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Autumn.2013Final_layout 8/1/13 12:48 PM Page 22 Insights News about faculty and their research. Social media pays off for businesses, study shows Customers who connect with a business through social media will go to the busiBezawada ness more frequently and contribute more to its bottom line, according to a new study from the School of Management. The study, published in Information Systems Research, found that customers who participate in a firm's social media visit the business about 5 percent more frequently than those who don't. And those socially savvy customers mean more money for the company, says the study's co-author, Ram Bezawada, associate professor of marketing. "There have been doubts about the effectiveness of social media for business because the link between a firm's efforts and the return on investment hasn't been estab22 Buffalo Business Autumn 2013 lished," explains Bezawada. "Our results show that when customers engage with a business through social media they contribute about 5.6 percent more to the firm's bottom line than customers who do not." The study used data related to individual customers' participation on a Facebook page and combined it with their actual purchases at a large specialty firm in the northeast United States. Bezawada says there are a number of ways businesses should engage customers to achieve the best results. "Social media activities help strengthen the bond between the customer and the firm—and boost financial performance," says Bezawada. "When building communities, businesses should craft personalized messages, encourage member contributions, integrate knowledge about customers from both online and offline interactions, and create specialized subcommunities for customers looking for premium and unique products." Bezawada collaborated on the study with Ashish Kumar, assistant professor in the department of marketing at Aalto University School of Business; and Rishika Rishika, assistant professor of marketing, and Ramkumar Janakiraman, assistant professor of marketing and Mays Teaching Fellow at Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. Arun Jain, Samuel P. Capen Professor of Marketing Research in the School of Management, and the school's Research Group in Integrated Marketing also contributed to the study. x Newman Newman honored for article Jerry Newman, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus in the Organization and Human Resources Department, was honored with an Author of the Year award from WorldatWork, a global nonprofit human resources association for professionals and organizations focused on compensation, benefits, work-life effectiveness and total rewards. Newman was recognized for a cover story in workspan, the monthly magazine for WorldatWork members. The article, "Employment Branding at McDonald's: Leveraging Rewards for Positive Outcomes," outlined several worldwide initiatives McDonald's launched to improve its employment brand. Sharing the award are Newman's co-authors, McDonald's executives Richard Floersch, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, and Mike Balaka,