​Facebook marketing has become standard for the majority of businesses, but many companies still don't use all of the site's features.

Facebook has gone through several stages of operation since its inception, and 2012 brought new marketing innovations from the network. In June 2012, the social media giant’s IPO disaster sent investors and enthusiasts running for the hills, but several months and a couple new products later, Facebook marketing looks to have finally picked up speed.

Adoption remains consistent

In a study from Ad Age and CITI last June, 85 percent of surveyed marketers said they needed to be on Facebook, but only 50 percent felt advertising through the service made a difference. Almost seven months later, marketers’ perceptions of Facebook still vary, but satisfaction is on the rise. According to the source, 85.1 percent of brands develop Facebook marketing strategies. While adoption remains steady, 50 percent of respondents say they will modestly increase spending on the network in 2013, and 8.2 percent of brands will significantly allocate more resource toward the platform this year.

Facebook generates ROI comparable to search

Facebook ROIPerhaps the most interesting part of Ad Age’s new study is that 46.7 percent of respondents said that Facebook ROI is comparable to Google and Yahoo! returns. It seems social media marketing has caught up to search in the minds of many marketers when it comes to driving conversions, which can mean conversions, form completions and beyond. Brands with active search content campaigns might want to add another dimension to their internet marketing campaigns through paid social media efforts that further spread media across the web.

The innovation disconnect

As far as new Facebook advertising products go, adoption remains low, highlighting a lag in the company’s level of innovation and users’ willingness to embrace new promotional features. Approximately 70 percent of brands have never used the Sponsored Story option, and more than 87 percent have yet to use Facebook Exchange. Still, more than three-quarters of marketers who have tried Sponsored Stories say they’re satisfied with the results.

The social media giant continues to develop products to improve social media marketing online, but few businesses have taken advantage of these tools. AdAge data suggests this more connected to marketers’ learning curve than the features being useless, but nevertheless, Facebook must do a better job at educating and promoting its inventions if it wants to position itself as a worthwhile investment option for businesses.

Ted Karczewski is an Executive Communications Associate at Brafton. He works to develop his own voice and apply his passions to the evolving world of SEO and content marketing, but he doesn't shy away from writing for fun. After graduating from Suffolk University, Ted used his Communications degree to test out Sports Journalism before Marketing at Brafton.