How To Efficiently Manage 1000s of Pictures in Different Formats
Enterprises today are dealing with a massive amount of visual content - whether it's JPEG (or JPG), PNG, GIF, TIFF, PDF- you get the gist.
All these different image formats have become an integral part of any digital marketing strategy today - as graphics, logos, illustrations, and photos are crucial for visually defining a brand and creating engagement.
However, managing a huge collection of images in different formats has become a significant challenge for a lot of enterprises.
Misplaced images, sifting through hundreds of folders and shared drives, and the absence of a centralized location to store images make it difficult to find the right image at the right time.
Especially when your images are encoded and saved in different file formats.
So how can enterprises cut down on their content chaos and start managing their hundreds, if not thousands of images in the best way possible?
In this article we take a closer look at a few useful tips and tricks for any company struggling to manage their highly diverse image database.
Table of contents:
Using DAM to manage your image database
How to handle thousands of images in different formats with DAM
Organize and categorize assets in one place
Use automated metadata tagging
Create custom image workflows
Improve team collaboration
Backup and archive
Integrate with other tools
Conclusion
Using DAM to manage your image database
You already know that enterprises today struggle with managing a large volume of digital assets, specifically images.
Luckily, tools like digital asset management (DAM) are one of the easiest solutions to this challenge.
A powerful DAM system provides a central location for organizing, editing, and sharing digital assets and makes them easy to search and retrieve. This is especially useful for global companies that need to maintain a strong brand consistency across different local markets, regions and channels.
And by using a DAM system, businesses can access their images from anywhere and at any time, streamlining workflow and saving time.
These types of tools also simplify the distribution process, making it easy to share assets directly with digital channels within the platform, increasing efficiency and productivity.
This is crucial as consistent branding of content across multiple channels can increase revenue by up to 20%.
Which means that choosing the right DAM system is key for businesses that want to improve their general creative workflow, increase productivity, and (in most cases), maximize revenue.
How to handle 1000’s of images in different formats
Here’s 6 ways to handle thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of images in different formats - all with the help of DAM.
Organize and categorize in one place
As companies keep creating and storing thousands of images - dealing with all the different file formats, resolutions, and sizes quickly becomes unnecessarily challenging (and time-consuming).
However, one of the most significant features of a DAM system is its ability to download images in various sizes and formats.
Whether you need a .png instead of a .jpg, or a unique asset size for a specific use, there’s no issue for how a DAM will handle it.
This means you can use the same image across multiple channels or as part of an omnichannel marketing strategy.
Which means no more wasting time resizing images for different social media platforms. Quickly search for and find your images on the spot, download them and distribute to all your relevant platforms.
Use automated metadata tagging
A DAM system automatically adds metadata tags to images, regardless of format, simplifying manual organization and search.
The result is both saving time and making it much more efficient to search for images (like retail brand logos) in the future.
Adding on, it’s important that you implement consistent file naming conventions. The reason being that they’re crucial for effective image file management.
Also, encourage your team members and all users of the DAM to follow set rules when adding images to the DAM.
Our tip: The file name should ideally be unique, descriptive, and organized around a specific date.
Embedding metadata into every asset optimizes images for searching, retrieving, creating, and distributing.
A little note: There are three main types of metadata - descriptive, administrative, and technical, all of which should be applied to every image.
Create custom workflows
When you're working with diverse image formats you’ll often experience spending cohesive amounts of time trying to handle them efficiently.
The reason being they all have a different set of requirements and characteristics.
Enter DAM, which offers a solution by enabling the creation of customized procedures for uploading, organizing, and processing images - based on their specific file formats.
Most modern DAMs can automate repetitive tasks such as resizing, adding watermarks, or converting files to different formats by utilizing workflow automation.
For instance, you can establish a workflow that automatically compresses JPEG images while leaving RAW files unaltered.
What you’re left with is lots more brand consistency and more time available to spend on other valuable tasks.
Take the following example: A manufacturing company can leverage to create a workflow that automatically resizes and optimizes product images for e-commerce platforms.
The result?
Consistent branding and improving the online shopping experience for all their customers. Simultaneously freeing up time to focus on core production tasks.
Collaborate efficiently with team members
By using online collaboration tools, businesses can increase productivity by up to 30%.
However:
When it comes to sharing photos in various formats, it can be a challenge as not every team member may have the same software or hardware to access them.
Fortunately, a DAM system can simplify the process by providing a web-based preview or download option for team members to share photos of any format.
Additionally, access restrictions and permissions can be set up to ensure that only authorized users have access to the files - no matter their location.
The result?
A boost in external collaboration.
Backup and archive your images
One of the key benefits of using a DAM system is the ability to backup and archive your pictures, no matter if it's JPEG or PNG.
Different image formats have different levels of compatibility and support over time, making it difficult to access your files in the future.
With a DAM system, you can set up automated backups and version control, and store your files in a secure, cloud-based repository that supports different file formats. This helps protect your assets from data loss due to malicious cyber attacks, human error or employee turnover.
Plus, not all of your images are going to stay relevant forever.
Meaning that archiving content is another important step in managing your image library.
It allows you to identify content that can be repurposed and reused for future projects, as well as images that should be archived.
Integrate your DAM with other tools
One of the biggest perks of using a DAM system is its ability to integrate and work seamlessly with other tools and applications.
This integration can really simplify the process of managing your pictures across different platforms and channels.
For example, with a DAM system, you can edit your images directly in Photoshop without having to convert them to a different format or upload them again.
Easily share your images on social media via DAM’s integration with Hootsuite which helps you minimize mistakes and get rid of time-consuming manual processes.
Additionally, DAM systems seamlessly integrate with CMS systems like Optimizely, eliminating concerns about incorrect image dimensions. Optimizely's renderings enable automated display of optimized images and videos, enhancing site speed and SEO.
Conclusion
Images speak louder than words, but managing thousands in different formats can quickly become a noisy nightmare.
In this article, we looked at how DAM can help companies manage thousands of images in different formats:
Organize and categorize assets in one place
Use automated metadata tagging
Create custom image workflows
Backup and archive
Integrate with other tools
By implementing a DAM - it doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with PDFs, JPEGs or PNGs - the results are the same: More streamlined asset management and distribution.
Interested in learning more about how your organization can benefit from DAM and its image-managing capabilities?
Book a demo with us today.
