Streamlining Your Brand Team's Workflow: Our Guide to Online Proofing Software

Marketing and brand management teams understand the importance of being streamlined, efficient and effective. With increased demand for more content, often with shorter turnaround times, the challenges of many iterations, communication breakdowns and feedback loops can take a toll on a brand team’s productivity – but not anymore. The efficiency and effectiveness of many aspects of marketing and brand management can be improved with a new wave of technology such as online proofing software.

Understanding the Challenges of Traditional Proofing 

Before we spell out the benefits of online proofing software, it is essential for us to identify and discuss the predicaments that the traditional methods of proofing had presented. The usual proofing process is part and parcel of many organizations and entails:

• A cumbersome process of printing the proof. 
• Distributing hard copies. 
• Collecting feedback through various channels. 

This chews up time, and also adds the risk of version-control problems, miscommunications and delays.

Online proofing tools filled the gaps of the traditional print-based process, because they attract and keep brand teams in the collaboration ring. They create a central ‘hub’ to review and approve all types of content that can be part of a marketing project: images, videos, documents and pretty much any design.

Here's how the right online proofing technology can transform your brand team's workflow…

Improved Collaboration 

The ability to improve collaboration is perhaps the biggest advantage of online proofing software. As long as they’re connected to the internet, team members can work together to review proofs and provide feedback on the same central platform. This can greatly reduce the amount of time spent reviewing as well as improves how team members work together.

Version Control and Audit Trails 

Traditional types of proofing workflows often present a problem of version control. With online proofing tools, every version of a proof is crystal clear and team members are automatically working on the latest version. Additionally, an audit trail is clearly provided to ensure accountability and serve as reference.

Streamlined Feedback 

It’s now goodbye to handwritten comments on printed proofs, and long email threads – online proofing allows users to quickly provide comments and annotations in a structured way, to a specific area of a proof, and with threaded discussions, leading to clear, actionable feedback.

Time-Efficient Approval Processes 

It’s time for branding and marketing. Online proofing software makes it happen faster because it automates workflows, sends notifications, and tracks the status of projects or campaigns. This means that proofs progress more quickly through the review and approvals process and, ultimately, that marketing projects can get to market more quickly.

Key Features of Online Proofing Software 

For those who have invested in online proofing, here are some of its main features. Once all these are in place, it should make working in a brand team easier:

Annotation Tools 

The online proofing process provides you with many advanced annotation features, such as font, colour, size and shape, and allows you to highlight a certain area, add comments or point out some detail, which all helps to provide effective feedback.

Collaboration in Real-Time 

This real-time collaboration feature of online proofing software is a boon for brand teams. Whether they are located in the same office, or in different locations across the globe, online proofing software helps brand teams collaborate in real-time, enabling a faster turnaround time.

Customizable Workflows 

No two brand teams work in exactly the same way, so online proofing tools need to be flexible. Many will allow you to customise the workflow to fit your organization’s unique structure and approval chain, and make sure the software smoothly integrates with the way you already work, not the other way around.

Integrations with Existing Tools 

Some of these online proofing tools can plug into other project management, design and communication tools you’re already using to minimise any interruption to your workflow. This can enhance the tool’s interoperability with your software toolset. For instance, with Aproove, you can link your instance of Adobe Workfront directly to our Online Proofing capabilities.

Aproove uses its recently launched middleware platform, Aproove Concoord, to enable this integration. This capability enhances the overall efficiency of your workflow by eliminating the need to switch between multiple platforms. Therefore, teams can work within their preferred tools while still leveraging the power of Aproove for efficient proofing and approval processes.  

Selecting the Right Online Proofing Software 

If you’re considering how to apply proofing technology to your brand team, more choices are on the market every day. Here are some tips to ensure you choose the right one for you:

Ease of Use  

Whatever tool you choose, it should be user-friendly and require minimum training. Ideally, it should be designed to enhance efficiency and not add another layer of complexity to the workflow.

Scalability 

Whether your brand team is large and mature or small and growing, the online proofing software you choose should be able to scale to handle more collaboration, more content and more complexity over time.

Security and Compliance 

With such sensitive branding assets, security is paramount. Ensure your online proofing software complies with industry standards and is fully compliant with the privacy and data protection regulations.

User Feedback and Reviews 

Read what other brand teams experienced with the software by researching user feedback and reviews. Find testimonials that speak to companies in your industry, bucketed by challenge.

Cost and ROI 

Assess the price of the software versus the anticipated ROI. You’ll want to factor in short-term gains, such as the time you’ll save on proofing processes, as well as long-term efficiencies, for instance, creating more consistency in your brand and engaging the client or customer more effectively.

Overcoming Resistance to Change 

Although online proofing comes with many benefits, the changes often cause employees to resist using the new system. The following steps can be used to overcome resistance to change while also making the transition much smoother:

Comprehensive Training 

Make sure team members receive extensive training about the software so as to give them as much exposure as possible to the software prior to launch. Make a list of the benefits of the software and share it with team members to ensure they understand the advantages. The above writing instruction asks the agent to paraphrase the input into human-sounding text while retaining the original citations and quotes.

Communicate Benefits 

Tell every single stakeholder about the benefits of online proofing software. Share how it will be more collaborative, less error-prone and accelerate approvals.

Address Concerns Proactively 

Be prepared to answer questions about why you’re using certain data or what will happen to the data after it’s been collected. Transparency can disarm fears of privacy violations, integrating systems that don’t work together well, or ‘big brother’ interference in people’s lives.

Future Trends in Online Proofing 

With technological developments becoming the norm, we can expect online proofing to experience similar improvements over time. Here are some trends that brand teams should monitor:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Integration 

Intelligent assistants integrated into online proofing tools could help automate tasks such as file management, metadata tagging and annotation suggestions, allowing for more efficient workflows and reduced manual effort.

Enhanced Collaboration Features 

Future online proofing tools will invariably offer ‘seamless collaboration features’ so team members can contribute in real time to the virtual space, and engage in meaningful dialogue. Dynamic brainstorming ahead!

When time is of the essence, and it always is in the world of branding, online proofing software can transform the collaborative process by enabling the ability to work across geographic locations in real time. By facilitating team collaboration and communication, at every step, and streamlining workflows, such a tool helps brand teams overcome the age-old challenges of the old ways of working.

The key to success is not just in adopting online proofing software, but in thoughtfully adopting and configuring tools that meet the needs of your team so they can collaborate with confidence and ease.