Q:  How many people need to be on the DAM team?

A:  It isn’t really about the number of people but rather who is represented.  If your DAM is just for the Communications team, then you may only have a couple of people on your DAM team.  But if you have an enterprise implementation across teams, you will want to include representative from each of those teams.  Especially if you have geographically dispersed teams, it is important to include their feedback.

Q:  When you talk about gathering feedback and integrating it back into your digital asset management system, what kind of feedback are you referring to?  We have a vendor that we work with for our DAM and can’t easily make changes to the software.

A:  Whether you work with a vendor or have a home-grown system, software isn’t easy to change.  But remember, DAM isn’t just software.  It is also about people and processes.  The feedback that will likely be collected from users will be things like their ability to find the assets they need, issues with any of the workflows you have built-into the system, incomplete controlled vocabularies or metadata schema – information that users would like to be able to search on – availability of certain assets, and so on – a lot of the “business process” type of feedback.  And keep in mind, many systems are highly configurable so even software-related feedback make be able to be incorporated easily.

Q:  We have a really public DAM – available for any guests on the web. How do you recommend communicating changes to so many users?

A:  This question is probably most applicable to WebDAM users since WebDAM provides a way to setup your account for public access.  Speaking specifically about WebDAM, I have seen customers build custom pages right in their DAM with FAQs, best practices and terms of use – all of the important information that users need access to.  In this scenario, it would also be important to make contact information readily available should users have questions or issues.

Q: We launched two years ago, but have continual adoption problems. What tips are good for adoption issues when your system is not brand new?

A: If you’re having adoption issues two years later, have a re-launch.  All of the tips and ideas we provided in the webinar about launching your DAM are just as applicable to a re-launch.  A re-launch can get people excited about the project all over again and get you thinking about ways to make improvements.  Gather feedback from both active users and the inactive ones to see if you can identify a source of the adoption problems:  Are there usability challenges, have people been properly educated on the system, do you have a means of communicating easily with your users, and so on.

Q: One thing we do is to send a weekly email to our main users listing the new assets added to the sytem in that week. Is this a good way to handle keeping users active and involved?

A: Absolutely.  Engagement of any kind is key to getting users coming back.  Repeat communication is incredibly powerful.  You may also want to explore RSS feeds in WebDAM which allows users to subscribe to feeds at the folder level and be automatically updated when new assets are added.

Q: What suggestions do you have to encourage DAM use by vendors who belong to companies outside of my own?  The situation is made more challenging because new vendors are brought on after DAM implementation.

A: For vendors, you will want to create a brief training or vendor guide, specific for their roles and responsibilities with the DAM since they will likely have limiited functions in the system and won’t want to invest much time in sifting through training materials. When you bring new vendors on, communicate to them that this process is required and have them complete the brief training as part of your on-boarding with them.  It is often actually easier working with new vendors than ones that have used the old system because you don’t have any old habits to break.  Just be very concise in your instructions to them and be sure to train them right from the start.

Q: We are still having some problems getting our agency partners to remember to upload new images and assets to the DAM system.  They rely on their own FTP to send files to our printer and don’t seem to post to DAM until specifically requested.  Any tips to change that behavior?

A: Breaking old habits is always hard.  If possible, the best thing you can do is remove the old process from their options.  As Leigh Ann mentioned, this is a Big Bang launch.  In your example, this may not be possible since it involves another vendor.  However, the next best thing is to correct the behavior everytime it happens (ie – nag).  Repeat communication is incredibly powerful.  As we covered in the webinar, it is often important to communicate very clearly why you implemented the DAM in the first place and be clear about its benefits in order to get them on-board.  Don’t be afraid to directly ask them why they are not using the system.  They will either reveal an issue you weren’t aware of (don’t know how, hard to use, to slow, etc) or, if there is no issue, you are at least reinforcing your process to them and reminding them that they need to follow it.

