Linking Assets to Content

The two ways an asset attaches to a content piece — cover image and media list — how linked assets flow into publishing, and why m18t tracks every link.

What you'll learn

  • The two ways an asset attaches to a content piece: the cover image and the media list.
  • How linked assets flow into publishing and where else they get referenced.
  • Why m18t tracks every link, and what the usage count protects you from.

Why links are tracked, not just made

When you drop an image into a blog post in most tools, the relationship is invisible — the image "knows" nothing about the post. m18t records the link in the database both ways. The content piece knows which assets it uses; the asset knows which content uses it. That two-way bookkeeping is what powers the usage count and linkage bar you see in the Assets Manager, and it's what stops you from deleting an image that's still live on three pages.

An asset can attach to a content piece through two distinct roles:

  1. Cover. The single hero image for the piece — a direct reference on the content record (cover_asset_id). This is the image that represents the piece in lists, in the calendar, and as the fallback social/OG image when you publish.
  2. Media. A list of additional assets attached to the piece. This is how you build a carousel for Instagram, or attach the inline images a CMS push needs.

Both links live on the content side and both feed the publisher.

How to link an asset to content

  1. Open a content piece in the content editor (/studio/content/[id]).
  2. Use the Media tab. Set the cover image and add any additional media assets there. The picker draws from the current brand's assets, so you're never offered another brand's files.
  3. Save. The link is now recorded on both records — the content piece and each asset.

Back in the Assets Manager, that asset's Linkage column now shows a usage chip and its status-progress bar reflects where it's used. The asset's detail panel shows a "Usage Linkage" block with the count and clickable chips that jump to the content using it.

How linked assets flow into publishing

Once an asset is attached, the publisher and CMS push use it automatically:

  • Facebook & Instagram. A single cover publishes as one image; multiple media assets publish as a carousel (Instagram supports 2–10 items). The cover doubles as the link-back preview image where the platform uses one.
  • Your CMS (Strapi). Media referenced in the body and the cover are part of what gets pushed when you sync to your headless CMS.

You attach the asset once in the editor; the publish targets read from that same link rather than asking you to re-upload per channel.

Where else assets get referenced

The same asset record can be linked beyond content:

  • Brand identity. Logos and palette images set on a brand reference assets from your bucket; those show a "Brand identity" usage chip.
  • Whiteboards. An asset placed on a whiteboard counts toward its usage, shown as a whiteboard chip.
  • Graphics Generator. Images produced in a Graphics Generator session land as assets in the graphics namespace and can then be linked to content like any other file. That's the bridge from generation to publishing: generate, promote, link, publish.
  • Artifacts. Assets can attach to artifacts (rich-text docs), so a strategy doc can carry its reference images.

Variations

  • Reusing one asset across pieces. Nothing stops one asset being the cover for several pieces; the usage count just goes up. That's expected for things like a brand banner.
  • Unlinking before delete. Because deletion requires zero links, removing an asset from a piece's Media tab is the step that frees it for deletion (after deprecating it). The Assets Manager linkage filter (Advanced Filters → Linkage → Unlinked only) finds safe-to-remove files.

FAQ

What's the difference between a cover and a media asset? The cover is the single hero/OG image for the piece. Media is the additional list — carousel slides, inline images. Both attach in the content editor's Media tab.

Do I need to upload an image separately for Facebook and for my CMS? No. You attach the asset once to the content piece; the social publisher and the CMS push both read from that link.

Why does an asset say it's linked when I want to delete it? Because removing it would break the content referencing it. m18t blocks deletion of linked assets. Open the piece, remove the asset from its Media tab (or change the cover), then deprecate and delete.

Can a generated image become a content cover? Yes. Promote it from the Graphics Generator into your asset library, then pick it as a cover or media asset in the content editor's Media tab like any uploaded file.

Does linking an asset to a whiteboard count as usage? Yes. Whiteboard placement is tracked and shows as a usage chip, so you'll know a "loose" image is actually pinned to a board.

What's next

Was this article helpful?