Which content belongs in a DAM, and what belongs in a CMS?

When asked which content should be managed in a DAM, the discerning consultant would counter with "it depends" - and for good reason. There is no standard best practice for which content, and how much of each type of content, is managed and stored in a DAM. Each situation creates its own best practice. Much like how a kaleidoscope forms different pictures as the barrel turns, the many aspects of an organisation's content production ecosystem affect the ideal landscape.

It's overly simple to say that images, videos, and other visual content (infographics, icons, and gaming components) should be managed in a DAM and text-based content (articles, instructions, and code) should be managed in the appropriate type of authoring system. Yet as the demand for content means more complex and intertwined components, the delineations become less clear.

For example, keeping videos along with their usual metadata - a title, alt text, keywords - in a DAM is an obvious decision. But what about the captions, and what about the transcripts? Keeping that content in a DAM has the advantage of using a single system. Using an authoring system to manage that content means more ability to use sophisticated editing tools, optimise content for brand integrity, and seamlessly round-trip content into and from a translation management system.

If the need to optimise content in sophisticated ways or in multiple languages outweighs the need for a single system, then the balance changes. Managing the text in a ContentOps authoring system and matching it up with the visual content at delivery time is far more appropriate to yield the most benefits.

To learn more about how different types of content are best managed in different situations, join ICP's Executive Consultant, Rahel Bailie, as she moderates a panel on the topic, with panellists Nathalie de Lemos, Head of Product for Digital Content at Nestlé, and Tom Marsh, Team Lead, Creative Operations at Kitchen Stories. The panel discussion is part of the online Henry Stewart event, DAM Fest Europe 2023, on 18 January 2023.

For more information and registration, visit Digital Transformation – How to Manage the Level of Content in Your DAM to ensure Agility, Creativity and Relevance to the Business Enterprise.