Bloggers in the medical field abound, and after a while most of us settle on our favorite bloggers that we follow regularly. While it can be fun, blogging can also be hard to keep up, as evidenced by the many “Sorry it’s been so long!” posts on so many blogs. In order to keep up the flow of blog posts, some bloggers allow some guest blogging, but it’s very common to see sponsored posts every so often. A sponsored product review every now and then is okay, but when it looks like the blogger is enjoying the free products a little too much, readers quickly become disenchanted. Here’s how to tell if your favorite blogger is genuinely sharing a review of a great product, or is being bought off by the lure of free stuff.

Relevancy

If the blogger is a nurse and her blog is based on her profession her product reviews should be of medical scrubs or other nurse paraphernalia. Not the latest video game. Sure, everyone strays off topic once in a while, but when she’s reviewing Tide’s new product you know she’s become a walking advertisement. Bloggers know that their readers are of a certain genre. If they want to keep their fans they have to stick to topics, or products, that will interest their readers.

Authenticity

We can assume that the reason you may be following a certain blog in the first place is because the blogger comes across as authentic, among other features which may include humor, sarcasm, information, etc. Product reviews, although different than the conventional blog post, should stick to the tone of the blog. If it sounds too commercial and not in sync with the blogger’s style, it probably is commercial – many companies offer to write the blog post for the blogger so that they can stick in the advertising lingo they prefer. The review may be about Cherokee scrubs, but if every second line has the phrase ‘Cherokee medical scrubs’, you’ve got a big red flag.

A perfect example of a good blog post would be a scrubs review that was recently done by Emily of www.emequalsme.blogspot.com for Medical Discount Scrubs. It is written in her inimitable style, and readers know that she’s simply sharing her good experience with them. See the full review here: http://emequalsme.blogspot.com/2013/08/not-so-scrubby-scrubs.html

Full Disclosure

Sponsored product reviews should be fully disclosed. Always. No ifs ands or buts. A blogger who does not disclose that the post is sponsored does not deserve the trust of his/her readers. It is simply misleading, and is unfair to readers.

Like any company that believes in their product, we at Medical Discount Scrubs love good product reviews from well-respected bloggers, and we love to hear feedback. However, we try to ensure that our product reviews follow the unwritten code of the blogging world. Let us know if you have any tips for spotting false advertising!