Here’s the thing about human brains—they like patterns and easily predictable routines. If your users have to spend their time fighting a system they hate using, they’ll simply stop using it. 

Instead, they’ll quickly revert back to old systems and processes, and leave your beautifully designed DAM to gather (virtual) dust. After investing a significant amount of time and money into your DAM, this is the last outcome that you want. 

To avoid this fate, start by selecting the right DAM with the features most important to your organization and specific use cases.

Beyond the technology you select, the way you configure your DAM has a massive effect on how friendly it feels to users across your organization. How do you build a welcoming and easy-to-use DAM? Well, it all depends on who your users are and their unique needs. No two DAM users are quite the same, so this requires a bit of research and thoughtfulness. 

First, speak with your users to understand what exactly is preventing them from using your DAM. Is discoverability an issue? Do files not load properly? Or, maybe it’s just too hard to integrate their existing creative workflows. 

Whatever issues you uncover, search for a vendor that can design your solution to remove these roadblocks—and address common DAM pet peeves. The less friction in the user experience, the more success you will have with user adoption.

One of the biggest challenges DAM managers face is they don’t have a common DAM language. Different folks throughout the organization use different terminology to refer to DAM processes and vastly different search terms to find assets. 

If users don’t understand how to use the system you designed, they’ll default to what they do know—and use outdated language and processes they’re more comfortable with. To sidestep this common pitfall, ensure your training covers the technology, the metadata, and the processes they need to know. 

Training can take the form of live calls and workshops, or it can simply be written documentation. Some techniques top DAM managers use to train their users include:

• Launching a frequently asked questions (FAQ) series in your DAM
• Creating a DAM help desk—office hours where a DAM manager or power user is on call for questions 
• Building a governance document and hosting it in the DAM 

Whatever you choose, if you train your coworkers well, you’ll find a boost in DAM user adoption once they understand how it all comes together to make their lives better. (And if you’re interested in finding more ways to encourage user adoption, read this definitive guide.) 

Many of today’s fastest-growing tech startups owe their success to a product-led growth model—a business strategy that places the company’s software at the center of their buyer’s journey.

DAM management is similar—if you place your users at the center of your strategy, you’ll grow adoption quickly and effectively.

How do you let users guide your DAM strategy? Invite feedback. Think about hosting regular meetings where DAM users can congregate and share any obstacles slowing them down. Use a Google form as a suggestion box where DAM users can flag issues and be empowered to suggest new ideas.

When you receive feedback, be open to change and report back to the folks who made suggestions, especially if you integrate their feedback. And be sure to thank users for all feedback, whether or not you take it. Nothing halts adoption more than users feeling like their suggestions don’t matter.

If you’ve made it this far in the article, congratulations! It means you’re a deeply empathetic DAM manager who cares about making your digital assets as accessible and easy for users as possible. By configuring a user-friendly DAM, training everyone to speak the same language, and fostering user-led growth, you’re well on your way to driving deep adoption.