One of the most critical aspects for every brand to remember while managing their digital asset management is data governance. For brands, data governance and digital asset management go hand-in-hand. In the current marketing landscape and rapidly growing data, it is essential for brands to establish an effective strategy and framework for managing and governing their data. In simple words, data governance helps in the creation, storage, retrieval and distribution of digital assets in an accurate and secure manner. In this blog, we are going to take a look at data governance for digital asset management, its importance, and a free DAM governance plan for your brand. Let’s get started. 

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What is data governance? 

Data governance is the process of creating and establishing frameworks, policies, standards, and procedures for managing all your brand assets. A data governance plan can help in creating robust roles and responsibilities for different teams in an organization. It defines the overall quality of data, which simply means to ensure that your marketing and promotional assets are in line with your brand guidelines. It also aids in setting strategic objectives, helping your brand assets comply with industry laws and regulations. 

‍What is brand governance? 

Brand governance is a sub-theme under the overarching concept called data governance. Brand governance focuses specifically on creating guidelines that govern the way you create your brand assets and all other marketing and promotional material, helping your brand maintain brand consistency and strengthen brand identity across all touchpoints. In addition to all of this, brand governance also ensures that all your brand assets are used in an appropriate manner thereby protecting your overall brand reputation and brand equity. 

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What is digital asset management? 

In simple words, digital asset management is the process of organizing, storing, collecting, retrieving, and distributing digital assets in a centralized platform. A digital asset management system acts as a central repository for all your digital assets such as images, videos, audio, and documents. A great digital asset management tool includes creative workflow management, version control, online proofing, access control, and much more. Ideally, a DAM tool should streamline the process of creating, managing, and distributing all your brand’s digital assets. 

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4 Reasons why data governance is essential for digital asset management 

Now let’s take a look at why data governance is essential for digital asset management. 

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1. Ensures data accuracy and consistency

What if your latest social media post has the wrong logo typeface and the logo on your website looks different? Wouldn’t that be a complete mismatch? Wouldn’t that confuse your potential customers?  It is important to ensure that all your brand assets are accurate and consistent across all channels and used in an appropriate and uniform manner. 

The importance of accuracy in digital asset management cannot be overstated. Inaccurate data can result in misinterpretation, and incorrect messaging, and potentially lead to legal and brand compliance issues. Additionally, inconsistency across brand data can create inefficiencies and make it difficult for users to locate and use assets in a standardized manner. This is where data governance becomes essential, ensuring that data is captured, validated, and updated to maintain overall accuracy and consistency. 

On the other hand, data governance also sets the overall structure for all data and quality control measures, for the verification of all your digital assets. The framework is fed into your digital asset management system, much before your digital assets, defining the way you write your metadata, file name format, tags, descriptions, and much more. They are created to suit a particular standard set by you for your brand and establish a process that avoids asset inconsistencies.

2. Protects data security and privacy

The only nightmare for marketers and designers would be to see the misuse of any confidential brand information. The two most critical concerns in digital asset management are data security and data privacy. Data governance plays a crucial role in protecting your digital assets from any potential risks or vulnerabilities. 

When your digital brand assets are left without the right access, it can result in data breaches, theft of intellectual property, and even damage your brand reputation. When there’s an inappropriate use of assets, it can draw in compliance violations or even legal liabilities. Data governance helps in establishing access controls and security protocols to ensure that your digital assets are protected. 

For example, if you run a beverage company and use the best digital asset management tool with a data governance plan, it can become easy for you to ensure that your brand complies with all the FSSAI Guidelines. When you have a strong data governance plan for your digital asset management system, you can avoid all data breaches, and ensure the safety and security of your assets while keeping your brand compliant. 

3. Facilitates collaboration and workflow efficiency

We can all agree that we have various teams such as marketing, sales, technical, and product in our brand. In most cases, we do even have external vendors or stakeholders across multiple locations who play a crucial role in all our projects. Collaboration is key for every digital asset management tool.  Data governance can help in promoting a highly collaborative workspace. This comes in handy, especially for brand and creative teams who constantly work on churning out creative assets and messaging for different brand touchpoints. 

Data governance also helps in promoting an efficient workflow by establishing a well-defined process, access controls, and automated workflows that allow users and team members to work in a seamless manner. You can establish the level of access each user can have - such as, who can access, edit, track, audit, or share assets - in your digital asset management system. Data governance also helps in setting up collaboration functionalities such as commenting, annotation, and feedback features in your digital asset management system, helping teams to work in a hassle-free manner,  increasing productivity and promoting better utilization of assets. 

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4. Manages asset lifecycle 

Every asset has a lifecycle, don’t you agree? Let’s suppose you are creating a social media post. You start by writing the brief of the social media post, and send it to your content team to create the right copy that goes into your social channel. Once the copy is approved, it then moves into the hands of the designer to create a social media post that is aligned with your brand guidelines. Once the creative is all ready, it gets approved by the respective team heads and finally goes back to the social media manager and goes live on the respective platform. Phew! It looks like a long cycle, isn’t it? 

Well, with a strong data governance plan for your digital asset management system, you can manage the entire lifecycle of your asset from  creation to closure with ease. Data governance can help in seamlessly supporting your asset lifecycle and completely govern your storage, proofing, access, and retrieval policies. 

So, how do you create a data governance plan for your digital asset management system? 

We have understood the benefits of a data governance plan and also the benefits it can accrue to a digital management system. Now comes the question - how do I create a data governance plan for a digital asset management system? Fret not, because we have created a free DAM Governance checklist, which you can download for free. So, how do you create a data governance plan for your digital asset management system? For creating a robust data governance plan for your digital asset management system, here are four areas you must consider, including selecting the right Label Management software:

1. Users 

The first key point to consider is the number of users who are going to play a crucial role in your digital asset management system. At this stage, you should also consider the number of team members who are going to use your digital assets. 

2. Assets 

The second area you should really analyze is the type of assets that are going to go into your digital asset management system. Understanding the type of asset that will go into your digital asset management system also helps in setting the purpose of your DAM. It will provide clear instructions on guidelines and the scope of your digital asset management system. 

3. Workflows

The last yet th most important step is to provide complete clarity for all your team members using the digital asset management system. In this stage, you can also set a process through which assets can be uploaded, proofed, approved, and so much more. Download our free DAM governance checklist (scroll to the top)

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Takeaway 

In conclusion, data governance plays a key role in the digital asset management system and can have a significant impact on the brand’s overall workflow. It is important to have a strong data governance plan when running your digital asset management system to unlock opportunities for growth and success. If you want to ensure greater accuracy, efficiency, and productivity across your teams, use Artwork Flow - a digital asset management tool that will help you manage your creatives in a seamless manner. Start your free seven-day trial today!