Smartly.io is an AI-powered advertising platform that helps businesses create, launch, manage, optimize, and analyze digital advertising campaigns across multiple channels.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Open Smartly.io
Go to the official Smartly website and access the platform through the appropriate account/demo or invitation process.
What to do:
- Open Google Chrome.
- Visit Smartly.io.
- If your organization already uses Smartly, look for your invitation email.
- If you don’t have an account, use Smartly’s Get a Demo process to start access.
Step 2: Accept Your Smartly Invitation
For a normal Smartly account setup, you will receive an invitation email.
What to do:
- Open your email inbox.
- Find the Smartly invitation.
- Click Accept Invite or the signup link.
- Smartly will take you to the account setup page.
Smartly’s official documentation says first-time users should use the invitation link supplied by email.
Step 3: Create Your Account
You can complete account setup using email/password or SSO, depending on what your organization has configured. Smartly Knowledge Base
Email & Password
- Open the invitation link.
- Enter/create your password.
- Click Continue.
- Review the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
- Click Agree and Proceed.
- Complete the initial survey if shown.
- Submit the information.
Your Smartly account will then be created and you can access the Smartly app.
Step 4: Log In to Smartly.io
After your account has been created, you can log in again using your credentials.
Login process:
- Open Chrome.
- Go to app.smartly.io.
- Enter your email address.
- Enter your password.
- Click Sign in.
- Complete MFA if it is enabled.
Smartly also provides a direct login address at login.smartly.io. Smartly Knowledge Base
Step 5: Explore the Smartly Dashboard
Once logged in, you’ll reach the Smartly application.
Smartly’s current navigation organizes functionality around areas such as Media, Intelligence, and Creative. Smartly
Main areas to understand
- Media — Campaign management and optimization
- Creative — Ad creative creation and management
- Intelligence — Reporting, analytics, and insights
- Account/settings — Account and platform configuration
- Support — Help and knowledge resources
Smartly describes its platform as combining creative, media, and intelligence capabilities. Smartly
Step 6: Connect Your Advertising Account
Before launching campaigns, connect the advertising platform you want to manage through Smartly.
Smartly currently provides integrations for platforms such as:
- Meta
- Google Ads
- TikTok
- Snapchat
- Spotify
- Amazon DSP
- Google DV360
- The Trade Desk
- Yahoo DSP Smartly Knowledge Base
Example: connecting an ad account
- Open the relevant account/channel section.
- Select the advertising platform.
- Start the account connection process.
- Sign in to the advertising platform when prompted.
- Grant the required permissions.
- Complete the connection.
Smartly states that the relevant advertising-account administrator needs sufficient permissions because Smartly may need to create, preview, publish, and analyze ads.
Step 7: Create or Upload Your Ad Creative
Smartly can be used to create, personalize, adapt, and scale advertising creatives.
Depending on your Smartly setup, you can work with:
- Image ads
- Video ads
- Creative templates
- Dynamic creative
- Product/catalog-based creatives
- AI-powered creative features
Smartly’s Creative suite is designed for producing and personalizing advertising creative at scale. Smartly Knowledge Base
Basic workflow
- Open Creative.
- Choose the appropriate creative workflow.
- Select a template or upload your assets.
- Add images, videos, text, or product information.
- Customize the creative.
- Preview the result.
- Save your creative.
Step 8: Create Your Advertising Campaign
After connecting an advertising account and preparing your creative, you can create your campaign.
For example, Smartly for Meta supports campaign objectives including:
- Awareness
- Traffic
- Engagement
- Leads
- App promotion
- Sales Smartly Knowledge Base
Basic campaign workflow
- Open Media.
- Select the appropriate advertising channel.
- Start a new campaign.
- Select your campaign objective.
- Configure the campaign settings.
- Choose your audience/targeting.
- Set your budget and schedule.
- Add your creatives.
- Review the campaign.
Step 9: Review, Launch & Optimize Your Campaign
Before publishing, carefully review your campaign.
Check:
- Campaign objective
- Audience
- Budget
- Schedule
- Creative
- Destination URL
- Ad account
- Tracking
- Ad previews
After the campaign is live, Smartly can help with campaign management and optimization. Its platform is designed to provide real-time performance information and optimization capabilities. Smartly
Important: Don’t publish an advertising campaign until you’ve verified the budget, targeting, creative, and destination.
Step 10: Monitor Results & Use Analytics
After launching your campaign, use Smartly’s Intelligence/reporting functionality to analyze performance.
You can monitor advertising metrics and use performance information to make campaign and creative decisions. Smartly describes Intelligence as its area for real-time campaign insights, reporting dashboards, and data visualization. Smartly Knowledge Base
Typical workflow
Launch → Monitor → Analyze → Optimize → Repeat
Look at metrics relevant to your campaign, such as:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- CTR
- CPC
- Conversions
- CPA
- ROAS
- Spend
- Creative performance
Quick 10-Step Summary
| Step | What You Do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open Smartly.io |
| 2 | Accept the Smartly invitation |
| 3 | Create your account |
| 4 | Log in |
| 5 | Explore the dashboard |
| 6 | Connect an advertising account |
| 7 | Create your ad creative |
| 8 | Create a campaign |
| 9 | Review and launch |
| 10 | Monitor analytics and optimize |