Are you attending events and taking photos? Is your team preparing banners for upcoming trade shows? Do you have a communications team member visiting with clients or consumers about their experiences?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you likely have digital assets that need to be preserved for future uses. Not only can these digital pieces be used in future promotions, but an asset library also helps you collaborate with your team more efficiently. The days of sending photos via email and having them lost in the abyss are over.
After you've chosen where you want to store your digital assets – this can be done on OneDrive, Google Drive, Sprout Social, Meltwater, etc. – it's time to categorize and organize those photos, videos and digital materials like Clea and Joanna edit, categorize, contain and maintain closets on an episode of The Home Edit.
If you've not seen The Home Edit, I'll break down what I'm talking about (although I highly recommend you add this show to your Netflix lineup if you love organization).
Step 1: Edit
This may be the most time-consuming step of the process. But it must be done. Go through all of the photos, videos and digital materials you have. Make sure the photos and videos you're keeping are of great quality. If it's blurry or someone is mid-yawn during a presentation, you can edit those photos out of your pile. This is all about quality, not quantity. If you need a maybe pile go ahead and set one aside. But go back to it and make your final decisions before moving to step two.
Step 2: Categorize
What do certain photos, videos and digital assets have in common? I recommend going through and writing down on a piece of notebook paper what categories you have in front of you. Break everything down by year and then go through and determine what occasions/events these assets came from.
Step 3: Contain
This next part is all about preference. Some individuals prefer to categorize their main folders with the year first. Ex: "2024" followed by subfolders labeled "Commodity Classic", "NAMA" and "Family Farm Night".
Others prefer to start with the event as the main folder, and then have subfolders with the year. Ex: "NAMA" followed by subfolders labeled "2022", "2023" and "2024". There's no right or wrong way as long as you contain them and know which year they were taken.
Bonus step: Extra Categorization
Consider renaming the file so everyone involved can determine who/what they're looking at. This helps future you cut back on identifying who/what/where later on.
Step 4: Maintain
You've achieved organizational success! Don't forget to keep up your new system. It'll be a lot easier now that you've done the heavy lifting.
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