Are you looking to improve review and approval processes? Wondering what’s the best content approval software to use?
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FACT: Online proofing is, most likely, one of the most challenging and frustrating elements of a content production process. It’s when projects typically get stuck, getting feedback and approvals takes ages, and problems start to creep up.
But, often, the reason behind it all is just a lack of a good tool to manage it all.
So, with that in mind, we decided to show you what are the best content approval platforms available on the market today. Each of these tools can help you streamline and improve the content workflow, and really save you a lot of time.
Before we get to the list of tools, though, we should, probably, cover some basics.
What is a Content Approval Software?
Content approval software is a tool that helps creative teams manage feedback, review, and sign-off processes.
Approval tools typically focus on improving the final stage of the content development cycle – the approval from various project stakeholders. Content approval platforms allow to streamline requests for feedback and approvals. These tools also allow you to keep all information, including various project revisions in a single location for easy access and review.
Benefits of having a content approval platform
The main goal of an approval platform is simple – The tool helps accelerate content approvals and ensure that teams deliver projects on time.
But these aren’t the only benefits such tools will deliver to your organization.
- Using a content approval platform is guaranteed to increase the consistency of content. Since every asset goes through the same, rigorous approval process, it’s easier to retain the same quality across all projects.
- Such platforms provide greater transparency and due diligence in the approval process. Everyone involved knows what their responsibilities are, and when they should provide feedback.
- Because of that, content approval platforms can boost participation as well. Not only responding to review requests is easier, but these platforms often also make it fun.
- Finally, greater control over the approval process will mean fewer mistakes and less miscommunication between all stakeholders.
The result? Saved time and a significant drop in production costs.
What to Look for When Selecting a Content Approval Tool?
Content approval platforms come in many shapes and sizes. Some of these tools focus entirely on streamlining feedback and sign-offs. Others offer additional tools to also help you manage the content production process, and distribute assets to various destinations like social media channels and more.
So, here is a list of features and capabilities that such a platform should offer:
A centralized hub to store and manage project assets
A projects and folders structure that allows for better organization of the work
Multiple review steps for different teams
The ability to make comments and annotations directly on files, and a formal review decision submission process
An integrated activities list
Due dates and project planning
Automated approval processes, workflows, and the ability to set reminders for reviewers to ensure that everyone provides their feedback on time
Real-time updates and file versioning, and more.
With that in mind, let’s see which platforms are worth investigating further.
11 Best Content Approval Platforms
#1. CELUM (full disclaimer - this is our tool) - Robust content approval and production management software
The result? Saved time and a significant drop in production costs.
CELUM is a complete content production management and approval software. In fact, we created CELUM to help creative teams deliver amazing content faster. Because of that, CELUM includes features that help with streamlining content approvals but also, a whole range of tools that help with all other aspects of content production:
- Online proofing: CELUM allows organizations to provide feedback on any file type. Teams and various stakeholders can annotate any type of file, including video, share their comments, review different asset revisions, and more.
- Team collaboration: With CELUM, you can set advanced workflows and processes so that everyone involved knows what they need to do and when. As a result, the feature can help you ensure consistency and quality across all types of projects.
- Digital asset management ensures that you never lose a file or asset in a project.
- Project management: CELUM also includes a set of capabilities to manage projects, tasks, files, and content production in real-time. What’s more, CELUM gives you the ability to set up a content calendar, and schedule content on a powerful Kanban board.
Pricing: CELUM offers a free forever plan for up to 10 users, so your team can start implementing online proofing processes with it right away and at no cost. Larger teams can avail of paid plans starting at €14.90 per month.
Looking for content approval software?
Try CELUM – the most advanced online proofing and content production platform available.
#2. Go Visually
GoVisually is a content approval software aiming to replace outdated email-based processes with automation. The product focuses on features designers, video creators, and other creative and marketing teams need to improve feedback collection and file reviews.
GoVisually lets you upload files, collect feedback, let clients and other team members annotate drafts, and get final approvals.
