The Importance of DAM Software in your MarTech Stack
The gear-grinding, task juggling, deadline-driven day of a marketing professional makes efficiency a prerequisite to success. Time management skills only carry us so far because, on a typical day, we spend excessive time switching hats. Graphic design, data analytics, and client relation demands will occur before the first pots of coffee are empty. Born from a desire to make our lives more efficient is a myriad of software programs we love and rely on so heavily that we find ourselves talking about them at cocktail parties.
When we're not killing conversations with our technology talks, most of us spend the rest of our time scouring through files to retrieve digital assets and even more time shuffling through the approval process or navigating the team-based design workflow. The DAM (digital asset management) software was born out of these inefficiencies. DAMs streamline finding and using digital content, obtaining approvals, ensuring brand continuity, and adhering to publication workflows. They can save marketing teams multiple hours weekly, making them more efficient and productive.
MarTech Stacks
Marketing technology, or "MarTech," is used to describe software and technology applications that help make the day in the life of a marketing professional more efficient and complex processes easier. Because the marketing landscape is constantly evolving and a marketer has a limitless combination of roles, these applications are often assembled bespoke to our positions. Hence the term "stack."
Why DAMs are Essential to a Marketing Team’s MarTech Stack
Increasingly essential to a marketing team's MarTech stack is the digital asset management software (DAM) that serves as the "single source of truth" for thousands of digital assets that fuel many organizations’ brands.
Marketing teams need to create countless digital assets, from social media posts to printed brochures, and build them quickly in a team environment using a pre-approved brand format. Before adopting DAM systems, teams could easily waste dozens of hours each month searching through files, finding approved fonts, weighing color against brand standards, obtaining approvals, and finally pushing publications live.
A solid DAM system will:
- Helping teams find files quickly inside a centralized repository of assets.
- Safely and securely store assets of all sizes for all applications.
- Keep everyone using brand guidelines consistently.
- Track and manage content production in a central location.
- Provide flexible permissions to various users and assets for on-the-fly publication changes.
- Provide analytics on asset ROI, so teams know what assets work.
- Integrate easily with other tools in a team's MarTech stack.
Evaluating DAMs for Integration
DAMs are used by many users, from internal teams such as marketing and legal to external groups like agencies and contractors. Evaluating which system is right for your organization will require a close look at the needs of each of these teams, how they work together, and how the DAM in question automates their unique workflow.
Typical points for consideration:
- What are the supported file types and storage limits? The increased use of video assets has increased the need for larger file storage limits and flexibility in file handling.
- Ease of use vs. customization. There's always a sweet spot between meeting your team's specific needs without requiring extensive training across the entire organization.
- Does your brand require consistency across multiple locations or franchises?
- How much do you rely on your agency partners, and to what degree can they work with the DAM system you are evaluating?
- What support, training, and pre-implementation consulting are provided by the software company?
Conclusion
DAMs can unify decentralized teams using thousands of assets to advance a company's brand. Every organization's unique needs require DAMs to maintain extreme flexibility while still providing ease of use (so there's compliance) and cost savings through visible reduction in labor.
Spinakr offers multiple ways to help you evaluate DAM solutions and find the best option for your unique needs.
