How can you create social impact through virtual events?

Beyond just defining who you want to target, or how to capture your audience, you should be looking at the action you want them to take and then backing into your goals (it's more proactive). If you want to focus on awareness, then you need something catchy that simply gets attention. If you want them to make a sale, bait your audience with an incentive if they bring you an order or BOM at the event.

You surely need to figure out your target audience and plan your virtual event accordingly. The outcome of the event should also be figured out.

There are many ways to leverage virtual events for social impact, so you have to define what you're looking to achieve first. Is it fundraising? Then the event may or may not have to be centred around your cause at all. Just offer your audience value for their money (a webinar, a workshop, a speaker panel etc) and let them know that all ticket profits will be donated to a specific cause/charity/NGO. Is it raising awareness or recruiting long-term volunteers/donors? In this case, your event has to be centred around your cause, and give your audience a full context of what you're doing, why it's important, and why they have to care.

Whatever platform you're choosing, make sure that it's easy to register and to pay (if a payment is expected). If it takes too many steps to register, or it's hard to figure out how to pay for the event, you'll be likely losing a lot of your potential audience on the way. Don't forget to test the platform in advance to make sure it has all the features you need, and that it won't glitch once your audiences tunes in. Have a backup plan (e.g. Zoom link) in case your main platform doesn't function properly on the day.

If you are aware of the target audience then you should also be aware of the platform they are fond of. Each social media platform has its own USP's and own audience. The people who are fond of instagram may not be available on Twitter which is now X. so you need to figure out the platform on which the event is to be held.

The search engine is full of content. You need to capture audiences' attention by creating compelling content. Content is the King and will always remain so!

From my experience in hosting and planning these events, the most substantial way to engage and interact with your audience is through challenges requiring input and their opinions. "Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. Involve me, and I learn."-Benjamin Franklin. Thus, it is crucial to give your audience a sense of inclusion by making them feel a part of the event. For example, virtual event functions like Q&A, Trivia polls, and social media challenges make your event engaging and fun. Likewise, incentives such as gaining virtual points or tokens (to claim prizes) and certificates can further increase people's interest and engagement in these virtual events.