The hidden costs of inadequate media management

Professional media management has numerous advantages for companies, but it also costs money. Therefore, many companies shirk the introduction of a corresponding software solution. In fact, however, not a cent is saved in this way. On the contrary, hidden costs inevitably arise in the long term.

Why is that? – Well, neglected media file management creates clutter and makes files difficult to retrieve and, in the worst case, even lost. Of course, this entails a whole series of problems. On the one hand, time and resources are wasted in the cumbersome search for suitable media, and on the other hand, it becomes more difficult to ensure brand consistency. In the worst case scenario, legal disputes may even arise, because reliable management of image rights is hardly possible without central media management.

In the following, we would like to present the most important cost factors to you in a little more detail.

Time consuming image research

Poor media management particularly affects teams working in corporate areas such as marketing, PR or employee communications. As is well known, a lot of image and media material is needed there. Researching this material is an indispensable phase of the workflow. If the structure that centralized media management provides is missing, then this phase is often perceived as tedious and frustrating. This is not surprising, because although suitable motifs are already available, they are often not found. Out of helplessness, the own company logo is googled.

These symptoms can have several causes: Files are often distributed haphazardly to different servers or cloud storage, sometimes they are only kept on local hard disks. Who has access to which files then becomes a conundrum. In addition, many media inventories simply lack the necessary keywording.

As a result, valuable working time is lost and productivity suffers.

With a central (cloud-based) solution and intelligently prepared metadata, however, existing media files can be found immediately. It speeds up the research enormously, that’s for sure.

Time is money – and you save a lot of it – but avoiding unnecessary frustration is at least as important. Good media management can also make a significant contribution to this.

Risks from the use of unapproved content

As mentioned earlier, another problem area arises when considering the legal dimensions involved in the use of media. For example, consider employees who accidentally use outdated or unapproved content simply because it was not marked or labeled appropriately. Especially under time pressure, such mistakes can easily happen: Mistakes that, in the worst case, can represent a violation of personal rights or copyrights and cause additional costs.

With media management that enables consistent management of image licenses and consent forms, you can minimize legal risks.

In addition, maintaining metadata such as image description, shooting location, and shooting date provides you with another safeguard against negative consequences that can result from the dissemination of misleading information. Moreover, the availability of additional data also makes it easier to avoid brand inconsistencies.

Double purchase stock images

In the hustle and bustle of everyday work, stock photos may be purchased multiple times. There will hardly be a marketing department where this hasn’t happened. Unfortunately, discipline alone makes it difficult to avoid these unnecessary expenses. A central media archive is required in which all previously purchased or licensed stock images (and videos) are stored. In addition, there must be clean documentation of all license data. Entered data should be easy and quick to find and directly viewable on the image.

Of course, you can’t do all this using on-board tools like Windows Explorer or the Finder under macOS. In other words, an investment in a professional media management solution is in order here as well. In the long run, you will be able to optimize your marketing budget and save ready cash.

Unused content

Another serious consequence of inadequate media management also falls into the “waste” category. Many companies invest significant resources in creating high-quality content. That is, of course, correct and important. But once the media files have been used, they then often remain on local hard drives and are no longer accessible to the rest of the team. The consequence: In future projects, content with the same purpose is recreated at great expense, simply because no one knew that usable content already existed.

The solution: cloud-based digital asset management for enterprises

There are professional solutions for all the problems and cost factors listed. The best way to go these days is with cloud-based media management. In technical terms, such a software solution is also referred to as a digital asset management system, or DAM system for short. Media content is rightly understood here as “assets,” i.e., the assets of a company. A DAM system centralizes the storage and management of all media files and ensures that they are easy to find, access, and use. This not only allows companies to streamline workflows and increase productivity, but also increases brand visibility and minimizes legal risks. In the next section, we will show you an overview of the most important advantages.

Five key benefits of a cloud-based DAM solution

1. Central storage: All media files are held centrally in a modern cloud infrastructure and are available at any time and from any location.
2. Access control: By assigning permissions, companies can ensure that only authorized employees can access and edit certain content.
3. Metadata optimization: Technical metadata can be extracted and merged with additional meta information such as keywords or image descriptions. This not only increases traceability, but also ensures complete documentation.
4. Management of licenses & consents: Thanks to the integrated tools for professional management of license data, consent forms and model releases, the risk of negative legal consequences can be minimized.
5. Easy integration: A cloud-based DAM system can be easily integrated into the existing IT infrastructure. In most cases, no additional software is required for this, as access is via the browser. Connections to CRM or PIM systems are also possible.

Conclusion

If you don’t systematically approach media management in a company because you think it’s not a priority and costs too much time and money, then you’re on the wrong track. Yes, a professional media management solution doesn’t come for free, and yes, initially it requires a period of training. But it should now have become clear that the hidden costs of neglect are disproportionately higher. An investment in a corresponding software solution is therefore actually always worthwhile, even for smaller companies. Just think about the following points again:

• • Improved productivity
  • more efficient workflows
  • Brand consistency and legal certainty
  • Optimal use of resources and budgets

By investing in a DAM system, you are ultimately investing in the future and success of your business. It is therefore time to eliminate the hidden costs of inadequate media management.

There are various providers in the market segment for DAM software. One of them is us. Here you can learn how to test our solution.

The full potential for your marketing: the Media Hub from teamnext

If, after reading this, you’d like to see how it all looks in practice, you can get started almost immediately with a free 14-day trial of the teamnext | Media Hub. The Media Hub from teamnext is a cloud-based media management solution for companies that impresses with AI functions and intuitive usability while meeting the highest data security requirements. It is preferred by medium-sized companies in the GSA region and by large organizations within the EU.

You can also book an appointment for a free online product demo with one of our experts at any time. Simply use our contact form for this purpose.