I agree it’s definitely worth following hashtags liberally for things you’re interested in. Your feed should really open up with that.

But it’s also worth doing a longish #introduction post, adding hashtags of things you like and pinning that to your profile. You might already have done that but you can always do a fresh one. People will also boost introduction posts so that might get your profile out there more.

I have an introduction pinned on my profile if it helps: https://beige.party/@brian

Start with following some person who posts about things you care. Sometimes respond if you think you can contribute to the topic, be nice and soon you'll get your circle.

I use Antennas on Sharkey / IceShrimp to be able to find content I'm interested in.

But I usually prefer the Threadiverse format.

I actually enjoy Mastodon because the "followers" you get or the ones you follow are few and it's all manageable. I don't understand the appeal of following so many that you can't possibly keep up with what they write about or who they are.

Follow hashtags and get stuck in to some conversations. It's quite rewarding.

And well done avoiding instagram. I thought it was now just a graveyard for deluded millennial aspiration but apparently not!

Apart from the stuff already mentioned, never stop shouting into the void about stuff that interests you or projects you’re working on. Add a few relevant hashtags so your toots can be discovered. It may take a while, but people will come. Don’t give up.

Having used Mastodon for a few years, I would say that it doesn't work like that. There's no reason to expect interaction unless you bring an IRL group, or stick close with a popular niche topic. Most people I interact with have an agenda, and don't need me for anything other than boosting their posts. Some are intensely hostile to anything other than standalone posts. Anyone replying across the platform is labelled a 'reply guy' and basically dissed and shunned. "Ultimate cancelling", I think.

Most of Mastodon doesn't want to support the rest of Mastodon AFAIK. There isn't a broad society with popular encouragement as you had with early Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit.

At the outset of popularity for the platform, a lot of long term users were very upset about popularity. To the day, those users are trying to discourage other people. If you post, they might even counter-post as cleverly as possible to attach disdain to anyone interacting with you.

Don't take any of it personally. It's not about you. Luckily you're not special in this regard. Post there if you want to, but never expect something beyond passing jerks.