Have another question?  Ask away and email info@webdamsolutions.com or just leave a comment in the comment box.  User adoption does not have to be on your indefinite to-do-list. With some planning, energy, and excitement, you’ll have your DAM adopted in no time.

The overall attendance and participation in the Summer Webinar Series far exceeded our expectations and we got a lot of valuable feedback that will be incorporating into our next series (stay tuned for more information).  Thank you again to all who participated!  See you next time!

We’ve received a lot of good questions during the webinar and wanted to post them for everyone as another resource for when you develop out your controlled vocabularies.  If  your question went unanswered, scroll down to find your question and you’ll have your answer.  (The italicized answers are the ones we could not address during the webinar or additions we made to an original answer.)

Q: I didn’t catch what Leigh Ann said when she said some products call controlled vocabularies another name.

A: Keyword Catalog or Keyword List are other commonly used terms

Q: Should I pick a type to use before I start making my list?

A: Well, before you start, you need to determine if your current DAM supports using a controlled vocabulary and what types they support.  You don’t have to select a type. I think the examples shown demonstrate that there is some overlap especially with taxonomy and faceted. So you may actually end up using more than one type. Thinking about this first is definitely a good idea. It will help you create a consistent structure that people can understand. But, you don’t need to commit first to a type. And really, once you start your keywording, you will see a pattern naturally start to develop.

Q: Does Bridge support taxonomy lists?

A: Yes, Bridge supports a taxonomy, or nested keywords.

Q: Didn’t you publish free resources/sites for keywords earlier on, in last webinar?

A: In this webinar (Controlled Vocabulary), we presented the following 3 great resources:

www.controlledvocabulary.com

www.taxonomywarehouse.com

www.keyword-catalog.com

Previously, we published our top 5 favorite metadata resources here: http://www.webdamsolutions.com/digital-asset-management/metadata-resource/

Q:  What is the difference between a taxonomy and a facted vocabulary?

A: The difference is that in a taxonomy, I can search by the parent of the child so in the case I brought up about staples, I can search by chairs or executive chairs and get the same results.  Now, a faceted vocabulary works different in the way that it is not a parent child relationship. So, with the yelp example, I searched by restaurants, they come up and then I can group my results by different characteristics such as price range or neighborhood. The difference is that I would not search by neighborhoods alone and get restaurants, nor would I search by price range and get restaurants. There is no parent child relationship. The restaurants don’t belong to a parent such as neighborhood. If it were a taxonomy, the parent may be restaurants and the child might be different types of food.

Q: What types of digital assets can you keyword?

A: Most often photos and videos but applies to any type of digital asset.

Q: In WebDAM, when you upload a list of keywords to build a controlled vocabulary, when you upload another list does it overwrite the initial list or add to it?

A: You can choose replace or append when you upload.

Q: How many words should be on my controlled vocabulary list?

A: It will vary by your industry and your needs. The ski image for instance had 50 words or so attached to it. It is subjective. But, if you’re maintaining a database with a narrow scope, you may only need 50 words on your list all together. On the flip if you in a scientific industry, while your audience may be very specific or even small, your vocabulary list may be enormous because a specific and known naming convention already exists.

Q: Where is the Controlled Vocabulary tool within WebDAM?

A: It can be enabled and uploaded from the Preference page.
We also have a great Feature in Focus article about controlled vocabulary in DAM-it! The Blog and you can find it here and see a step by step guide for implementation. http://www.webdamsolutions.com/digital-asset-management/controlled-vocabulary/

Q: Could you give an example of the Types of keywords used on a graphic? Such as a website banner, a quote graphic, or any other website graphic

A: Example – a quote graphic – client who quoted it, product name it is in reference to, or any important/key terms from the quote itself.

Q: What is the price rang of lists for purchase?

A: This varies quite a bit. I have seen lists that cost 75 dollars and others that are thousands.

Q: [When you do a keyword search] does happy also find happiness?

