The concept of community management has become a significant corporate communications practice. However, users have recently been withdrawing from traditional social media and begun using closed media channels. Closed media channels are communication arenas with restricted access or barriers to entry. 

The new issue of our publication series Communication Insights explains how companies are using closed media channels for external communications. 

By analyzing 27 closed media channels by Germany’s Top 50 most valuable brands and conducting eight expert interviews Lennart Rettler and Prof. Ulrike Röttger (University of Münster) gained insights into how channels with barriers to entry could be considered a real opportunity for corporate communications departments.

Citation: Rettler, L., Röttger, U., & Viertmann, C. (2023). Being close(d). How community management on closed media channels contributes to social capital (Communication Insights, Issue 18). Leipzig: Academic Society for Management & Communication. Available online at www.academic-society.net

ISSN 2749-893X