If you’re here, you probably already know how important a banding asset management software is for maintaining consistency in your branding efforts. A BAM platform provides a centralized space to store, organize, and share all your branding assets with your team. Additionally, advanced features enable you to board your entire team on the platform for enhanced collaboration, improved efficiency and productivity, and ultimately better results.
However, there’s a subtle catch here. You need to identify your needs and settle down with a brand asset management platform according to those needs to yield actual results. Not all platforms are the same, and what works perfectly for one company might not be the best fit for yours. Likewise, a solution that delivers great results for you might not work for another business.
In this blog post, we’ll share tips to help you select the right BAM platform that aligns with your goals and maximizes results. Let’s get started!
Quick Recall: Why a BAM Platform Matters
If the importance of a BAM platform ever slips your mind, let’s quickly refresh it in a few words.
A BAM platform is essential for maintaining consistency in your branding. Without consistency, your brand won’t be able to create a recognizable and trustworthy image. This lack of uniformity can make it difficult for people to identify your business, especially when engaging with short-form content.
A BAM platform provides an effective solution to this through a centralized storage space. You can share all your updated assets here, and your team will only access those. Additionally, you can provide branding guidelines to make sure that your team creates the brand’s persona exactly as you have in mind.
How to Choose the Right Brand Asset Management Software for Your Business
Without any further ado, here are some actionable steps to help you choose the best BAM platform according to your branding needs!
1. Identify Your Needs and Goals
Take a pen and a notebook, and jot down all your branding needs. Define what you expect from a branding platform. Every business has different branding requirements, so it’s important to pinpoint your specific needs. Here’s how to approach this:
Determine What Branding Assets You Need to Manage
The definition of a Brand Asset Management (BAM) platform is pretty self-explanatory—it helps organize, store, and distribute brand assets. However, the type of assets you need to manage will influence your choice of software. Some BAM platforms focus on specific asset types, while others provide an all-in-one solution. Make sure the platform supports the formats and file types you frequently use.
Define the Key Features You Require:
Once you’ve identified the asset types you’ll be managing, list the features required for your workflow. Some of the most important functionalities to consider include:
- Access Control & Permissions: Ensure that only verified users can access, share, and use your assets, preventing any misuse or data loss.
- Integrations: Does the software integrate with the tools your team already uses (e.g., Cloud storage, Google Drive, Slack, etc.)?
- Automation & Version Control: Look for features that automate repetitive tasks, like tagging or categorizing assets. This will save time and reduce manual efforts.
- Search and Metadata Tagging: A good BAM should allow for easy searching through metadata, categories, AI-powered tagging, and other criteria for quick retrieval.
- Collaboration Tools: If your team works remotely or across different departments, the BAM platform should have real-time commenting, approval workflows, and asset-sharing features for improved collaboration.
2. Assess User-Friendliness
You don’t need something that comes with a 200-page user manual just to figure out how to use the platform. You need a simple, intuitive solution that you and your team can understand within seconds.
Your BAM platform should have:
- Simple Dashboard Layout: A clean and well-organized dashboard makes it easier to find and manage assets.
- Drag-and-Drop Functionality: This simplifies uploading and organizing files.
- Quick Access to Frequently Used Assets: A smart recommendation system or a “favorites” section will speed up workflows.
A user-friendly platform ensures that your team spends less time learning and more time creating.
3. Check Collaboration and Access Controls
Asset management is not the only thing BAM platforms can help you with. A good BAM platform will also facilitate collaboration among your global team.
You may wonder if you need that in storage space, especially if you use platforms like Teams and Zoom for collaboration and meetings. However, when your processes are moving fast and you need instant reviews and approvals on different assets, the need for collaboration within the storage space becomes clear.
Additionally, the ability to leave reviews and comments on specific assets helps keep track of necessary edits, ensuring that every asset is refined and approved efficiently.
Here’s what you should look for:
- Real-time Updates: Ensure that when an asset is updated, changes are reflected instantly across the platform so no one is using outdated files.
- Approval Workflows: Some BAM platforms allow teams to review, comment, and approve assets within the system. This will eliminate the need for any lengthy email chains.
- In-app Communication: Features like annotations, comments, and tagging users within the platform can improve team collaboration.
- Shared Workspaces: A centralized workspace where different teams (marketing, design, SEO, content, product, etc.) can collaborate on assets and share thoughts.
4. Evaluate Scalability and Flexibility
Your main intent with a BAM platform is, of course, growing your business. And if your efforts are heading in the right direction, that’s inevitable to happen as well.
However, when that happens, you’ll also need to accommodate more team members within your BAM platform. You’ll need more storage space, and if the BAM platform you use doesn’t offer those advanced features, you’ll lose momentum. At that point, shifting to another BAM platform can be challenging since you and your team are already well-suited to the current platform.
So it’s a must to choose a BAM platform that scales with your growth, so you’re not forced to change systems as your needs evolve.
A flexible BAM solution should adapt to your evolving needs. Look for:
- Customizable Metadata & Tagging: You can organize assets in a way that makes sense for your business.
- Flexible Storage Options: Some platforms allow you to expand storage capacity as needed.
- Modular Features: Some BAM platforms let you enable or disable features based on your requirements.
- API Access: If you need to build custom integrations, an open API is a valuable asset.
5. Consider Pricing and ROI
If you’re just a startup, you don’t need to go all out with a BAM platform and spend hundreds of dollars on branding. At that stage, it’s recommended to spend minimally on branding and focus more on sales and stability.
In other words, as a business owner, you also need to understand where to allocate your resources wisely. If you’re spending somewhere, you need to ensure it’s essential or you’re getting more in return. However, the cheapest option isn’t always the best. Instead, assess the return on investment (ROI) by considering:
- Time Saved: Does it reduce the time spent searching for and managing brand assets?
- Brand Consistency: Does it prevent errors, outdated assets, or branding inconsistencies?
- Collaboration Efficiency: Does it streamline approvals, feedback loops, and asset sharing?
- Scalability: Will it continue providing value as your business grows, or will you outgrow its capabilities?
Cherry on Top:
To sum it up, your BAM platform should be versatile enough to accommodate all your needs and provide room for scalability and flexibility as your business grows. However, the endless options available in the market make it a dilemma for most to settle on just one platform.
That’s why it’s recommended to try the platform firsthand and then assess if it’s right for you or not. Most BAM platforms, including Ethos, offer a 30-day, no-transaction, completely free trial that you can use to assess the platform’s full capabilities before making a decision.
Try out Ethos today for completely free and discover how the AI-powered platform can help you create a powerful brand!