A: Not in most search engines.  Therefore, either keywording with both terms or standardizing your forms of words (preferred) is important.

Q: What’s the best way to keyword a person’s name?  John Doe or John, Doe?  Are caps needed?

A: John Doe (no comma).  Searches are case INSENSITIVE so using upper case won’t change your search results.  However, it does make it easier to read so we recommend using upper case for proper nouns only.
Q: So if a searcher types just John or just Doe, it will return assets with that particular name?
A: Yes it will – depends on the tool but in WebDAM and many others it will work that way.

Q: Who should be involved in creating the list?

A: The people involved need to understand the business goals and the data. In the case of my personal example of keywording the garden images. The business goals were not understood nor was the data. Which is why, the keywords were all over the map and definitely not a controlled vocabulary. But, it would have been easy to create a controlled vocabulary had the right people been involved. One person who understood the data is the horticulturist. She would have been a great person to involve. In your own businesses, product experts would be good. Also, maybe a set of people who will be accessing the data. Now, you don’t necessarily need to involve them in the entire process, but maybe just send a draft of the list to them and ask them what these terms mean to them.

Q: how do you get the sales and marketing to participate in helping the DAM manager get all the info to apply keywords? Ex.: if it’s a sales brochure and others call it sales sheet – how do you get others to tell the DAM what these other names outside sales or education call it?

A: This is where your Controlled Vocabulary is key.  If Sales Sheet isn’t in the keyword list, then the keyworder will select Sales Brochure.  Likewise, it is important to involve a few stakeholders across the business in the development of the vocabulary.

Q: Can I download the slides?

A: They will be made available after the presentation.
Yes, our Webinar Page, http://webdamsolutions.com/summer_webinar_series.php has links to download everything webinar related.  You can now download the slides, webinar materials (like the Controlled Vocabulary Worksheet), and webinar recordings.

All these questions were a great, thanks again for taking part in our webinar!  If you just watched the recording and didn’t get a chance to ask any live questions or if any other questions come up, about controlled vocabulary or even just DAM related, feel free to comment here or send us an email at info@webdamsolutions.com.

But the prospect said it best with this analogy…

“You know when you go to a friend’s house, and you need silverware, and have to open every single drawer to find a fork… and your friend is like, ‘Isn’t it obvious which drawer the fork would be in?!’ But, if it were your house, you would put the silverware in a completely difference place, so no it is not obvious! That’s what browsing a folder structure setup by our US headquarters is like for our partners in Asia.”

Awesome.

Leigh Ann will start off the series with “Metadata 101: Building a Solid Foundation” on Thursday, July 14 at 10am PT featuring our very own industry expert, Jody Vandergriff.  All the webinars in this series are perfect for users across all levels of experience.  To reserve your spot today, or to get a closer look at this webinar, register for free here.

To check out the whole series and uncover the topics that will be presented in the upcoming webinars, visit the Summer Webinar Series Schedule.  Space is limited so save the dates and make sure to reserve your seat as soon as the registration pages become available.

Fresh off the press, read this press release that reveals more information about the series at: http://webdamsolutions.com/press_summer_webinar_series.php

Join us in our Summer Webinar Series and have fun learning about Digital Asset Management!

So, your mission is clear: spread the word and advocate to your colleagues about WebDAM and how they can and should use it.  After all, the more your DAM is utilized, the greater value it will bring across your organization.  We’ll get you started with just a few simple pointers:

• Be Original

Give out unique user accounts in order for everyone to take advantage of WebDAM’s rich set of features. For example, every user can have their own lightbox to organize, send, and download digital assets for different projects. Your parents may have taught you to share, but in the DAM space, sharing gets messy and complicated. Do you really want to break up fights between your colleagues over username custody? Be a peacemaker (and company hero); stop the conflict before it starts – unique user accounts is the way to go.

