Pro TrackDigital MarketingAdvanced Version française

Digital Marketing Manager: strategy, budget and team

An annual marketing plan with the numbers, the budget and the team behind it, one you can defend before a CEO

  • 40 h of training
  • 10 modules · 50 lessons
  • 119 exercises
  • 10 projects
  • Certificate included

What you will be able to do

  • Audit and diagnose a company's digital marketing performance
  • Develop a digital marketing strategy and objectives tied to revenue
  • Build and manage a marketing budget based on acquisition cost and customer lifetime value
  • Orchestrate a multichannel acquisition mix, a CRM and compliant automated follow-ups
  • Set up measurement, attribution and management reporting (GA4, Looker Studio)
  • Recruit and manage a marketing team, freelancers and agencies

What you will produce

  • A company's digital marketing audit, presented as three priorities
  • A strategy memo: targets, positioning and an objectives cascade
  • The customer journey map and the sales funnel with its numbers, including the value of its main leak
  • The annual marketing budget and its acquisition model
  • The quarterly acquisition plan by channel and the CRM pipeline with its follow-up sequences
  • The editorial guidelines, the quarterly production plan and the crisis protocol
  • The management dashboard in Looker Studio and the standard monthly report
  • The team structure and the annual marketing plan presented to senior management

Possible earnings

As an employee, a digital marketing manager in a structured SME or a group in Dakar or Abidjan typically earns 500,000 to 1,200,000 FCFA (about $830 to $2,000) gross per month, depending on company size and scope (team, budget managed). As an independent, an audit and marketing plan engagement is billed 500,000 to 1,500,000 FCFA (about $830 to $2,500), and a part-time (fractional) marketing manager role 250,000 to 600,000 FCFA (about $415 to $1,000) per month per company (rates and salaries observed in 2026; the level depends on experience, references and sector, with no guarantee).

Indicative estimate, depending on your market, pace and work. No income is guaranteed.

Tools used

  • Google Analytics 4
  • Looker Studio
  • Google Search Console
  • Google Business Profile
  • Meta Ads Manager
  • TikTok Ads Manager
  • Google Ads
  • HubSpot CRM or Brevo
  • WhatsApp Business
  • Google Sheets
  • Notion or Trello

What you'll learn

  • Carry out a company's digital marketing audit and turn it into three priorities approved by senior management
  • Write a strategy: priority targets, a positioning backed by proof, and objectives tied to revenue
  • Build an annual marketing budget justified by customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value and payback period
  • Decide the channel mix (search, AI assistants, content, advertising, CRM, partnerships) and plan a quarter
  • Set up end-to-end measurement (UTM, Google Analytics 4, CRM, tracked WhatsApp links) and a management dashboard
  • Recruit, organize and manage an in-house team, freelancers and agencies
  • Present and defend an annual marketing plan before a CEO and a CFO

Prerequisites

  • Level 4, "Freelance community manager", recommended, or at least two years of experience in marketing, communications or sales
  • A working command of the basics: Google Business Profile, WhatsApp Business, social media and a first ad campaign (levels 1 to 3 of the track or equivalent)
  • Access to the numbers of a real company, or willingness to work on the fictional case provided
  • Comfort with Google Sheets: simple formulas and pivot tables

About this course

A community manager keeps accounts alive. A digital marketing manager is accountable for a number: how many customers marketing brought in this quarter, at what cost, and what needs to change for the next one. This is the role that growing SMEs, school groups, clinics, banks and distributors in Dakar and Abidjan are trying to fill, often without finding the right profile. This course takes you from execution to leadership. You audit a company's digital presence and its numbers. You write a strategy: target customers, positioning, and objectives tied to revenue. You map the customer journey and the sales funnel. You build a budget and the acquisition model that justifies it. You make the trade-offs between search, visibility in AI assistants, content, advertising, CRM and partnerships. You set up measurement and the management dashboard. You recruit and lead a team, freelancers and agencies. Everything leads to one deliverable: the annual marketing plan, presented and defended before senior management. Ten modules, 40 lessons, graded exercises after every lesson, a quiz and a PDF handout for each module, and one graded project per module: audit, strategy memo, funnel with the numbers, budget, acquisition plan, CRM pipeline, editorial guidelines and crisis protocol, dashboard, team structure, and the annual plan as the final project. The examples follow fictional companies in Dakar, Thiès, Abidjan and Bamako, with their figures in FCFA. You leave with a complete digital marketing manager portfolio that you can present in a job interview or to a client, and a method you can apply again in any company. **Place in the Digital marketing and social media track**: level 5, the last one. It follows level 4, "Freelance community manager", which teaches the hands-on work, and adds what makes a manager: strategy, budget, measurement and team leadership.

Who it is for: Experienced community managers, marketing officers, communications managers, freelancers and SME owners in Dakar, Thiès, Abidjan, Bamako or Cotonou who want to take charge of a company's digital marketing: set the strategy, manage a budget, lead a team and outside providers, and report to senior management.

