Custom Tagging in Prodify: Best Practices for Building Product Manufacturers

Nothing is more tedious than struggling to find the digital assets you need when you need them. In fact, a recent study found that 95% of employees have experienced frustration while searching for a file. With Digital Asset Management (DAM) software like Prodify, those time-consuming, headache-inducing searches are a thing of the past.

When it comes to quickly locating your assets in DAM software, tagging plays a crucial role. By describing key attributes of your files, tagging improves your ability to search and filter assets within the DAM system. With Prodify, your tags are fully customizable, allowing you to organize them in a way that best fits your needs and workflows.  

In this blog, we'll explore the 5 tagging types available in Prodify and share 3 expert tips to help you streamline asset discovery and quickly access what you need.

Tagging Types & How to Use Them‍

1. Status: For Lifecycle Tracking & Updates

Keep track of exactly where your assets are in their lifecycle, from the draft stage to the review process, and beyond. Different teams can add customized options depending on their unique workflows. Marketing teams, for example, can mark their assets with “Published” for new content, while technical teams can create an “In Development” status for product design files currently in the works. Status tagging helps keep your assets up-to-date and on track, allowing team members to easily monitor progress and identify which assets are ready for use.

2. Tags: For Optimized Organization & Efficiency

With tags, the possibilities are truly limitless. Prodify allows you to create as many tags as you need to efficiently organize and manage your assets. Here are a few examples of how you can use them:

Looking to organize your upcoming tradeshow materials and keep your teams fully updated with everything they need?

• Create tags with the names of tradeshows you attend, like “International Builders' Show (IBS)” or “Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS)” that you can assign to brochures, sales materials, and other related assets.

Want to keep on top of which assets have been certified for compliance, environmental standards, and other regulatory requirements?

• Create tags related to specific building codes and environmental certifications, like “Compliant with LEED,” or “Certified for Fire Safety,” that you can assign to relevant design files and product information.

Want to organize your assets according to new product releases, specific marketing campaigns, or other ongoing initiatives?

• Create tags like “Launch 2025” or “Fall Campaign” and assign them to all assets tied to those efforts.

When creating your tags, make sure they’re clear, specific, and accurately reflect your asset’s purpose, attributes, or use cases.

3. Asset Type: For Easy Identification & Categorization

Asset type makes it easy to categorize and locate your assets by their type. Marketing, sales, and product teams can use asset types to categorize the materials and resources they create, such as tradeshow brochures, installation guides, and product images.

For technical assets, you can specify whether an asset is a CAD drawing, BIM model, or 3D preview. When non-technical teams interact with your design files, these labels will allow them to quickly identify the file type, eliminating the need to contact your technical teams for clarification. This not only saves time but also boosts confidence and simplifies asset retrieval.

4. Descriptions: For Greater Detail & Searchability

Descriptions provide rich, detailed information about your assets, offering valuable context that makes searching within the DAM system even easier. Descriptions can also provide marketing and sales team members with a better understanding of a technical asset’s details, so they can quickly grasp key information and reduce the need for clarification from the product team.

Here’s an example of searchable descriptions in action. Let’s say your sales team needs to compile a list of eco-friendly, wall-mounted models for an interested buyer. They can simply enter "eco-friendly" or “wall-mounted” into the search bar and they’ll instantly receive a curated list of relevant assets containing those keywords in their descriptions.

5. Audience: For Enhanced Targeting

Audience tagging allows you to organize your assets according to their intended audiences. Identifying the specific persona your asset is targeting, such as architects or AEC marketing teams, allows you to tailor your content more effectively to ensure it meets the unique needs of the intended group. It also enables your sales team to effectively support anyone they interact with at a design firm by quickly providing them with the relevant resources they need to make informed decisions about your products.

3 Pro Tips for Effective Custom Tagging

1. Establish Consistent Naming Standards: Develop a unified set of naming conventions to apply consistently across all your assets. By standardizing naming practices, you foster uniformity across your teams, ensuring alignment and clarity. This consistency not only improves collaboration but also streamlines the process of locating, sorting, and organizing your assets.

2. Leverage Custom Fields for Specific Needs: Tailor your tagging to fit your organization’s unique processes. Encourage your teams to identify the most relevant tags for their workflows and add them to Prodify, ensuring that team-specific assets are easily searchable and accessible for efficient collaboration and retrieval.

3. Regularly Review & Update Your Tagging System: Over time, asset details or relevant keywords may evolve, and keeping tagging system current ensures that your team can continue to search and organize assets effectively. Regular updates also help keep your assets aligned with current business or project goals.

By implementing these best practices, you can ensure your digital assets are seamlessly organized, easily searchable, and fully integrated with your internal workflows.

Level Up Your Asset Management with Prodify

With Prodify, you’ll never waste time locating the right asset. Search by status, tag, type, descriptions, or audience to instantly find what you’re looking for within a single, cloud-based repository.

Ready to supercharge your asset discovery with Prodify’s robust tagging? Join the waitlist for exclusive early access or check out our website to learn more.