• Launch it

Promote WebDAM to your colleagues like your business depends on it – because it does! You implemented it and know all the specific problems WebDAM solves. And in business, time is money, so get the word out: make a contest, put signs up, Photoshop Lady Gaga and Bono at a desk using it – be creative and have fun with it! We’ve seen one organization promote their WebDAM at their annual trade show with a booth that teaches their users the ins and out. (Oh, and they gave away free DAM swag. Remember, people love their swag.)

• Stay Familiar

WebDAM can brand your DAM for seamless integration with your original website. It’ll feel like your users never even left! With branding, your users will be more likely to learn the system, and adoption is easier when the look and feel mimics what people are already accustomed to.

• Create Convenience

Provide links from your website to your WebDAM for easy accessibility. Can you effortlessly navigate over to your DAM from your site? If not, that could explain a lot about why people aren’t using it. You’re a DAM hero, not a DAM spy, so make it quick and easy for people to access your branded DAM.

• Coach Your Team

Educating your WebDAM users on the system is key for adoption. If they don’t know what to do on the site or even what it’s capable of, then most of it will fall to by the wayside. Coach your team with tips, custom pages, custom training materials, or even extra WebDAM materials. You have our permission to carry a loud whistle if you’d like.

• Communicate Regularly

Create your own newsletter to promote your assets and newest features in WebDAM.  Don’t know what to put on it?  Sign up to receive our newsletter at the bottom right corner of any page. You can take ideas from our newsletters (we won’t tell) or forward it to your users. Better yet, have  them sign up too. Not to toot our own horn (toot!), but we always have great content in our newsletter, like our regular “Feature In Focus” section that highlights a different WebDAM feature every month.

• Never Miss a Beat

Promote RSS feed subscriptions so everyone knows when new assets are added. If you keep everyone up to date, there will never be bottlenecks in distribution. Let’s say you’re on the web team and you’re waiting for pictures from a company event to put on the website. With the RSS feed, there’s no delay because you automatically know when and what is uploaded – even if the photographer forgets to email you saying the pictures were uploaded.

• Set an Example

If you’re using the system yourself (don’t make me come over there and check!), your users should already be familiar with WebDAM’s distribution benefits.  This helps encourage them to use it; just from being a recipient of a download invitation, for example, they already can see firsthand how distribution problems are being solved. Be Zen about it and become the change you wish to see in your workflows.

This might seem a little overwhelming, but you don’t have to do everything suggested all at once.  Just start with a few of the suggested tips and you’ll soon be well on your way to having everyone join the ways of WebDAM. Remember, for a DAM hero, the more the merrier!

This process is known as digital media distribution and is a key component to digital asset management. A DAM’s core functionality includes managing, searching, organization and archiving assets, but what happens when you’re inundated by internal and external requests? Without distribution, this creates a difficult situation for busy content managers. So how does digital asset management facilitate distribution of digital media?  Let’s take a closer look at the different approaches to distribution:

• Self-service
  • The self-service model provides your stakeholders with direct access to your photos, videos, brand assets and other types of digital files. Within WebDAM, that means web access to view, search and download what they need through a browser.  However, the self-service model can be as simple as a shared file server made directly accessible to the requester. With the self-service model, the requester accesses what they need with no interaction by the content manager.
• Requests
  • Under this approach, the digital asset management system facilitates requests by providing the requester with a mechanism to contact the content manager for file-access permission. Within WebDAM, this includes providing the requester with preview and search capabilities to confirm the assets of interest. Once identified, the requester can submit a request for review and approval by the content manager, all using an online system. This type of request mechanism saves the content manager a significant amount of time by bypassing the search-and-identify process—all while limiting database access for the requester.
• Fulfillment
  • Fulfillment requires the content manager to do the legwork. The content manager takes the request, searches for potential matching assets, and provides the requester with access to only those selected assets. Fulfillment, unlike self-service, grants access to only a limited selection of files based on the requester’s specific guidelines. WebDAM facilitates this process with its Lightbox and email distribution features, providing an efficient means for selecting and sending files.

