A friend asked me recently what I mean when I talk about “architecting sustainable communications infrastructure.”
I mentioned it in the context of trying to impress her with something I’m really good at. She asked because she literally had no idea what I was talking about.
I gave a long, babbling response — a good reminder that words don’t always translate from industry to industry and that if I say I’m good at something, I should be able to explain it in plain language.
To me, sustainable communications infrastructure is like that old adage you hear about keeping a home organized: a place for everything and everything in its place.
Good communications infrastructure does the same thing.
You match the right messaging with the right tools—all the while aligning with big-picture strategy—a newsletter, social media, a press release, an internal update. You have channels and structures, reinforced by templates and established processes, at the ready. When there’s something to communicate, it already has a place to go.
It also means not reinventing the wheel every time. Key phrases are ready. Templates and guardrails are in place so the strategy and brand carry through everything you do. All the work that happens behind the scenes and empowers your team and indeed your entire organization to engage with strategy and messaging, all on the same page.
I’m glad she asked. In many (most) professional settings people would smile politely and let that phrase pass by—still having no idea what you mean.
But when communications infrastructure is in place, the result is simple: the right message has the right place to go. Every time.
