Paid To Do Reviews?
I am sure that various companies and individuals have been paid to do reviews of different products for as long as advertising has been around. We’ve all seen the paid testimonials and endorsements on TV ever since we were kids.
Just within the past few days I have seen a few reviews for a particular product by Bloggers. From what I understand the product is not a bad service, as a matter of fact it could be quite useful. But it still comes around to believability.
If someone is getting paid to do a review, do you take it as fact? I guess that depends on the person doing the review. If you have trusted them in the past and still feel they have a good reputation, you might give them the benefit of the doubt.
A lot depends on Disclosure. If the person doing the review tells you that (s)he is getting a monetary stipend to give an opinion and if you feel they are being honest about the product, good or bad, then it is up to you to make a decision.
On the other hand, if someone is doing a review as either a “find” or result of a question from a reader, can you believe that that person is not being paid to review that same product. If they pay for one review, will they pay for any favorable press?
This is not about any individual Blogger or Product. This is about how pervasive and inventive advertisers can be. I was under the impression that a review of any product should be impartial. I know that most of us use some type of advertisements on our Blogs, but as long as they are set up as ads and not deceptive in any way, then the person clicking knows what to expect.
I feel that if someone is upfront in stating that they are getting some type of payment for doing a review with full disclosure, there is nothing wrong with it. Conversely, if someone is getting paid for reviewing something and never mention that fact, they stand to lose any credibility that they have (or had) with their readers.
Don’t forget that there are still some people out there that DO give fair and unbiased opinons on products without being paid by any company for promotion.
What are your feeling on Paid Reviews? Is Disclosure enough?
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