Increasingly, brands are becoming hip to Twitter. The free microblogging service allows users to send brief text updates to groups of people who have signed up to “follow” your messages. Companies have figured out Twitter provides the opportunity to listen to what customers are saying about their brands, and to respond.

BusinessWeek features 10 brands in the United States including their Twitter stats, mainly the number of people they’re following and how many declared followers they’ve garnered as of Aug. 26. These brands are Comcast, Dell, General Motors, H&R Block, JetBlue, Kodak, Rubbermaid, Southwest, Whole Foods Market and Zappos.

Cone just released its 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study showing that almost 60 percent of Americans interact with companies on a social media web site, and one in four interact more than once per week.

According to the survey, 93 percent of Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media, while an overwhelming 85 percent believe a company should not only be present but also interact with its consumers via social media. In fact, 56 percent of American consumers feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment.

When asked about specific types of interactions, Americans believe:

• - Companies should use social networks to solve my problems (43%)
• - Companies should solicit feedback on their products and services (41%)
• - Companies should develop new ways for consumers to interact with their brand (37%)
• - Companies should market to consumers (25%)

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