So which distribution method is best for you? All of them, in fact! Each distribution method can be appropriate depending on the situation. For example, if a member of the press makes a one-time request for corporate photos, fulfillment may work best. However, if your web team needs regular access to brand assets and product photography, self-service allows them anytime-anywhere access. Regardless of the method, an efficient process for distribution of photos, brand assets and marketing collateral can lead to more efficient production, saving time and money for everyone involved.

1.   Mankind vs. Mother Nature

Earthquakes. Tornados. Tsunamis. Those natural disasters and many others fill up too many of our headlines these days, yet they’re a reality we all have to live. Natural disasters have no sympathy for your digital files, and if they’re stored in a single place locally, just a few seconds could wipe out years of valuable information. With a cloud infrastructure like WebDAM, data is housed on redundant servers geographically spaced apart. This protects your data against natural disasters, as damage at one data center won’t affect one across the country.

2.   Cloud security is a cut above the rest

Cloud-based services depend on availability and security for their revenue. While other businesses spend on inventory or delivery, cloud companies budget for a solid infrastructure and physical security. In short, a reliable and reputable cloud firm spends a significant amount of money implementing advanced safeguards to protect digital assets. Physically, facilities are guarded with access controls and closely monitored 24/7 surveillance, ensuring data is safe against unauthorized access.

3.   Reliability you can count on

Even if your data is stored on a set of local redundant servers, what’s protecting them from crashes and downtime if they’re all in the same facility? In the cloud, your assets utilize a reliable infrastructure created specifically for data transfer and security, all protected with the necessary redundancy to ensure availability even during server crashes and hardware downtime.

4.   Avoid expensive replacement costs

Let’s assume the worst-case scenario – all of your locally stored data is wiped out from both primary and redundant servers. It’s all gone, totally gone, and now you have to somehow replace it. What does it cost to re-purchase or re-generate business files? How about priceless photos and videos? And there’s a hidden cost – the time and effort put into recreating all the related metadata for organization. For any organization, this could easily run into the millions of dollars. Yet, in the cloud, your assets are redundantly stored without the risk of replacement.

5.   Copyright infringement costs

Digital asset management isn’t just for files and keywords. All types of information can be stored alongside your assets, including: usage rights, source, and owner information.  These key details are critical in order to protect you against copyright infringement and lawsuits.

When your digital assets are critical to your business, protecting them should be your top priority. From floods to hackers, and fires to copyrights, DAM in the cloud protects your ASSets.

CM Content Management
A system used for organizing, managing and editing digital content.

WCM Web Content Management
A sub-set of CMS used more specifically as a web application for the managing, editing and storing of HTML content.

ECM Enterprise Content Management
Content management within an enterprise which provides the necessary tools, methods, skills and strategies needed to manage, store and edit the company’s digital content.

MAM Multimedia Asset Management
A sub-set of digital asset management, which more specifically entails DAM with multimedia content.

MDM Master Data Management
The method and strategy of centralizing data within an organization in order to define and manage information making searching, consolidating and distributing data more efficient.

SEM Search Engine Marketing
The process of utilizing search engine visibility as a form of internet marketing to promote one’s company.

SEO Search Engine Optimization
The process of improving a website’s search engine ranking through a variety of techniques.

WM Web Management
A sub-set of a Content Management System that applies to content derived from the internet.

XML Extensible Markup Language
A specification used for writing structured data on the Web.

RDF Resource Description Framework
A framework for composing languages to allow the integration of metadata.

ROI Return on Investment
A measure of net profits generated by a company.

SaaS Software-as-a-Service
A software distribution model giving a provider the capability to develop and operate software for customers to use as a service. Often time referred to as software on demand because of the consumer’s ability to access it whenever needed.

IPTC International Press Telecommunications Council
An association of the world’s major news agencies and news industry vendors, headquartered in London, England. The IPTC defines a set of standards for improved news exchanged.

