Downloading YouTube videos and saving them as MP4 is very easy with a simple YouTube downloader. In case you need some advice, we break the process down into a few simple steps.
Open the video you want to download and copy its URL from the address bar. Paste the video address into the address bar of your Subly page.
Click the Import button. We'd tell you to go make a cup of tea while Subly works its magic, but frankly, it'll be a lot quicker.
Once the video is recorded, you can edit it or save it without editing. After hovering over the video, an Edit button will appear.
The download options are located in the upper right corner. You can click the download icon to download the MP4 to your device, or click Download to Google Drive directly.Before saving, the same dialog allows you to change the aspect ratio. This can be useful depending on which social network you want to post to. Different social networks have different format requirements.
Now that you have your YouTube video downloaded as MP4, what can you do with it?
How to use YouTube video downloads to create social media content
There are many ways to be creative with video content downloaded from YouTube. Here are some of our favorites:
- Create reaction videos
Reaction videos are an extremely popular video format. Of course, the original video must be relevant to your niche. Making reaction videos to hot topics and viral content is an opportunity you shouldn’t miss.
Of course, be careful and try to find the right balance. The tone and wording of your response must grab your audience’s attention without creating a PR nightmare for you and your brand. Deliberately shocking may get you views, but it can also lead to a lawsuit.
Technically speaking, reaction videos are much easier to create if you download the video you are reacting to. This allows you to adjust everything nicely together for maximum effect. There’s also no danger of your Wi-Fi dying mid-recording.
- Make adjustments
Editing of pop culture content and celebrities is especially popular these days. If you don’t believe us, type the name of any pop culture ship into the YouTube search box and prepare to fall head first down a rabbit hole.
But you can make modifications out of literally anything. It’s a fun format that audiences flock to.
Downloading videos from YouTube is a prerequisite for editing. You can use the video editor app to cut and join videos, create montages or insert text over video.
Here’s a simple tutorial on how to add text. It can come in handy if you want to add a title, header, or any other kind of commentary or written content to your video.
Open your video in Subly Editor. Upload it from a URL or from your device.
In the left main panel, click Text.
Enter the text in the text field in the upper left corner.
Format the text using the options below the text box. You can play with the font, font size and color, effects and other options.
Position text using the caption placement options or custom position indentation.The sky’s the limit with modifications.
And your imagination.
Oh, and copyright.
Copyright is also pretty much your limit.
Just because someone posted a video online doesn’t mean anyone can use it however they want. YouTube content is actually published under a restrictive license, which means you have to ask for permission to use it.
YouTube as a platform cannot grant you this permission because it only hosts the content without actually owning it. The person you need to get permission from is the content creator.
If you’re thinking “It’s cold, I’ll just use a few seconds”, unfortunately we have to burst your bubble and inform you that it’s not actually cold. You may not use someone else’s content without permission, regardless of length.
If you do, your video will be pulled and if you monetized it, you will most likely lose your money.
- Crop your video for social media
Social media and long attention spans are not the best of friends. Shorter formats like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok videos have changed the way we watch video content on social media.
This is a trend that you can easily use to your advantage. All you need to do is cut your video into short, engaging segments that you can use to engage your audience on social channels.
If you have permission from the content creator, sharing these short snippets can bring surprising attention to your account.
Subly has a handy feature that can help you create these snippets in mere moments. It allows you to open a video timeline view and simply drag and drop your way to tons of short films and trailers for your social channels.
A multipurpose tool like Subly can help you create video content in new and exciting ways. This will accelerate your social media growth and attract new audiences to your account.