Using Your DAM to Break Down Silos: A #CMWorld Twitter Chat with Andi Robinson

With the new year quickly approaching, now is a good time to reevaluate various aspects of your content marketing. One area worth assessing is your tech stack.

Fresh off the heels of her Content Marketing World presentation, Andi Robinson joined us for the #CMWorld Twitter chat. As the global digital content and brand leader at Corteva Agriscience, Andi is responsible for the organization’s internal content marketing program. Andi and her team rely heavily on digital asset management to streamline content operations. To help our community members determine if it is time to add a DAM to their stack, we asked Andi to tell us about her experience.

What follows is a brief look at our discussion.

How can changing to a digital asset management (DAM) platform help teams work together more than Google Drive or Dropbox?

A1: A DAM can have capabilities for search and collaboration that Google Drive or Dropbox are just not cut out for. The ability for complex taxonomy and metadata as well as searchability and editing are key to a good DAM. #CMWorld https://t.co/IVkAL5WAq9

— Andi Robinson (@hijinxmarketing) October 27, 2020

A1: I think it works so much better to communicate and understand each other’s responsibilities. These are crucial assets, especially as many people continue to work from home. #CMWorld

— Lindsay Hottovy (@LHContent) October 27, 2020

A1: Asking everyone to use something new, as opposed to asking people who don’t use a tool to assimilate just because the majority does, is courteous of all employees.

Plus, there’s no more wondering which platform you saved something to. It’s decided. #CMWorld pic.twitter.com/KgXkiblvJW

— Rachel Wendte (@rkwendte) October 27, 2020

What’s the best part of having a DAM for you? Easy access and findability, seeing past usage and performance of an asset, or something else?

A2: So many things! One of the most common accolades we get for our DAM is that it is so helpful to see media from other countries. Before the DAM, most assets were housed on people’s computers. The ability to easily share is tops on our list! #CMWorld https://t.co/925N5mWwbM

— Andi Robinson (@hijinxmarketing) October 27, 2020

A2: Can I say all of the above? So important to understand the usage, where and by who. Especially important for a brand that is world-wide #CMWorld

— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) October 27, 2020

A2: The DAM becomes a team-focused repository that, if done well, can ensure we are all using the right content assets. Content messages can be quite dynamic, so accessing the latest version can be a powerful group efficiency. #cmworld #DAM https://t.co/Bpu4EBbj80

— Buddy Scalera (@BuddyScalera) October 27, 2020

Breaking down silos is something we all strive for as content marketers. That cross-collaboration should start before a DAM is selected. Who should be involved in that process?

A3: You should have representatives from any function that will be heavy users of the platform. The project leader should also keep in mind the smaller functions when thinking about things like filters and taxonomy. #CMWorld https://t.co/I6sYl14xC1

— Andi Robinson (@hijinxmarketing) October 27, 2020

A3: there are a lot of #DevOps characteristics to any #martech project. Teams need technologists, business line experts, and content creatives working together. #CMWorld

— Don Dingee (@don_dingee) October 27, 2020

A3: Get some representation from each dept. that will need to use the tool. I like to bring that group together first and understand their needs so that access can be determined in ways that meet their needs. #CMWorld https://t.co/3lgIA1HZJ0

— Lisa Baer (@lbaer_lisa) October 27, 2020

Several members of the CMWorld community found a robust DAM can benefit the entire organization and enable effective content marketing. Learn more about the impact DAM platforms have had on their efforts when you check out all of the tweets from the chat.

What’s been your experience with DAMs? Let us know in the comments below.

Catch Andi’s presentation, Building a Content Marketing Program in a Complex Global Organization, with Content Marketing World on-demand! Sign up to access dozens of sessions and keynotes.