Staring at the analytics section of an application wondering “What do I do with this?” can be anxiety-inducing. Leaders and teammates often want to know “What does the data tell us so we can make informed decisions?” But it’s not always that simple. So let’s take a step back and explore how to gain actionable insights from your data.  

People expect a consistent and relevant digital experience from their home office to every place they bring their smartphone. Your customers might encounter you on a website, app, chatbot, social platform, customer portal, in-store kiosk, digital stadium billboard, and wearable all in the same day. And they’ll want each of those experiences to reflect any interactions they’ve had with you since they woke up and drank their morning coffee.

To create this kind of customer experience you have to get your content and customer data to interact with, update, and trigger personalized events in real-time across all of these channels. Integrating all the required marketing technology (martech) solutions to make this possible is one of the biggest challenges all brands face. That’s why companies across all industries are turning to a combination of digital asset management (DAM) and digital experience platforms (DXP) to power their ever-evolving customer journey.

Smart businesses of every kind know that they need a content strategy to create a stellar customer experience and succeed in today’s information-overloaded world. They need a guiding beacon, a North Star that’ll steer the development, delivery, and management of their content.

In this simple, four-step guide, we’ll share how to develop a content strategy plan that will help you make the most of your content. By asking the right questions, creating quality content, and leveraging useful tools like a digital asset management (DAM) solution, building a content strategy doesn’t have to be elusive!

Deciding to invest in a digital asset management (DAM) system is a big decision. If your content operations are minimal and a simple file-sharing tool does the trick, that may be a cost-effective way to go. But as your organization and content needs evolve, you’ll likely need a more robust solution. So, how do you know when it’s time for a DAM system? While the answer is different for every organization, here are a few telltale signs to look for.

The range of different file types for visual content can make it hard to know which one to use, especially if you’re not a graphic designer. But having a basic understanding of common file types — and when to use them — is a good skill for any marketer to have.

Let’s start by taking a look at four common file types: 

If you manage content, brand, or marketing operations you have a wide range of business needs for using digital asset management (DAM) software. Sometimes it can be hard to justify the new or continued investment in technology, but the return on investment (ROI) for DAM is there. It can help you streamline content operations, protect your brand, and overcome e-commerce content challenges.

Of course, everyone knows money will be saved if you can “overcome content challenges,” but how much? You need to be able to calculate the ROI for your DAM investment to show how it supports your strategic initiatives. Before we show you a few ways to calculate ROI for DAM, let’s start by building a business case. 

Managing content is complicated. Keeping track of where files are stored and which version is the most current can be a time-intensive challenge. Storing files in a central platform, like a digital asset management (DAM) system, can help teams keep content organized and easy to access. 

But not all DAM systems have the same functionality. Perhaps you’ve been using a DAM system for several years but it hasn’t scaled with your business growth. Or maybe it doesn’t integrate with your new marketing technology. Or it could be that you need better customer support across your global offices. Whatever the reason, if you decide to switch to a different vendor you’ll need to migrate content from your existing system to a new platform — which is no small task! Let’s explore how you can set yourself up for success.

When it comes to digital asset management (DAM), there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Your business has different needs, workflows, priorities, budgets, and resources than your neighbor, so finding the best solution comes down to what is right for your organization.

Before getting too far in the evaluation process, take some time to understand what you need out of a DAM solution. Only then can you figure out which DAM delivery model will best help you achieve your goals.

User experience, or UX, is a popular field in the software industry. The goal of UX is to create interfaces that are simple, intuitive, and engaging so products are successful sooner. At Widen, we have a UX team with designers, researchers, and content strategists focused on improving how users interact with our software, from searching to uploading to configuring the site. As our research has progressed, we’ve realized that many Widen Collective^® site admins could benefit from using the same UX methods as our researchers to optimize their Collective sites for users.

Just as UX research hopes to reveal how users will use a company’s software, Collective admins are concerned with actions taken in their digital asset management (DAM) system and how their colleagues or clients are interacting with the site. A simple way to get a baseline on user engagement is to look at Widen Insights. 

Businesses need a lot (and we mean a lot) of digital content. Product images, sell sheets, videos, branded graphics, and more — there’s no shortage of content types organizations rely on to power their online and offline efforts. There’s a problem though. Managing all of these files, plus the workflows to support them, is tough without the help of digital asset management (DAM). 

Today we’ll discuss what DAM entails and how it’s helping a wide range of organizations, industries, and roles harness the true power of their content to build stronger brands and deliver superior customer experiences.