Quote:
Originally Posted by Oral B
Hey there. I've been running into the issue of needing a company name when doing PR's, such as on prMac. I'm an independent developer, and don't plan on creating a company. When a company name is required on sites such as prMac, should I just use my first and last name, or should I try and get a company name trademarked? I would rather stay independent and not have to go through the hassle of trademarking a name, but if it is crucial then I will. |
Hey Oral B, first, thank you for using prMac!
It's not *completely* necessary to have a company (incorporated or otherwise). So you can simply cite your First and Last name. A good way to do this is by citing "Independent developer Oral B today releases myKewlApp 1.0, his unique bread slicing machine for iOS ..."
This works fine and is perfectly accepted throughout the media.
There some advantages to having a company incorporated, but this is really only necessary for the sake of protection to your personal assets in the event of legal issues.
There are many leading developers who simply use their website name as their company name. That is the best route if you're not incorporated.
The trick is to NOT choose the same website (as your company) the same as your application. This causes a lot of identity problems, as well as hurts your brand. It also makes it tougher to set up product pages later on the down the road when you eventually develop more apps.
Think Brand, not App. You have to remember, the audience or 'consumer' of your press communications are journalists, and not your potential customers. Your press releases are effectively the mechanism with which you 'connect' with the media (it's why press releases exist). So most definitely brand plays a huge role.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oral B
Also, I know that a website for your applications is pretty important. I was wondering if simply creating a Facebook page for my apps will work just as well?
Thank you.
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Ouch! No no - please don't do that. There are many reasons, but the largest among them as not all of the media treat Facebook links the same as the next person down the internet road. Some treat Facebook links as exactly that -- your social site. It serves no place as your company, or product page.
Additionally, this plays into how you brand yourself. Again, you have to think brand, not app, so the expectation is that you will be creating a website that you own and control. You don't own Facebook.
I hope this all makes sense. I urge you to not discount this out of hand.
I want to stress that there is absolutely nothing wrong with using your Facebook account to *complement* your existing marketing communications, just don't use it as the ONLY method. You'll be only shooting yourself in the foot.
Take the time to do it right. Build a nice looking website (nice looking is a key word these days), and have your company page tell the world who you are. Build a single products "list" page, that displays all of your apps in a nice looking list, with URL links to each App on its own product page, complete with their own images, media assets, YouTube Video links, Facebook links (if you have them set up for each app).
This is how it's been done, and how you should do it. Do not discount this out of hand. :-)
I hope this has helped in some small way. If I can help with anything else, contact me off list.
Cheers
Ray
Creating a website for your applications.
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