Someone asked me, "What's the trick to gaining followers on the Fediverse?"
I'm a terrible person to ask because I don't actually know -- I'm afraid that I have no tricks!
Personally, I just talk about things I care about regardless of who's listening. If someone actually is listening, we have a dialogue.
If you want to have a genuine conversation on the Fediverse, don't chase metrics.
Instead, express what you care about.