Your team is using a digital asset management (DAM) platform, you’ve perfected your taxonomy and metadata, your end-users are adopting the new system, and everything seems to be going great. Wonderful! You can sit back and relax a bit; the heavy lifting is over.
Or so you think.
How do you know your DAM program is working and people are using it? Are you still getting a few emails here and there from end-users unable to find specific assets? Do you see assets in the DAM being used to drive sales? Are some people still using hard drives to store and find their assets? To answer these questions, you need to have metrics on how your DAM program is performing. Once you’ve studied your DAM’s content analytics you can use that information to improve it so that it’s working at an even higher level.
Each DAM offers different levels of reporting and analytics, so depending on which one you're on you can automatically generate a robust variety of reports or just a few. Of course, the more customizable the analytics, the more useful they are. The point is to save time, optimize your assets, and get everyone using the DAM! Here are some of the most useful reports that can impact your ROI and increase adoption:
Views- Which digital assets have the highest views? Which types of assets have the highest views? If you compare these numbers to the download and share analytics, do you find that these views lead to downloads, shares, and ultimately sales?
Shares- Which assets are shared the most? And by whom to whom? This data is a great way to see which assets are being used and which aren't. It can also help create a roadmap for future asset creation that will lead to success.
Downloads- Which assets are the most valuable and which are underutilized or just not important?
Taxonomy- Which keywords are used the most? Are many end-users searching for a common keyword that only returns a few assets? If so, this could mean that assets are being tagged incorrectly, or more assets that fit that keyword need to be created. Are your users having to try multiple variations on keywords to find the asset they're looking for? If that’s the case, it could indicate that you need to restructure your taxonomy to better reflect the vernacular of your organization.
Permissions Profiles/User Groups- Which profiles are using the DAM frequently and which aren't Maybe you notice that the Marketing user group is always on the DAM platform but the Admin team rarely is. Are the assets the Admin team needs on the DAM? Do they need more training on how to use it?
Usage- How has usage of the DAM changed over time? Has it increased since the DAM’s origination date or decreased? A decrease could mean that there are teams that still require training, roadblocks that need to be removed, or that you need to re-evaluate your end-user's needs. It could be that they're not using all the capabilities of the DAM platform or that it doesn't have the functions they need (such as comments, approvals, versions, templates, etc.). You can also look at how downloads, uploads, and shares have increased or decreased over time.
Individual Asset Reports- How many times has a particular asset been viewed, downloaded, pushed to the web, or used in campaigns? Which people or teams are using it? Has it led to sales? This kind of detailed information on individual assets can point you in the right direction for future asset creation. For example, if horizontal templates with bold font and an action image are working best, make more of them and use them in areas where the assets aren't as successful. Which campaigns/ads/etc. was an asset used in? Did it have multiple applications or was it specific to one use case? Is there a way that assets can be re-utilized in the future?
Time of Day- When are your end-users most active on the DAM? Does this vary by day of the week? Is everyone waiting to get into the DAM until the end of the day? If so, this might indicate that they're not going to the DAM to look for assets first or there may be roadblocks stopping them, or they may just need more training!
Status/Progress of Projects in Creative Workflows- How many assets are waiting to be approved? Is it a disproportionate amount compared to those that have been authorized? In that case, you may need more approvers.
Storage- Reports on how much storage you're using, organized by file type, can be helpful in many ways. Are videos taking up a large amount of storage? When you refer to the Individual Asset Reports, you may learn that many of them are rarely accessed. Should they be used more or just archived? This information may also lead you to redirect the team making videos to produce only certain types of videos —the ones which are gaining traction in the DAM and leading to sales. It can also help you discover where there's a deficit—are there only two templates in the DAM, and they are constantly in use? If so, you may need to direct your creative team to create more templates!
As you can see, the two primary purposes of all these reports are to learn whether 1) the assets in your DAM are being used to their maximum ability and 2) the people on your team know how to use it to optimize the assets and their workflows.
Depending on which DAM you've chosen, its reporting capabilities could be robust, sometimes overwhelmingly so, or limited to a few select reports. The more you can make your DAM program the single source of truth, the first place your end-users go, the more you'll be able to optimize your assets. To get more information on the analytical capabilities of specific DAMs, or get started finding a DAM solution that will work for you, contact Stacks! Our team of DAM experts is happy to help.
