for quicker campaign delivery. Implementation happened in three stages: pilot, integration, and user adoption, meeting all key growth and efficiency needs. Extu highly values Contentstack for its customer service and efficiency in managing campaigns for resellers.

With Contentstack's headless CMS, Extu launched campaigns faster, improved translation processes, and reduced time-to-market for content. They can now deliver translated content to the market 53% faster. This operational efficiency helped Extu scale faster and seize new opportunities.

After using Contentstack, Tara Yukawa, VP of Marketing Solutions at Extu said:

“Using Contentstack has given us peace of mind, particularly with our internal users who are managing content in multiple languages that they might not speak. So, our users were able to reduce steps in their workflow by 21%.”

Read the full case study here.

Accelerates content delivery

Digital asset management software removes delays in content delivery. It offers immediate access to company assets and integration with project and content management systems and image editing software. DAM software ensures that your branded content reaches digital platforms. This rapid deployment speeds up the creative process and minimizes support from the creative team.

Ventures into new markets

A DAM platform maintains a cohesive brand identity across all digital touchpoints. Access to all digital assets allows your teams to find, modify, and repurpose marketing materials for different new campaigns. This means you can enter new markets without starting from scratch. 

Provides brand consistency

Digital asset management solutions safeguard your brand’s identity, ensuring consistent representation across all channels. As a centralized hub for digital assets, DAM simplifies brand management, guaranteeing consistency in every customer interaction online.

Ensures regulatory compliance and risk management

When you manage digital assets, familiarize yourself with the copyright laws, know how to comply with privacy regulations, and understand other legal requirements.

DAM systems provide access control, rights management, and audit trails, reducing your legal risk and ensuring compliance with global standards.

Empowers your sales to succeed

Having immediate access to compelling, brand-aligned assets can be the difference between closing a deal and missing an opportunity. A digital asset management system empowers sales and marketing teams with persuasive, ready-to-use brand assets.

These platforms offer creative teams the capability to distribute digital assets to sales personnel while maintaining control over access. This ensures that every content shared with potential customers is up-to-date, relevant, and perfectly aligned with the brand message.

A digital asset management system works like your digital buddy, holding all your marketing materials in one place while integrating with project management software and other tools.

Who uses digital asset management systems?

• Sales and marketing companies: These companies rely on DAM systems to organize and share their digital assets, aligning them with client needs and brand standards.
• Media and entertainment companies: DAM systems help businesses handle photos and videos, offering top-notch features to store, categorize, and distribute digital media efficiently while upholding copyrights.
• Retail and e-commerce: Retailers use DAM to keep their brand consistent across channels, managing images and marketing materials for a seamless customer journey.
• Educational institutions: Schools and universities rely on DAM to handle course materials and digital archives, making resources easily accessible to students and faculty.
• Manufacturing and engineering firms: DAM ensures collaboration with external partners by managing product designs and technical documentation for smooth operations.
• Healthcare organizations: With stringent security measures, DAM systems in healthcare safeguard patient data and medical imagery.
• Government and non-profit organizations: DAM systems help these institutions securely maintain public access to valuable digital assets.

Best digital asset management software for 2024

Contentstack

Contentstack is an API-first solution providing enterprises with a headless content management system (CMS). The headless CMS helps you create, manage, and distribute content across all digital platforms. It manages web content without the constraints of traditional CMS architecture, enabling content delivery to multiple devices and channels.

While Contentstack is not a DAM software, it integrates with several leading solutions. This integration enhances Contentstack content management offerings. Users can efficiently manage, access, and use digital assets like images, videos, and documents within their content workflows.

By partnering with Brandfolder and Bynder, Contentstack extends its functionality to include asset management capabilities, making it a versatile platform for comprehensive digital experience management.

Contentstack facilitates integration with these DAM systems through its marketplace, improving team collaboration. This integration ensures that users can leverage the strengths of both Contentstack's headless CMS features and the advanced asset management tools provided by dedicated DAM solutions.

Check out our Marketplace for DAM providers who partner with Contentstack.

Sitecore

Sitecore’s Content Hub digital asset management brings digital assets together to the center, organizes them, and efficiently delivers them to multiple channels. Their online platform simplifies and structures your digital asset management processes. As a result, all forms of media, including photos, layouts, artwork, videos, 3D models, source files, or any other rich media asset, are organized, accessible, and reusable. 

Adobe Experience Manager

Adobe's platform offers asset management capabilities, integration with Creative Cloud, and AI-powered tagging and editing features. Companies requiring advanced workflows and creative asset handling use Adobe Experience Manager.

Bynder

Bynder is a user-friendly interface with efficient workflow automation and excellent brand management features. Companies looking to enhance collaboration between internal and external stakeholders and ensure brand consistency across all digital assets prefer using Bynder.

Canto

Canto’s DAM solution is simple, accessible, and easier to use than other feature-packed tools. It offers efficient search, version control, and integration with many third-party apps. As a result, Canto is popular among small and medium enterprises.

FAQs

What do you mean by digital asset management?

Digital asset management refers to a system used by companies to store, organize, retrieve, and share digital assets. A DAM system simplifies finding and accessing digital assets, ensures security, maintains brand consistency, and enhances efficiency.

What are examples of digital assets?

Digital assets include:

• Images and photos
• Branded content
• Brand guidelines
• Video files and other media assets 
• Audio files for podcasts and customer interviews
• PDF and text-based documents 
• Other digital assets such as CAD, 3d image files, and even rich media

What is a digital asset management job?

A digital asset manager oversees a company’s DAM system. They are responsible for organizing assets, managing rights, implementing strategy, and managing technology. They work with different departments to understand their digital asset needs and ensure appropriate access.

How do I start digital asset management?

Starting digital asset management involves a series of strategic steps:

• Assess your needs
• Define objectives
• Choose the right DAM solution
• Develop a taxonomy
• Implement and train users
• Monitor and adjust

Learn more

Digital asset management eventually makes your life much easier. DAM offers numerous benefits that you cannot ignore. Depending on your needs, you will require one of the above software.

If you're not already leveraging a DAM platform, it's time to explore your options. Join us for a free demo to see how our DAM solution changes your way of managing digital assets.