Quality engagement, I have found at least, is the best way to get noticed by whales. People who have a lot of SP are rather picky about who they support it seems. I'm not here for their support though. Do we really need whale votes if we build a quality follower base? Pennies add up. I've seen people like Hilarski do it. He has 5K followers, so his posts make decent money without having whales supporting him.