Learn and master Clay with Clay university

Before you start syncing audiences from Clay to your advertising platforms, you need to make sure you have the right access, permissions, and strategy in place. Let’s dive in.

✅ Prerequisites, Permissions, and Access Control

Before setting up Clay Ads, make sure you have:

1. An active Clay workspace (Enterprise plan recommended for full access)
2. Admin access to at least one ad platform (LinkedIn, Meta, or Google Ads)
3. A table in Clay with contact data ready to sync

Who Needs Access?

In Clay:

• RevOps or Marketing Ops: Needs admin access to set up integrations
• Marketers: Needs table access to create audiences

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In Your Ad Platforms:

• Someone with admin or account manager permissions must connect the integration
• Campaign managers need access to use the synced audiences

🔌 Platform Setup Overview

Each advertising platform requires a one-time authentication and configuration. You'll connect Clay to your ad accounts so it can create and sync audiences on your behalf.

Below is a quick overview on platform setup. If you’re ready to start on platform specific instructions, head to the next lessons

Setup time per platform:

• LinkedIn: 5-10 minutes
• Meta: 5-10 minutes
• Google: 5 minutes (CSV workflow)

💡 Best Practices for Setup

1. Start with One Platform

Don't try to connect all platforms at once. Start with your primary ad platform (usually LinkedIn for B2B) and validate the workflow before expanding.

2. Test with a Small Audience First

Create a test audience of 500-1,000 contacts before syncing your full database. This lets you:

• Verify the connection works
• Check match rate expectations
• Troubleshoot any issues without affecting large campaigns

3. Set Up Exclusion Lists Early

One of your first audiences should be a customer exclusion list. Sync your current customers so you can exclude them from prospecting campaigns immediately.

4. Document Your Ad Account Structure

Keep track of:

• Which Clay tables sync to which ad accounts
• Naming conventions for audiences
• Update frequency (real-time vs. scheduled)

5. Coordinate with Your Team

Make sure your paid media team knows:

• Which audiences are coming from Clay
• How to use them in campaigns
• Who to contact for updates or changes

🚀 What's Next

The next lessons will walk you through setting up each platform step-by-step.