I don't think it's either or. You definitely have to interact on the platform, particularly with posters who actually read their comments and reply to them, folks who want to get to know people on here. And if you don't have enough money, bots aren't going to get you on the trending page. But my experience has been that bots have really helped me too.

Other than my "introduceyourself" post, my 2 posts that I did not use bots on have earned only about $1 or less. My posts that I invested just 2-3 SBD in have earned more like $8-15. I'm giving prices in STU, as shown under rewards, not USD. Even once the 50-50 split is considered, I wind up with about as much SBD as I spend each time, and my SP also grows from each payout.

It is a slow process both from gradually growing relationships and for using bots with only 1-3 SBD per post. But it works way better than only doing one or the other.

But yes, it's definitely not a sure thing. There are always those folks who don't bother to check steembottracker before bidding, or do check it but don't understand the implications of what they see, so ruin the round for everyone. (I actually was that person one time, and by the time I realized it, I couldn't take it back!)