Prepare for a Release

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

Find Marketing Cloud Engagement release notes.
Identify the impact of the release on your account.

Prepare for Marketing Cloud Engagement Releases

Now that you know the release schedule and lifecycle, how can you prepare for a Marketing Cloud Engagement release? There are four steps to get release-ready:

Create calendar reminders and sign up for release communications.
Review release information.
Determine the impact the release has on your account.
Share important release details with your team.

Get Release Notifications

Since the release schedule is shared in advance, it’s a good idea to plan ahead for future releases and create reminder events in your work calendar. We also recommend joining the Release Readiness Trailblazers Community group, where you can find all the latest resources about our upcoming releases.

As a release date approaches, you will see release information shared in many different forms. In addition to in-app notifications, all Marketing Cloud Engagement admins automatically receive pre-release and post-release emails.

If you aren’t an admin or want to ensure you receive marketing emails, visit the Salesforce Preference Center to sign up for these communications.

Review Marketing Cloud Engagement Release Information

In addition to email notifications, there are several resources to help you prepare for new and enhanced features.

Release Notes

Two weeks before R1, release notes are posted on Salesforce Help. This is also where you can find more information about new features and updates after the release has finished.

Top Features

Two weeks before R1, Salesforce shares the release Top Features, including FAQs, with the Release Readiness Trailblazers community.

Release Webinars

Two weeks after R2, Salesforce hosts a release webinar to review all the released features. You can find the latest new feature overview webinar at sfdc.co/MCNewFeatureOverview.

Demo Videos

Demo videos of new release features are found on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Engagement video channel.

Salesforce Release Trail

Check out the trail, Prepare for Salesforce Releases. While the modules in this trail focus on the three major Salesforce releases, there is always a unit that summarizes new Marketing Cloud Engagement content named, “See What’s New with Marketing.”

Determine the Impact

Once you’ve read the release notes, it’s helpful to determine what the release means for your account. Ask yourself these questions to help you zero in on what’s most important.

Do I have this feature?
Do any updates impact navigation?
Do I need to take any action to provision or turn on this feature?
- If so, do I need to log a support ticket? Or does an admin need to enable the feature in Setup?
Will this change how a team member does their day-to-day job?
Will this feature require some training for new users?
- If so, be sure to note any helpful enablement documentation.
Is this a feature I want to learn more about?

Once you’ve identified how the release will affect your account, determine who should communicate any necessary release details. Some releases have little impact on your account, while others have a larger impact. Either way, it’s a great idea to have a communication strategy to enable your team on the upcoming changes. If you are responsible for creating that strategy, be sure to:

Plan how you’ll communicate the changes.
Define the benefits of the feature for the user.
Identify key dates for the release, including when your organization should expect the new feature.

You should also include enablement documentation, FAQS, and how to log a support ticket, if needed.

Release Ready

Great job getting to know the Marketing Cloud Engagement release process and resources. To recap, before the next release:

Create calendar reminders for future releases.
Join the Release Readiness Trailblazers community.
Identify and create a release communication plan.

Now you’re ready to navigate the next Marketing Cloud Engagement release with ease.