How To Easily Share Digital Assets: 6 Expert Best Practices

You likely have encountered digital assets if you’ve been in any business-like setting. Even in our everyday lives, we are constantly sharing digital assets and looking for better, quicker, and more secure ways to do so, in order to make our jobs and lives easier. 

Sharing assets across teams can get complicated, especially in a large company. Users face problems such as limited storage, not having the right tool to open a file, or slow upload and download speeds. All of these add significant time to a person's day.

What Are Digital Assets?

Digital assets are documents, images, videos, and spreadsheets, all crucial to business operations, conveniently stored online or on a device. 

These assets can include marketing materials and brand assets such as logos and product images, employee training videos, audio files, and important documents such as contracts and policy manuals.

With paper documents, employees spend more time searching for documents than actually reading them. On average, an hour spent looking for documents results in only 20 minutes of reading time (source). Digital assets can be just as bad, depending on how you organize them. 

4 Ways To Easily Share Digital Assets

Research indicates that employees spend a significant portion of their time, often up to 20-30% (source), searching for documents rather than performing productive tasks.

A digital asset management (DAM) system can significantly reduce that inefficiency. Implementing a DAM solution can streamline the retrieval process and reduces costs associated with physical storage and misfiled documents.

One of the main reasons that digital asset management platforms have the highest ROI of the methods on this list is their ability to instantly retrieve documents directly from your desktop or laptop computer from anywhere, which is a huge help considering the prevalence of remote work. But selecting the right DAM solution for your needs can be challenging. I recommend creating a digital asset management RFP to help streamline the process.

Below, I cover how other methods of sharing digital assets compare with DAM systems.

Ways to Share	Pros	Cons	Tools
DAM Software	- Centralized asset storage - Improved collaboration abilities, especially in a remote setting - Enhanced security Scalable - Workflow efficiency - Cloud-based storage - API integrations	- Upfront cost - Metadata management - User adoption & training - Change resistance	Bynder, MediaValet, Brandfolder, etc.
File Transfer Tool	- Cost-effective - Easy to share files - It’s likely an existing tool that can be used for multiple purposes	- Limitations on file size - Decreased control over files once shared - Scalability - Version control management - Requires internet access	Google Drive, MS OneDrive, WeTransfer, DropBox, Adobe, etc.
USB Stick	- Access control; files can only be accessed from the stick - Ease of use - No subscription cost - Offline access - Supplementary backup option	- Physical sharing required - Loss of data if lost - Limited storage - Security risks (viruses, malware) - Compliance issues
Email	- Convenient - Offline access - Most compatible	- Limitations on file size - Security risks - Compliance issues - Version control nightmare - No centralized storage	Outlook, Gmail, etc.

6 Tips For Sharing Digital Assets

Managing digital assets is a collaborative effort that requires careful planning and monitoring to be successful. Implementing these essential tips allows you to streamline and make processes more efficient.

It's important that all business areas adhere to the same process and criteria when creating digital assets, and subsequently saving and sharing them.

1. Set up a simple taxonomy and asset library. Add only a few layers to your taxonomy, which will help reduce user frustration. Try to stick to at most three layers.
2. Set up clear file naming conventions. For instance, use a combination of the project name, asset or file type, and version number. This makes digital content easy to identify and organize.
3. Use metadata and tags to help with searchability and digital asset organization.
4. Implement version control to keep track of changes and ensure everyone is working on the latest version of the digital asset.
5. Set up access control. Set permissions to control who can view, edit, or share digital files. If necessary, use read-only or time-limited access. 
6. Training and support. Provide guidance or training on accessing and using the shared assets, especially if using new tools or platforms.

When implementing the above tips, it's essential to document clear guidelines. These guidelines serve as a quick reference document for everyone involved, ensuring they understand and can effectively use digital asset management software (such as MediaValet; get pricing here) and the new structure for sharing digital assets. This step is important in maintaining a streamlined and efficient workflow.

Let’s Get Sharing!

Effectively sharing digital assets is paramount to maintaining a productive and collaborative work environment. Whether working remotely or in an office, utilizing proper digital asset management tools and following best practices can significantly enhance efficiency, security, and overall workflow. 

Implementing these processes and tools ensures that your digital assets are easily accessible, secure, and effectively utilized by all team members, leading to better collaboration and productivity.

Sign up for DPM membership to learn more about sharing digital assets, the software used to complete them, and other helpful information.