A new Razorfish brand report released over the weekend takes a closer look at how consumers are using the Web to interact with brands in new and powerful ways. For its 2009 Digital Brand Experience Report, Razorfish surveyed 1,000 U.S. "connected consumers," defined as those people who have broadband access, have spent $150 online in the past six months, have visited a social media site like MySpace or YouTube, and have interacted with digital media like photos or videos.

According to Razorfish, almost 40% of consumers have friended a brand on Facebook and/or MySpace, while 26% have done the same on Twitter. Of those Twitter users, 44% report that the possibility of exclusive deals or other special offers is what entices them to follow brands. For those who said they friended brands on Facebook and/or MySpace, 37% also cited exclusive deals as their primary reason for doing so.

Razorfish thinks this is unsurprising:

Dell has earned kudos from social media mavens for generating $3 million in sales from its Dell Outlet through Twitter. Starbucks has soared to the top of Facebook brand pages, with nearly 4 million friends, by offering fans coupons for free pastries and ice cream. And Whole Foods tops Twitter with 1.5 million followers by broadcasting weekly specials and shopping tips.

Beyond hunting for deals and the like, users seem to want to follow brands that they've already demonstrated their support for through purchases. 33% of consumers friend a brand on Facebook/MySpace and 24% do the same on Twitter because they are current customers of the brand already.

Razorfish believes the key to maintaining these relationships rests in the brand's ability to use the real-time social tools to interact with their customers and to continue to provide good service even after the purchase has been made.