Choose one shipped change from your release notes and explain the action a user can now take. Keep the release record nearby. A short announcement loses its usefulness when the writer removes the availability condition or replaces a concrete change with “a major update.”
A changelog and a social video have different jobs. The changelog preserves the product history. The video helps a particular person decide whether a change matters to their work. Intercom describes using a changelog as part of a product-announcement system; it is a source of release context, not evidence that every change deserves a campaign.
Select the change before choosing the opening
Read the release notes with a product owner. Mark each change as behavior, fix, infrastructure, or policy. A behavior change might give users a new action. A fix might restore an action that already existed. Infrastructure can matter but may not create anything visible worth showing. A policy change often needs more explanation than a short announcement can provide.
Pick the change that you can explain without inventing a result. “You can copy an existing project” is a behavior. “Your whole team will work twice as fast” is an outcome claim requiring separate evidence. Do not convert the first into the second to make the script sound more interesting.
If the update mainly concerns reliability, say what changed and who was affected. Avoid showing a bug as a universal experience if it occurred only under a particular setup. The scope belongs in the production brief even when the public explanation is short.
Make a change-to-task card
Use this card for each shortlisted release item:
| Field | Entry to verify |
|---|---|
| Shipped change | The exact behavior from the release record |
| Affected user | Role and relevant account or workspace condition |
| Previous task | What the user did before |
| Current action | What they can do now |
| Availability | Live, phased rollout, beta, plan or role restriction |
| Evidence | Current documentation and a checked product state |
| Next step | The page or action that helps the viewer use the change |
The card forces a distinction between “implemented” and “available to this viewer.” A merged pull request is not proof that production users can access the feature. A rollout flag enabled for an internal account is not proof of general availability.
Rewrite a technical note without losing the limit
Consider a fictional project-management app, Taskroom. Its technical release note says: “Project templates preserve section labels when duplicated. Available to workspace editors.” The original note describes behavior and permission. Both need to survive.
A useful announcement reads: “Starting the next client project? Duplicate a project template and keep its section labels. Workspace editors can open the template menu and choose Duplicate.” A final frame points to the current instructions.
The script does not say that Taskroom creates a finished client project automatically. It does not call editors “everyone.” It also avoids pretending the retained labels prove time savings. This is an illustrative script for an invented product, not a customer story or measured result.
Separate the actual change from routine interface movement. If opening the menu takes two clicks, show the two clicks or describe them accurately. You can remove loading pauses, but a cut should not imply the tool skipped a required setup step.
Use text when the change is better explained than filmed
Some release notes concern a definition or a corrected limitation. A text-led sequence may explain those more accurately than an unrelated screen recording. Prolifik's Text Story format provides a path for turning an approved explanation into a short narrative. It does not verify your release status. Supply the checked change and review the generated wording.
For a visible interface change, your own current capture can provide stronger evidence. The existing product demo script guide covers the broader demonstration structure. This announcement task stays narrower: select one released change and preserve its user impact and conditions.
Use the caption guide when a restriction needs to remain readable on screen. If a qualification is necessary to understand the offer, do not bury it in a fleeting final frame or rely on a post description the viewer might never open.
Check the announcement against production
Ask the product owner to confirm the feature is accessible in the stated environment. Then ask someone unfamiliar with the change to explain what they think they will get. Their answer reveals accidental promises in the opening, visual or caption.
Check the linked instructions too. If the video sends users to documentation for an older interface, the next step fails even when the recording is current. Match names, account conditions and the available action across the video, release note and destination.
Store the source release identifier and approval date with the export. If the feature rolls back or its access rules change, pause planned reuse and review the announcement again. The existing content review checklist helps inspect the final export, but the product owner must settle the release facts.
Publish an announcement only when the claim and availability are both current. If the evidence stops at “coming soon,” label it as future work and do not give the viewer an instruction they cannot complete today.
Explain one shipped change
Use the approved user benefit and availability condition to make a short announcement.
See Text StoryProduct and primary-source checks: 12 October 2026. Examples are editorial working illustrations unless a real source is identified.
- Intercom: A changelog for product announcements, checked 12 October 2026.
- Prolifik format documentation, checked 12 October 2026.