I've established myself on a few different social media sites over the years, and I've come to expect a few things out of building a new niche:
1.) Your starting point will always be super tiny. Unless people are following you, you're not getting anywhere. It sucks, but it's the truth. From Facebook (ugh) to Twitter (yuck) to Tsu (RIP) to Minds (eh) to Gab (I hope more people join it) to here on Steemit (yay!), I know how long it can take to build out your fanbase and make things happen.
2.) Your best bet to getting people to follow you is to start following them first. Get their attention, and then they start following you. And it all snowballs from there.
3.) Engage your followers. This is the important part. Replying to comments, upvoting where you can, and sharing their posts will come around and eventually give you the same treatment. Just make sure you're posting enough original content of your own for them to share!
Jeez, I really should just make a blog post on this. Might actually be easier!