Leeds University Union: A refreshed digital strategy
Leeds University Union (LUU) relies entirely on self-generated revenue to maintain its service, and also prides itself on a progressive approach in its work. LUU wanted to ensure this approach was reflected in its digital channels and came to us at Sigma for guidance on how to achieve this.
Duration: 6 months
2 minute read
The union wanted to improve customer experiences for its student members, whilst driving more participation and ultimately, more revenue for the organisation. The LUU team recognised the importance of events and hired spaces within the union as revenue streams, but wanted to improve the infrastructure that underpinned them.
Objectives
To drive an increased income, the union needed to enhance and coordinate its digital content to better appeal to the wide student body and to increase engagement. In support of this, the union also streamlined its approach to administrative procedures, migrating existing processes to a user-friendly digital platform.
The key objectives for the project were to:
Build a new, fully responsive and accessible website which delivers a refreshed design and optimised content to increase student engagement.
Digitise and simplify administrative processes to ensure greater efficiency
Increase revenue
Sigma really helped us to move our digital strategy forward. They focused on elements of our website redevelopment that would have the most impact, and made usability and accessibility crucial aspects of our digital service
Sarah Mace, Head of Digital and Content at LUU
What we did
We carried out a full audit of Leeds University Union’s digital platforms and their uses. This was completed through a series of workshops with key stakeholders, in which we mapped out their objectives and impacts, and the barriers to achieving those objectives. We were then able to recommend and implement a digital strategy to elevate the union’s digital presence.
We have delivered:
A refreshed, professional new site, in a fully responsive framework for cross-device optimisation, and adherence to the WCAG AA standard for accessibility
Enhanced content pages for clubs and societies, with sophisticated filtering and search capabilities
Core content management and publishing functionality in the Umbraco CMS
Rich media compatibility for increased usage of video content
Clearly defined user journeys and an intuitive information architecture
Migration of content and assets from the old site to the new, with robust validation of the results
A far more personalised experience for Leeds University Union’s members
What we achieved
The project has created a fresher look and feel for the website and a noticeable uplift in participation from clubs and societies. Internal staff are now also able to publish and manage content directly, which has enabled teams to run campaigns faster and more efficiently across the organisation.
