It’s almost impossible to find a business that doesn’t have a website these days. Businesses with websites need to use visual assets, which are videos, diagrams, memes, GIFs, screenshots, and images. Often, businesses have too many visual assets to manage, which can make running their website very difficult. This is where Media Asset Management comes in. Media Asset Management makes business owners’ lives much easier, allowing them to sort out and manage their website’s media in a more efficient way.
This article will present an easy guide to understanding everything that there is to know about media asset management:
What is Media Asset Management?
Media Asset Management [often shortened to MAM] is a term used to refer to the process of storing, managing, and organizing video and multimedia files.
Often, MAM is confused with DAM. The terms are mistakenly used interchangeably. However, it is not a case of DAM vs MAM as they are not in competition with one another. MAM is a derivative of DAM, which is short for Digital Asset Management. MAM is more often used for videos, while DAM is for photographs and images. With that said, DAMs can also manage videos.
Below we will outline some of the functions one can expect with a Media Asset Management tool:
Discovering Files Quickly
Media Asset Management tools make locating and discovering assets much easier. Because they organize and archive assets efficiently, discovering them becomes much less complex than it would be without MAM.
In a media archive before the advent of Media Asset Management tools, items would be misplaced and scattered around according to file size and date. With a MAM, you can arrange and organize your assets according to their purpose. With that said, you still need to make your assets identifiable with thumbnails, names, and identifiable features [which we will address next].
Team Collaboration
Media Asset Management tools improve and encourage collaboration between different teams and different businesses. These tools streamline collaboration because they enable members of different teams to find specific multimedia assets in expansive content libraries that they are unfamiliar with.
This saves all teams involved lots of time. Instead of painstakingly trawling through media libraries, they can use Media Asset Management tools to locate files instantly. Businesses regularly collaborate with one another online these days. MAMs make it easier for these businesses and teams to collaborate, removing annoying hurdles like navigating through unorganized media archives.
Asset Permission
One of the greatest advantages to using a Media Asset Manager is asset permission controls. MAMs remove any possibility that unauthorized persons are going to access your website’s media library. MAMs restrict who can [and can’t] access your media. Media Asset Management tools have permission interfaces, where you can adjust who can access content according to login details and emails.
Instead of teams having to meet up in person and work from a single computer, they can access media and information securely through the Cloud, with the permission of a Media Access Management tool. These tools also give the master account the ability to monitor who has accessed their media library in real-time, which is good for tracking work.
New Versions
Another advantage to Media Asset Management tools is that team members are able to add new versions of existing assets to your media library. Without MAMs, files would be replaced or deleted when new versions are added. With a MAM you can still retain older files, which allows you to reuse them in the future.
You should restrict who in your team can add new versions, however. It’s not advisable to allow everybody to do this. You can manage who can add new versions to files on your MAM’s permission management control interface.
Provide Information
In addition to all of the aforementioned, MAMs also provide useful information to people working with media files. A MAM will display information, such as a file’s creator, permissions, and copyright information. This can streamline the video production process. It removes any risk that your staff is going to repurpose or use copyrighted material without permission. It also displays the name of the person responsible for making the media asset, which allows them to then reach out and ask for permission to use it.
Picking the Right Software
There are many different types of MAM software. If you have decided that you want to use MAM software, then your focus should be on finding the software that’s perfect for you. You need to read reviews, research, and find software that’s high in quality, affordable, and offers you the functions that you desire. Ideally, software should also come with a warranty and there should be a tech support team available to help you when necessary. You could also ask for recommendations from other people working in your industry.
Media Asset Management software has changed the way that businesses store and use their media assets. Make sure to follow this article’s advice and shop around when you’re looking for MAM software, so that you can get the best deal.
I’m is an owner of Venostech.com, blogger, Android and technology enthusiast. Individual who are educated in the IT and like to write according my scope.
