Just wanted to conclude incase others do come across this thread.
Masspoller:
I had tried masspoller this week with targeted profiles and I was getting spam follow backs which I blocked / removed to stop ghost or non engaging followers.
Shoutouts:
I did try a shoutout, this person is regarded high in my niche and has 70k followers very engaged. They get many comments and thousand real likes in 10 minutes. The shoutout cost me €15 for 2x story posts. I used some of my best content I kept aside and did not see a rise in followers than normal at all. Waste of money.
Story Viewing:
I manuall only view the stories of my own 300 followings. I usually quick tap next them all or swipe the slider if I see it. I had tried to manually view non followers stories but I did not see a good return if any.
Commenting:
I have stopped commenting on random profiles and only comment on those who have commented on my posts to keep them commenting again (say that 3x lol).
Follow / Unfollow:
I have stopped using this method and currently the account only follows 300 people back (those who comment and engage everytime). I am doing well with the posts and hashtags alone so this action is not needed.
Posting:
Since I have started to post 1x per day only (before was 3x - 5x) after 2PM, I am getting more likes and consistent 200 daily followers just from the post and hashtags.
Hashtags:
I have 2 sets of 30 hashtags. I use one set for every post until I see a decrease in quick likes once posting then I switch to the second set of hashtags for the next post. Typically I use a set for 4 posts before switching. I use all 30 and it's doing well. Most hashtags have a reach of 400k to 2million.
More post are going explore page in my small niche:
Conclude:
Masspoller, shoutouts, follow unfollow was all crap for me and my niche. Follow unfollow did well until I realised how well hashtags and just good content can do on it's own once it gets traction. Now I just post once per day and get around 200+ followers per day which is great for me.
Thanks for reading!