Reuse rate is the one number worth tracking in a media library. It is the share of your assets that went into at least one published post in the last 90 days. If it is low, your team is hunting for files, ignoring the library, or redesigning from scratch.
TLDR: Reuse rate = assets used in a published post in the last 90 days, divided by total assets. Work it out per brand and per folder, sort from lowest to highest, then archive, refresh or retag the bottom 20%. Repeat every quarter. It takes about an hour for one brand.
Why reuse rate beats views, downloads and file counts
Total file count only ever goes up, so it tells you nothing. Downloads show interest, not use. Engagement belongs to the post, not to the asset, and one great caption can carry a weak photo.
Reuse rate asks a plainer question: did anyone choose this file when they had a post to publish? An asset nobody chooses is a cost. It slows down search, hides the good files and gives new team members the wrong idea of what "on brand" looks like.
Work it out in four steps
- Export or count your assets for one brand: the total number of images and videos in the library.
- List the assets used in posts published in the last 90 days. Your scheduler's published posts or the calendar view gives you the file names.
- Divide used by total. 120 used out of 400 is a reuse rate of 30%.
- Repeat per folder (product shots, team photos, campaign 2025, templates) so you can see where the dead weight sits.
Do it per brand, never across all clients at once. A client who posts twice a week should not be compared with one who posts daily.
Read the number by folder, not as one score
There is no universal good rate, and we have no benchmark to quote you. Compare each folder with your own other folders and with last quarter.
| What you see | What it usually means | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Folder at 0% | Outdated, or nobody knows it exists | Archive or retag |
| Few assets carry all the use | Library is too big, or the rest is weak | Cut the tail, shoot more of the winners |
| High rate, same 10 files | Audience will see repeats | Refresh with new variants |
| Low rate in a new folder | Naming or tags are not searchable | Rename and add tags |
The bottom 20% decision
Sort every folder from lowest reuse to highest. Look at the bottom fifth and make one of three calls for each file:
- Archive it if it is old, off brand or a duplicate.
- Refresh it if the idea is right but the file is dated: new crop, new colors, new text overlay.
- Retag it if it is good but nobody can find it.
Archive, do not delete. Move the file out of the main view and delete it only after another quarter with no request for it.
Two traps that skew the number
- New assets look unused. A folder added last month has had little time to be picked. Leave anything younger than 30 days out of the count.
- Seasonal assets look dead. A holiday pack will sit at 0% for nine months. Tag it as seasonal and judge it against the same season last year, not against this quarter.
Count honestly and the number stays useful. Round it up to look good and you will archive nothing.
Make the audit part of the routine
In Mydrop's brand management, every brand has its own media library, so the count per brand is a quick check instead of a spreadsheet job. If your files live in Google Drive or Canva, import only the ones you will use, and let the rest stay where they are. The audit then stays short because the library only holds files you chose.
For the visual side of the same job, pair this with a brand consistency audit of your library. Reuse rate tells you what is unused. The consistency audit tells you what is wrong.
Your first audit this week
Pick your busiest client. Count the assets, list the ones used in the last 90 days, divide, and archive the bottom folder. Write the rate in a note with the date. In a quarter you will have a trend, and a library your team actually uses. Start a free workspace at app.mydropai.com/register if you want every brand's library in one place.
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