We all know that video is a great way to promote and market our businesses but what happens when instead of uploading we need to download? Today I will quickly teach you how to download video off both Facebook and Youtube.

How do I download video from Facebook?

This may be a question that you ask yourself from time to time.  Not only when you friend shares a super funny video (that you can’t find on YouTube and want to keep forever) but when your business related material has been uploaded by a third-party.

For example, you spoke at an event, maybe you hosted a live web seminar that was captured, or maybe you are featured in a commercial but never got a copy.  In these scenario’s, a third-party (someone other than yourself) uploaded a video and tagged you.  The video appears on your business page.  All is well, but not always.  The third-party owns the control over the video.  They can remove or mark it private at any time.

You can search for a tool or plugin for your browser that will let you download video’s from facebook but today I will introduce you to a small ‘hack’ that is much easier, faster, and 100% will work as of today’s date (02/17/16).

First, find the video you would like to download on Facebook.  Go ahead and hit play, then right click, now select ‘show URL’.

Copy the URL and place it in your browser.

Next, you will want to replace the www in the url with m (for mobile).

Once you have made this one adjustment, press enter on your keyboard to be taken to the mobile version.

This page will look a little funky as it is intended for a mobile device.

Go ahead and start your video (I dare you!).    Now, right click on the video while it is playing and you will see an option that says ‘save video as…’.

Easy as chocolate pie.

Now that you have mastered downloading video’s from Facebook, it is time to download video’s from YouTube.

How do I download video from YouTube?

I am so glad you asked!  YouTube has been around a lot longer than Facebook so it is common knowledge that tools pop up here and there that will allow you to download video and/or audio from YouTube.   There are browser plugins, stand alone software, and web based programs.

A little web based tool I use regularly is efficient, reliable, and so easy to use.

http://www.clipconverter.cc/   (thanks Nate!)

With the clip converter, you can download video and audio from YouTube, select the format, and the quality.  Super easy to use!

I hope this quick tutorial today has helped you take a few shortcuts to make your day even more efficient.