The third tool of university online marketing is SMM (Social Media Marketing). G. Ivanauskas gives some
characteristics of Social Media according different authors. According to Mayfield (2008) social media is best
understood as a group of new kinds of online media, which share most or all of the following characteristics:
participation and engagement: social media encourages contributions and feedback from everyone who is
interested. It blurs the line between media and audience; openness: most social media services are open to
feedback and participation. They encourage voting, comments and the sharing of information. There are rarely
any barriers to accessing and making use of content – password-protected content is frowned on; conversation:
whereas traditional media is about „broadcast" (content transmitted or distributed to an audience) social media is
better seen as a two-way conversation; community: social media allows communities to form quickly and
communicate effectively. Communities share common interests, such as a love of photography, a political issue
or a favorite TV show; connectedness: most kinds of social media thrive on their connectedness, making use of
links to other sites, resources and people (Ivanauskas G.). Thus, SMM may be considered as one effective tools
of developing the information space of university.