Curriculum

A module-by-module path: lessons, exercises, quizzes and projects to submit.

  1. Module 1· 12 exercises

    The digital marketing manager's role and the initial audit

    Understand what senior management expects from the role, audit a company's digital presence and numbers, and present three priorities.

    • What a digital marketing manager is expected to deliver in 2026: revenue, not likesFree preview18 min
    • Auditing the digital presence: website, Google profile, social media, WhatsApp, reviews and adsFree preview22 min
    • Auditing the numbers: where customers come from, what they cost, where they drop offFree preview20 min
    • Presenting the audit to management: three findings, three priorities, one decisionFree preview18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)Free preview5 min
    • Quiz: role and auditModule quiz
    • A company's digital marketing auditProject to submit

  2. Module 2· 12 exercises

    Strategy: market, targets, positioning and objectives

    Write the strategy that guides every action: who the company serves first, why it is the better choice, and which numbers to reach.

    • Reading your market: competitors, prices, search demand and local seasonality20 min
    • Segmenting and choosing priority targets, from consumers in Dakar to key accounts in Abidjan20 min
    • Positioning and value proposition: what makes you the better choice, with proof18 min
    • Objectives tied to revenue: from the sales target to the number of leads needed20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: strategy and objectivesModule quiz
    • The strategy memo: targets, positioning and objectivesProject to submit

  3. Module 3· 12 exercises

    Customer journey and sales funnel

    Map the real path customers take, put numbers on every stage of the funnel and find the leak that costs the most.

    • Mapping the real journey: discovery, research, contact, purchase, repeat purchase, referral18 min
    • The funnel in numbers: stage-to-stage conversion rates and the costliest leak20 min
    • Content and channels by stage: what builds awareness, what reassures, what drives the purchase18 min
    • Retention and referral: the part of the funnel SMEs forget18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: customer journey and funnelModule quiz
    • The customer journey and the sales funnel in numbersProject to submit

  4. Module 4· 12 exercises

    Marketing budget and acquisition economics

    Set a budget you can defend, justify it with acquisition cost and customer lifetime value, allocate it and track it every month.

    • Setting the budget: share of revenue, target to reach, cash capacity18 min
    • Acquisition cost, customer lifetime value and payback period: the three ratios management wants22 min
    • Allocating the budget across channels: core, tests and reserve18 min
    • Tracking spend every month: committed, paid, variance and trade-offs18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: budget and acquisition ratiosModule quiz
    • The annual marketing budget and its acquisition modelProject to submit

  5. Module 5· 12 exercises

    The acquisition mix: search, content, advertising and partnerships

    Assign each channel its role, from the slowest to the fastest, and build a quarterly acquisition plan consistent with the budget.

    • Organic and local search: the slow channel that lowers acquisition cost20 min
    • Getting cited by AI assistants: rankings, directories, reviews and reference pages18 min
    • Multichannel advertising: Meta, TikTok, Google Ads, LinkedIn, and the role of each22 min
    • Email, WhatsApp, partnerships, referral partners and events: the low-cost channels18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: acquisition mixModule quiz
    • The quarterly acquisition plan by channelProject to submit

  6. Module 6· 12 exercises

    Conversion, CRM and automated follow-ups

    Make sure no inquiry goes cold: pages that convert, a well-kept CRM, follow-up sequences and respect for personal data.

    • The page that converts: message, proof, form, WhatsApp and mobile speed20 min
    • Choosing and setting up a CRM: pipeline, stages, sources and owners20 min
    • Automated WhatsApp and email follow-up sequences, without spam18 min
    • Personal data and consent: what Law 2008-12 and the CDP require of marketing18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: conversion and CRMModule quiz
    • The CRM pipeline and follow-up sequencesProject to submit

  7. Module 7· 11 exercises

    Brand, content production and reputation

    Give the brand a single voice, produce at scale with the team, creators and AI tools, and protect its reputation.

    • The brand platform and editorial guidelines the whole team follows18 min
    • Producing at scale: quarterly calendar, smartphone studio, AI tools and review20 min
    • Working with local creators and influencers: selection, contract, measurement18 min
    • Reputation and crisis: negative reviews, controversy, a 24-hour response protocol18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: brand, content and reputationModule quiz
    • Editorial guidelines, production plan and crisis protocolProject to submit

  8. Module 8· 12 exercises

    Measurement, attribution and reporting to management

    Know where every customer comes from, present ten numbers on one page and run a marketing committee that produces decisions.

    • The measurement plan: UTM, Google Analytics 4, CRM sources, tracked WhatsApp links22 min
    • Simple, honest attribution: first touch, last touch and asking the customer18 min
    • The management dashboard in Looker Studio: ten numbers, one page20 min
    • The monthly marketing committee: report, decisions and action follow-up18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: measurement and reportingModule quiz
    • The measurement plan and the management dashboardProject to submit

  9. Module 9· 12 exercises

    Building and leading the marketing team

    Organize roles according to company size, recruit, choose and manage agencies and freelancers, and develop the team.