Pricing: GoVisually offers two pricing plans. Solo at $25/mo, an ideal plan for freelancers who need a proofing solution to collaborate on files with clients. The Team plan, on the other hand, starts at $60/mo for 5 users, with the ability to add more seats at $12 each/mo.
#3. Filestage
Filestage.io is another content approval platform focusing on helping companies eliminate having to proof files by email. For that, Filestage offers a whole range of capabilities for commenting and offering feedback on files, managing assets, and getting projects approved.
Pricing: Filestage offers a free trial. Monthly plans start at €12 and the company splits packages based on the number of active projects, review steps, and storage size.
#4. Aproove
Aproove allows you to bring the entire content review and approval process into a single location. With the tool, you can collaborate with other stakeholders on projects, receive comments, exchange ideas, and even create personal to-do lists to keep everyone’s work running smoothly.
Pricing: The full suite of Aproove’s online proofing and task management capabilities costs $750/mo.
#5. ReviewStudio
ReviewStudio lets marketing teams, agencies, and creatives run the content approval process smoothly, from collecting feedback, collaborating on assets, to final project approvals.
What’s more, ReviewStudio offers many online proofing capabilities like file annotations, revision tracking, feedback management, and more.
Pricing: ReviewStudio offers four plans that differ by the number of users, storage space, and functionality. The smallest plan starts at $19/mo.
#6. WebProof
WebProof is a content approval tool primarily focusing on helping agencies with the approval and feedback processes. Because of that, WebProof includes many capabilities that improve client collaboration and allow agencies to collect client feedback.
Outside of the client focus, WebProof offers all the functionality you’d expect from a content approval platform – feedback collection, the ability to annotate various file formats, approval collection, and more.
Pricing: WebProof’s prices start at $9 per user per month. Higher plans offer more storage and a number of projects.
#7. Ziflow
Ziflow helps companies complete projects faster by streamlining project-related discussions, and facilitating better collaboration through file sharing, reviews, and workflows for faster approvals.
As a result, Ziflow offers all the standard capabilities in an online proofing tool – feedback collection, annotations, file organization, revision history, and more.
Pricing: Ziflow pricing plans start at $10 per user per month. Higher plans allow more users to access and collaborate on the platform.
#8. Admation
Admation is another content approval tool focusing primarily on agencies and creative teams. The platform offers a complete solution to help agencies manage projects from start to finish.
With Admation, agencies can utilize their resources better, manage project assets more effectively, and naturally, collect feedback and approvals, also from clients.
Pricing: Admation doesn’t reveal their pricing on the site. However, the company indicates that they have separate plans for small teams, larger agencies, and enterprise-level clients.
#9. Screendragon
Screendragon specializes in helping large companies and agencies improve the way they work. As a result, the platform offers far more than an average content approval tool. Having said that, part of the company’s offering focuses on delivering capabilities to improve workflows and digital approvals. With Screendragon, you can capture all data, feedback, and decisions for later review, collect documents, store assets, and compare their various revisions to complete projects faster.
Pricing: Screendragon does not make its pricing publicly available. The company admits on the site that their pricing includes a per user per month cost and a once-off initial set-up and training fee.
#10. LookAt
LookAt is a collaboration platform that focuses on streamlining review and approval processes. From the ability to leave time-stamped annotations, collaborating on assets, to integrations with other popular design tools, LookAt lets companies take control of their creative processes.
The tool offers a separate edition for enterprise-level businesses, giving them access to unlimited teams and storage, and other features catering to the needs of large businesses.
Pricing: Standard edition plans start at $12 per month. Enterprise pricing is available on request.
#11. Gain
Finally, Gain focuses on marketing and social media approval processes. As a result, the tool automates the process of getting feedback and signoffs on those types of projects specifically.
Gain supports all file and content formats that creative and social media teams would use frequently and integrates with other packages these tools would use to create assets.
Pricing: Gain offers one price plan only at $99/mo that includes unlimited access to all its features.
And there you have it…
Eleven absolutely amazing content approval tools to try in 2022.
Good luck.
THE BEST CONTENT APPROVAL TOOLS
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