XMP Extensible Metadata Platform
A platform that creates a set of standards for applications to describe, create and store metadata files.

EXIF Exchangeable Image File
Data attributes to an image detailing the image file format used by digital cameras.

VAM Video Asset Management
A sub-set of digital asset management, which more specifically entails the previewing, editing, storing and managing of video content.

BAM Brand Asset Management
Management of marketing and sales related content by providing a database wherein content spanning from marketing, advertising, promotions and sales is stored.

DM Document Management
Very closely related to Content Management, Document Management provides a system used for organizing, managing and editing digital content. However, Document Management refers specifically to electronic documents and images.

BRM Brand Resource Management
A system designed for a brand owner to better streamline processes and speed up the exchange of information with their business partners through the utilization of a shared database.

MCM Marketing Content Management
A system used to manage content involving web marketing and promotion tools used for the acquisition of customers as well as for building brand loyalty.

KM Knowledge Management
The process of managing, organizing and storing knowledge data and information within a company. Knowledge Management allows for easier implementation and sharing of information among employees.

DRM Digital Rights Management
Copyrighting digital files within a system in order to control who is accessing the digital content as well as how it is being used.

WebDAM Web-Based Digital Asset Management
The most cutting edge, cloud-based digital asset management solution by WebDAM Solutions.

What is Enterprise Digital Asset Management Software?

Simply put, enterprise digital asset management software is a special type of digital asset management software that can be implemented across an enterprise, accessible by associates of an organization such as employees, colleagues, partners, and customers,. It’s designed to meet the specific needs of larger organizations, across departments and divisions: a large user base, workflow integration, data security, accountability, among other things.

Key Features of Enterprise Digital Asset Management Software

When exploring digital asset management software solutions for implementation across an enterprise, here is what you should look for:

• Role-based permissions: When working within different departments and divisions in a company, roles become critical. An enterprise digital asset management system provides the ability to specify permissions based on real-world roles within the digital supply chain. For example, distributors need access to retrieve content while the marketing department needs to manage the content.
• Security: In the past decade, digital files transitioned from a luxury to a mission-critical aspect of any business. To keep a company safe, enterprise digital asset management software must be the guardian of organizational data. This means providing appropriate safeguards to protect both user information and digital assets from misuse and also data backup/disaster recovery adaptable to any situation.
• Scalability: Enterprise-level companies can grow very quickly, especially in today’s 24/7 global economy. Enterprise digital asset management software must accommodate this, providing the scalability to grow with a business, whether it’s located in one building or across the world. That means the ability to handle anywhere from thousands to millions of files based on the needs of the organization. However, it’s not just processing the files, it’s also about granting access — a worldwide corporation might require thousands of simultaneous requests, and good enterprise digital asset management software must be able to handle all of it without losing availability or data integrity.
• Reliability: For any business, downtime can bring things to a screeching halt. This is amplified umpteen times at the enterprise-level– the more users, the greater potential for lost time and money. This means that an enterprise digital asset management software solution must be mature and stable, ensuring high availability and uptime. For organizations choosing to outsource, the proper research must be performed so that the selected vendor comes with a solid track record.
• Integration: Intranets, content management systems (CMS), and other core organizational systems are an everyday part of enterprise-level business. That means that good enterprise digital asset management software must flow with this, not against it; workflow integration with systems are absolutely necessary so that users get a seamless experience. To achieve this, enterprise digital asset management software often offers plug-ins to other enterprise software applications or open APIs to integrate with custom systems.

The digital business world is continuously evolving, making digital asset management software a requirement for today’s business. At the enterprise level, it can be more than just a requirement — it can be the central nervous system that binds and unites the organization’s entire workflow. Each of the aforementioned points is a key piece to the puzzle that is a digital asset management solution. And just like any puzzle, it’s not complete without all of the pieces in place.