Regular maintenance is an important part of keeping your digital asset management (DAM)  system operating efficiently and driving user satisfaction. Unfortunately, most DAM admins need to manage these duties on top of other roles and responsibilities — which makes finding time for regular maintenance a challenge. But with a little planning and guidance from our experts, you can keep your DAM system in top shape. 

If you’ve thought to yourself, “how often should I update …?” then keep reading.

Purchasing new software can be a big investment. And no matter how many bells and whistles a tool has, it will only be helpful if people use it. Fortunately, there are many ways to encourage the adoption of a new system, as well as long-term user engagement. From giving your system a meaningful name to collecting user feedback that informs optimization efforts.

Email is another great way to nurture and build user engagement. And when it comes to maintaining a digital asset management (DAM) system, email allows you to notify users of new content, reinforce standards, introduce features, or elicit feedback. It also fosters the relationship between the DAM admin and users by providing an easy way for users to reach out for help.

Keeping a digital asset management (DAM) system running smoothly requires continual maintenance. And gathering user feedback on what’s working, and what’s not, is an important part of any DAM maintenance strategy. One way to gather feedback is a user survey, which offers quick responses and an easy way to review and organize data. Another option is a focus group, which provides a more conversational opportunity for feedback. Either way, soliciting feedback from your users is a crucial part of DAM governance. 

Although all teams that produce brand and marketing content use content operations, not everyone does it strategically. While it can be intimidating to create and implement a content operations workflow, doing so pays dividends. The right workflow can streamline processes, save significant amounts of time and money, and deliver higher-quality content for a better customer experience. 

For 10 years, we’ve been bringing customers together to learn, connect, and grow. We’ve built trust, created memorable moments, and connected virtually as the world worked from home. And while this year took a virtual stage again, the stories we shared were just as inspiring as they’ve ever been. 

With the September announcement that Widen has joined Acquia, many of this year’s keynotes highlighted what customers can expect as the two companies integrate. VP of Product, Deanna Ballew, said it best when she shared that “everything’s changed...and nothing’s changed.” Widen customers can still expect exceptional service and support, award-winning products, and a customer-informed approach to building software. 

Our customer speakers stole the show, though. From the fan-favorite Best DAM Contest to informative customer panels, this year, there really was something for everyone. 

Anyone who has worked in digital marketing knows that marketing and technology go hand in hand. Successful marketing strategies rely on a variety of tools to evaluate data, connect with audiences, and create engaging content. With thousands of martech tools to choose from, the key is determining the right ones for your team. 

Getting the right content to the right people at the right time is challenging, especially when you need to meet the unique needs of audiences and teams across the globe. You must create compelling, on-brand content with consistent messaging while flexing to accommodate different language, regional, and cultural demands. 

But, have no fear — DAM is here! In this article, we’ll explore how a digital asset management (DAM) solution, specifically the Widen Collective^®, helps global organizations like yours rise above the content chaos to deliver meaningful and powerful digital experiences. Let’s dive in.

Videos, infographics, brochures, blogs, white papers, and on and on —  there’s no shortage of content floating around the digital stratosphere. And this makes sense. Both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers create content for an average of four different audiences each. Apply that at large, and we’re talking about a heck of a lot of content.

Now depending on the maturity of your brand and your content efforts, you may already be feeling the weight of this within your own organization. Content takes time, money, and resources, which are all lost if you don’t have a plan for creating, maintaining, improving, and storing your valuable content. 

How you interact with your content should be dictated by where it falls in its lifecycle. For instance, you will treat a new case study differently than one that’s been around for years. In some cases, as content reaches the end of its lifecycle, it may be time to retire it altogether. Having a solid understanding of your content lifecycle will help you keep track of your content during each stage of its life and get the most out of your investment.

Call it what you will, a site audit, an assessment, a snapshot, an overview. Any way you look at it, you need to know the current state of your digital asset management (DAM) system before you can get it where it needs to go. And while the path might not always look the same, there are four important stops everyone should plan to make along the way: analytics, users, aesthetics, and governance.