    • The roles to cover and how to organize by size: one person, three, ten18 min
    • Recruiting: job description, practical test and salary benchmarks in Dakar and Abidjan20 min
    • Choosing, briefing and managing an agency or freelancers: brief, quote, service commitments20 min
    • Team rituals, individual objectives and skills development18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: team and providersModule quiz
    • The marketing team structure and the agency briefProject to submit

  10. Module 10· 12 exercises

    The annual marketing plan and defending it before management

    Assemble the annual plan, align it with local commercial seasons, prepare scenarios and get it approved by senior management.

    • The structure of the annual plan: diagnosis, objectives, strategy, actions, budget, organization20 min
    • The annual calendar: back to school, Korité, Tabaski, Magal, year-end holidays and your sector's seasons18 min
    • Scenarios and risks: conservative, target and ambitious plans18 min
    • Presenting and defending the plan: ten slides and the objections of the CEO and the CFO20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: annual planModule quiz
    • Final project: the annual marketing plan defended before managementCapstone

  11. Certificate included

Your certificate at the end

A numbered certificate with your validated skills, a public page and a verification QR code. Add it to LinkedIn in one click.

Kolonell Academy
Verified by Kolonell Academy

Certificate of skills

Your name

has completed and validated the course

Digital Marketing Manager: strategy, budget and team

Certified skills

  • Audit and diagnose a company's digital marketing performance
  • Develop a digital marketing strategy and objectives tied to revenue
  • Build and manage a marketing budget based on acquisition cost and customer lifetime value
  • Orchestrate a multichannel acquisition mix, a CRM and compliant automated follow-ups
  • Set up measurement, attribution and management reporting (GA4, Looker Studio)
  • Recruit and manage a marketing team, freelancers and agencies

Number KOL-CERT-2026-XXXXX

Mohamed Bah

Founder, Kolonell Academy

Poster for Digital Marketing Manager: strategy, budget and team

Course poster

Download the poster to print it, send it to your employer or share it with colleagues. The full programme details every module.

Download PNGDownload PDFFull programme (PDF)

This course is part of the track

Marketing digital et réseaux sociaux

Level 5 of 5 · Pro Track

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See the 5 track levels

The top of the track

This level completes the track. To take all 5 levels, the full track costs 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000 FCFA.

Ask for the full track

Your instructor

Mohamed Bah

Founder of Kolonell, a digital agency in Dakar. He designs websites, business applications and customer acquisition systems for SMEs in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Dubai, and helps leadership teams manage their marketing budgets.

Questions about this course

How is this different from level 4, "Freelance community manager"?

Level 4 teaches you to produce and engage: content, posts, community, campaigns, monthly report. This level 5 teaches you to make decisions and be accountable for a result: audit, strategy, budget, channel choices, CRM, measurement, team and annual plan. You produce little content here and a lot of decisions backed by numbers.

Do I need to work on a real company?

It is recommended: your ten projects then become a real portfolio, useful in a job interview or on an engagement. If you do not have access to a company's numbers, a complete case is provided (a fictional school group with three campuses in Dakar and Thiès, with its figures), and your projects are assessed against the same rubric.

How much time should I plan for?

About 40 hours: a little over 13 hours of lessons, the exercises after each lesson and ten projects (one and a half to two hours each, six hours for the annual plan). At four hours a week, allow ten weeks.

Does the course cover artificial intelligence?

Yes, where it changes the job: visibility in the answers of assistants such as ChatGPT or Perplexity (module 5) and content production at scale (module 7), with the review and confidentiality rules a company must apply.

Is there a certificate?

Yes. Once you have completed the lessons and passed the ten quizzes, you receive a numbered Kolonell Academy certificate, with a public verification page and the list of certified skills, to add to your LinkedIn profile. The "Capstone project validated" mention is added once your annual marketing plan has been reviewed and approved.

How do I pay? Is the full track cheaper?

You pay with Wave or Orange Money on a pro forma invoice; access is activated within 24 hours of receiving payment, for life, updates included, and module 1 is free to view. The full five-level track costs 350,000 FCFA (about $583) instead of 450,000 FCFA (about $750), and a course you have already bought is deducted if you upgrade.

How do I pay?

Via Wave or Orange Money. After enrolling you receive a pro forma invoice by email with the number to pay. Send the proof on WhatsApp: your access is activated within 24 business hours.

How long do I keep access?

For life, updates included. Learn at your own pace and revisit lessons as often as you need.

How do I get the certificate?

Complete the lessons and pass each module quiz with at least 70%. The certificate is generated automatically, with a unique number and a public verification page.

Our commitments

  • Lifetime access, updates included
  • Publicly verifiable certificate
  • Wave / Orange Money payment, activation within 24 business hours
  • WhatsApp support

200,000 FCFA · 305 €

Pro Track