A supporter of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party holds a national flag during local elections in Taipei. Chris Stowers | AFP | Getty Images

Political campaigning in Taiwan has reached fever pitch ahead of Saturday's presidential and legislative elections, as candidates take to social media to bring their messages to voters. Other than online discussion boards, the two dominant social media outlets in Taiwan are Facebook and Alphabet's YouTube — both of which have seen considerable activities in the past year surrounding the three presidential candidates, said Li Jung Chang, founder of Quickseek, an online public opinion database in Taiwan. Out of 19 million eligible voters in self-ruled Taiwan, under 7 million of them are between the ages of 20 and 39, according to data from the Central Election Commission cited by Taiwan's Central News Agency. About 1.2 million young people above 20 years old will be voting for the first time at the January 11 polls.

We can see in this election that the candidates are actively driving coverage and pushing their messages out on social media platforms... Li Jung Chang founder of Quickseek

Taiwan is an aging society and securing youth vote is particularly important as youth turnout have historically been lower than those in the older cohorts, analysts say. Younger voters are more likely to turn to online media for information. "We can see in this election that the candidates are actively driving coverage and pushing their messages out on social media platforms through livestreams, posts and discussions with their followers," Li told CNBC in Mandarin. In contrast, election campaigns in the previous polls in 2016 were more traditional with engagement largely done through the mass media, flyers and websites, Li pointed out. Taiwan's Digital Minister Audrey Tang told CNBC that messages this time round are built around narratives offered by everyday people. Tang said that there is now a lot more focus on how to package a message to make it go viral. In particular, incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen — who is seeking a second term — has ratcheted up her social media presence, including active management of her YouTube channel in the past year after her independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party lost mayoral elections in several cities in late 2018. Tsai was playing catch-up as her main presidential competitor, the Kuomintang's Han Kuo-yu made waves on social media during his mayoral campaign in 2018, and appeared in YouTube videos of online influencers. He also boasted online fan clubs, added Li. Tsai's aides likely advised her to bolster her online presence to help boost her campaign against her rival Han in the upcoming elections, said Li.

Tsai works with YouTube, influencers