Edward Boatman • May 9th
Digital assets are one of the most essential parts of every brand. From college universities to some of the biggest names in social media, major brands rely on logos, colors, and other digital assets to create a strong, consistent brand. However, storing and organizing those assets for easy access can be challenging.
Cloud-based digital asset management allows you to store your digital assets in one convenient location, giving stakeholders, designers, and brand managers easy access. Not only can a cloud-based DAM system help you build brand awareness, but it can also help you streamline content creation.
If you want to build a strong brand that people connect with, a cloud-based digital asset management system can help. Learn more about digital asset management and how you can level up your business by moving your digital assets to the cloud.
Cloud-based digital asset management allows you to store digital assets, like logos, graphics, fonts, and videos, in a cloud-based library so they’re easy to access. You can organize your library of digital assets using folders, metatags, and labels, making it easier to find and grab assets in a few seconds.
There are digital asset management systems that aren’t cloud-based. This digital asset management software has to be installed and run from a server within your company. You have more control over the privacy of your data with a traditional digital asset management system, but you need to have the knowledge to protect your data and configure the software.
By contrast, cloud-based digital asset management systems are easy to set up and require minimal knowledge. Cloud-based DAM software is already configured to protect your data and optimized to make it easy to upload and organize digital assets. If you’re new to digital asset management, cloud-based systems are a simpler solution.
Cloud-based digital asset management plays a key role in branding and content creation for brands of all sizes. Let’s say you’re working on an ad campaign for a new product launch. You need everyone to be on the same page about the colors, graphics, fonts, and other visual elements they’re using. A cloud-based digital asset management system makes it easy to share your digital assets with key team members and external partners to ensure consistent branding.
Your digital assets are an essential part of every marketing campaign you launch. Whether you’re focusing on social media, billboards, or video advertising, the teams who work on your marketing campaigns can create more brand-focused content using digital asset management software.
Smart cloud-based digital asset management solutions also allow you to align content and context together in a brand guideline kit. For example, Lingo client, Golf Digest, spells out how to crop images so they look good on both desktop and mobile.
Cloud-based digital asset management means every marketing team has access to your digital assets regardless of their location. Plus, your marketing teams can see when you add, remove, or change assets in your library, so they can keep up with your latest brand identity.
Designers have one of the most important jobs of any team you work with. Whether you’re creating graphics for a blog post or redesigning your website, your design teams can use your digital asset library to create an accurate visual representation of your brand. When all the graphics you create have a similar look and feel, people will start to recognize your brand simply by the style of your graphics.
In addition, design teams will create digital brand guidelines for internal and external use. With these being accessible via link rather than a PDF, any changes are automatically redistributed to end-users, and they’re often easier to find than a PDF attachment in an email. With a digital brand guideline, kits can be shared containing topography, color use, logo use, and more.
Design teams also play a role in building your digital asset library by creating graphics and other visuals that other teams can use.
Digital assets aren’t just limited to brand logos, colors, and fonts; there are many types of graphics and other digital assets your teams need access to. When your sales team is trying to convert a lead or attract new customers, they need access to the digital assets that help them achieve that goal.
Sales teams use a wide range of digital assets to convert leads, including product information, testimonials, and product presentations. With a cloud-based digital asset management system, it’s easy to make sure your sales team has access to the latest assets.
For example, Trulieve leverages Lingo to distribute their educational materials alongside brand logos, product descriptions, display and merchandising materials, and more. Due to the nature of their business, kits are separated by state and by brand and locked down by user group so end users only can see what is relevant to them.
Do you have a blog on your website? Does your brand collaborate with content creators on social media and similar platforms? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, you could use a cloud-based digital asset management system.
Brand messaging is one of the most important aspects of building a strong, consistent brand. If content creators aren’t representing your brand correctly in videos and social media posts, it can have a negative impact on brand recognition and reputation. Digital asset management software helps you keep writers and other content creators on the same page so all your content is aligned with your brand.
You might be wondering how cloud-based DAM software actually works. Digital asset management systems function like digital file cabinets, but key features make them especially effective. Let’s explore the most important features of cloud-based DAM solutions.
When you’re storing an object in a physical location, you can only store a limited number of objects. Your library of digital assets will continue to expand over time, so you need to find cloud-based digital asset management software that can scale with your business. With a scalable DAM platform, when you make an update to an asset in a library, it updates anywhere that file is stored. If you’re comparing that to a file solution like Dropbox or Google Drive, they can’t do that. In fact, you’d need to update the file in every folder it lives in.
Plus, you shouldn’t have to pay an exorbitant amount for storage capabilities you’re not taking advantage of. However, you should be able to expand your digital asset storage on an as-needed basis. Scalable DAM software isn’t just cost-effective — it also helps you save time that would otherwise be spent migrating to a separate DAM solution.
Widespread accessibility is one of the biggest benefits of cloud-based digital asset management systems. Your internal teams aren’t the only people who need access to your digital assets. External partners, freelancers, agencies, and other stakeholders use them too.
Cloud-based digital asset management solutions are hosted remotely, which means any team members or external partners can access them from anywhere. Want to have a public access folder? No problem! Just create a link and set it to ‘public’ so that anyone who needs access, has access. Social media juggernaut, Reddit, does an excellent job leveraging their public kits on their Reddit Brand Page.
