Shipping a feature is only half of the work. The other half is getting existing users to notice it, try it and keep using it. This article looks at why features go unnoticed, what a short release video can add, and how to make one that fits into a normal release cycle.
Most features are barely used
In its 2019 Feature Adoption Report, the product analytics company Pendo looked at usage across 615 of its customers' software products. It found that 80% of features in the average product are rarely or never used, and that on average 12% of features generate 80% of daily usage.
The data is from Pendo's own customers and from 2019, so take the exact numbers lightly. The pattern will be familiar to anyone who has looked at their own product analytics. Some unused features weren't needed. Many were simply never seen.
Why release notes alone don't do it
Release notes are written for the people who already read release notes. Most users don't. Nielsen Norman Group's long-standing estimate (Jakob Nielsen, 2008) is that people read about 20% of the words on an average web page. A changelog entry that says "You can now bulk-edit tags from the sidebar" asks the reader to picture the feature for themselves. Most won't.
A short clip does the picturing for them. It shows where the feature lives, what you click and what changes, in about the time it takes to read the sentence.
What the research says about short product video
- In Wyzowl's State of Video Marketing 2026, 93% of video marketers said video had increased people's understanding of their product, and 57% said it had reduced the number of support questions they receive.
- In the same survey, 63% of consumers said they would most like to learn about a product by watching a short video.
- In HubSpot's State of Marketing Report 2026, marketers named short-form video as the content format with the best return (49%).
- Wistia's State of Video Report 2026 found that company goals and product launches drive more than half of companies' decisions about which videos to make, and that teams rank product videos among the most impactful kinds of video.
These are surveys, so they show what teams report rather than a measured effect. They do show that a short clip has become the normal way to announce something new.
Anatomy of a 15-second feature clip
A feature clip has one job: make one existing user think "oh, I'd use that". Fifteen seconds is usually enough:
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 s | The problem or the result, in a few words on screen. "Tag 200 items at once." |
| 2 to 10 s | The feature in the real interface: one action, with the camera close enough to see the click. |
| 10 to 13 s | The result landing. The list updates, the report fills in, the notification goes out. |
| 13 to 15 s | The feature's name and where to find it. "Bulk edit, in the sidebar." |
Write it to work with the sound off, because it will often play muted in an app, a feed or an email preview. Sound still helps when it's on: a soft click on the key action makes the moment land.
For longer features, don't stretch the clip. Make two clips, or link from the short one to a fuller walkthrough. Our article on how long a product video should be has the data on why.
Where to use it
- In the product. The "what's new" panel or the announcement banner, where existing users will see it.
- In the changelog and release notes. At the top of the entry, above the text.
- In the release email. As a thumbnail or animated preview linking to the clip.
- On social media. In 9:16 for phones. Wistia's 2026 report found that 76% of teams adjust the aspect ratio for where they post, and uploads of vertical HD video were up 24% on the year before.
- In sales and support. Sales can send it to prospects who asked for the feature. Support can link it instead of writing the steps out again.
- In the help centre. Next to the written instructions, for people who'd rather watch.
Make it a habit, not a project
The teams that get the most from feature clips treat them as part of shipping, like writing the release note. A few things make that possible:
- A fixed look. The same type, colours, motion and sounds every time, so each clip takes less work and they all look like they belong together.
- A short brief. The feature, the one action to show, the screens, the date. Nothing more.
- A cadence. One clip per notable release. Over a year that adds up to a library of short videos that sales, support and onboarding can all use.
What this means for you
- A feature people don't notice is a feature they don't use. A short clip is a cheap way to make it visible.
- Keep each clip to one feature, one action and one result, in about 15 seconds.
- Make it work muted, and put it where existing users already look: in the product and in the release email.
- If you ship every month, plan clips as part of the release, with a fixed look, so they don't become a separate project each time.
- Track it: compare how many people use the feature in the weeks after a release with a clip and after one without.
For the wider evidence, see do product videos increase sales?
Sources
- Pendo (2019). The 2019 Feature Adoption Report. go.pendo.io (PDF)
- Nielsen, J. (2008). How Little Do Users Read? Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com/articles/how-little-do-users-read
- Wyzowl (2026). State of Video Marketing 2026. wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics
- HubSpot (2026). State of Marketing Report 2026, as published on HubSpot's marketing statistics page. hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
- Wistia (2026). State of Video Report 2026. wistia.com/learn/marketing/video-marketing-statistics