What you really need to know for a successful DAM kick off with Cloudinary
At Cloudinary, we work with a lot of teams who are new to the DAM space and are setting up their system from square one. Whilst we pride ourselves in making the onboarding as easy as possible, it is definitely a collaborative effort- After all, you are the expert for all things internal assets, data & restrictions and business languages.
So, before we kick off, here are a few little tips and tricks we’d like to share:
Audit your assets
You may be surprised just how useful an audit will be prior to beginning the onboarding process, even a quick one. This will later on give you a better understanding of what assets you will be storing in the Cloudinary DAM, and what can be stored elsewhere. Having an understanding of what assets are due to be migrated will also give you a good jumping off point when it comes to setting up your restrictions and metadata structures.
Find your core team
Your core team will be meeting with your Cloudinary CSM, usually we expect to see a mix of project managers, CMS experts and a DAM admin. We often see a higher success rate when representatives from wider teams such as Marketing, Designers, Marketing Operations and creatives are involved. Anyone familiar with what content is created, how it is created, searched for & distributed will bring real value.
Schedule regular meetings with your core team
We often see a clear value from teams that talk, try to find time to connect with your core team to discuss any key use cases, unanswered DAM questions or topics that may have been sidelined. Whilst your Cloudinary CSM will guide the kick off with action items, you are ultimately the driver in what your DAM looks like.
Think about a wider goal
Even after you complete your onboarding, your DAM will continue to grow and mature the more and more it is used. Nice! You may however have future targets of implementing the system in additional teams internally. We recommend you plan ahead where possible to get input from key stakeholders, this will be a nice opportunity for them to contribute insights and perhaps build out taxonomy items or folders specific to their department.
Share the key dates
Have you got any big launches? Key campaigns? Legacy system contracts expiring? DAM admin due to leave? Share those dates with us as early as you can, these items can have a big impact on a kick off. Tell us how we can help plan and be ready for these big events.
There we have it, a few nice tips and tricks to get your ready for your DAM onboarding. Let us know if there is anything else you would add to the list!