Whether you’re working with a marketing team thousands of miles away or an in-house designer, everyone has easy access to your library of digital assets.
Organization is one of the biggest challenges in digital asset management. It’s easy enough to keep a handful of digital assets organized, but that becomes more difficult as you add more digital assets. When you have hundreds of digital assets in one library, it’s nearly impossible to find what you’re looking for simply by scrolling.
Instead, the best cloud-based digital asset management systems allow you to organize your digital assets using kits and metadata. When someone needs to find a specific file, they can search for the associated tag or check relevant folders to quickly find what they’re looking for.
Organizing by kit and using metadata makes it easier to navigate your digital asset library, but advanced searching takes that a step further. You can use advanced searching to find files based on several attributes, including file type, file size, upload date, and more. You can also simply search by file name or tag. The latest digital asset management solutions have robust search capabilities, so you can find specific files in a matter of seconds.
Cloud-based digital asset management should make it easier for various teams and external partners to stay on the same page. One feature that’s becoming increasingly popular in DAM software is version control — which allows you to select and view different versions of a file. Version control helps teams ensure they’re using the latest brand assets, and you and your designers can track changes to individual assets.
Some digital asset management systems even allow you to select a previous version of your library, so you can find out which files were in the library at a given point in time.
Digital assets come in all shapes and sizes, which is why your digital asset management software should be compatible with a wide range of file types. Whether you’re trying to upload a PNG, GIF, TIFF, JPEG, or SVG file, your digital asset library needs to support the file type you’re using.
Modern cloud-based digital asset management systems are usually designed to support most file types. However, some DAM systems are also capable of automatically converting files so you can grab your digital assets in any format. Additionally, you can control the type of file that can be downloaded by other members of your DAM, so that members can only download the types of files you want them to.
From small businesses to large enterprises, most companies rely on various types of software and Software as a Service (SaaS). From cloud-based word processors to on-premise graphic design software, your DAM software should feature built-in third-party integrations for added convenience.
For example, integrating DAM with design software allows you to quickly grab assets from your digital library. And, depending on the integration, you can make updates in your design software and automatically update the files in your DAM without exporting from one system and importing to another.
Some DAM software can also integrate with content management systems (CMS), making it easy to pull digital assets from your library and add them to your website. At Lingo, we offer direct links. This makes it so you can embed an asset directly into any email, blog, or website, giving instant access to the file itself, which helps keep all of your content fresh and current.
If you’re new to the world of cloud-based digital asset management, you might be overwhelmed by your options. There are countless digital asset management systems out there, but let’s focus on how to choose the right one.
First and foremost, you want to look for a DAM solution that offers the features you need. Cloud-based DAM software should include the features we listed above, like advanced searching, support for different file types, and scalability. If some features are more important to you than others, focus on finding a solution that offers those features. Ultimately, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice any essential features.
Every company has a different budget and different priorities, so finding a cost-effective cloud-based digital asset management system is key. DAM software varies quite a bit in terms of price, and you might not need the features or the amount of storage you’re paying for with some solutions. You don’t want to pick the cheapest option just to save money, but compare DAM pricing and features to find something that fits your budget.
Curious what it might run at Lingo? Try out the pricing calculator to get a quote for your business.
The features and capabilities of cloud-based DAM solutions are important, but your library of digital assets isn’t very useful if it’s clunky and difficult to navigate. While there are a lot of similarities between different DAM solutions, the user interface and workflow varies depending on the software you choose. We recommend looking for a simple interface that’s easy to learn and navigate.
Choosing the right cloud-based digital asset management system is only part of the battle — you also have to follow best practices to streamline digital asset management.
Start by taking inventory of your assets and how they’re used. While you’re auditing your assets, you can also organize them by category and use tags to make them easier to find.
To make things easier, figure out who’s going to be your digital asset manager. Your digital asset manager’s job is to manage and organize your brand’s digital assets, making it easier for internal and external teams to find specific files. Oftentimes, this falls under the responsibility of your Brand Team, Brand Manager, lead UX/UI designer, Art Director, or even a Head of Marketing.
While you’re organizing your digital assets, you can create brand guidelines to give users detailed instructions about how to use your brand’s digital assets.
Understanding user access and permissions can help you keep your digital assets secure. External users who need to grab your logo or brand colors don’t need editing permission, but internal design and marketing teams do. Your digital asset manager should have administrator control, allowing them to give access to new team members and partners and control user permissions.
It’s also important to monitor your digital assets. You can use your cloud-based DAM system to keep track of how many times a file has been viewed, shared, and downloaded.
Cloud-based digital asset management allows you to streamline and simplify digital asset management, and Lingo can help. Lingo allows you to store all your digital assets in one convenient library, where AI-enhanced search makes it easy to find what you’re looking for with no manual tagging.
Need a file in another format? With Lingo, that’s not a problem. Lingo automatically generates alternative file types every time you upload an asset, so you don’t have to waste time manually converting files. Plus, download requests help you keep your assets secure.
Ready to transform your digital asset management? Start your free trial and see how Lingo can make your life easier.