This isn't the only way, but it is a tried and tested formula.
The hope it, for each step I make some video tutorials as well showing how to set everything up. Also, I am working on a step through for the application, so the following can all happen automatically, but Rome wasn't built in a day so one small step....
Soundcloud Promotional Guide
Gaining real plays / followers is a multi step process.
Setup
1) Make sure your tracks are not empty. If you have just uploaded a new track, you should boost it a little to make it seem others are listening / liking it. Nothing crazy, but a 1000 plays is a good start. Then some likes / comments also helps. No one apart from maybe your mum is going to listen to your track if it is completely empty. Ok this is an exaggeration, if you have followers already they will, but we want new followers and they probably won't. There is so much music to listen to, users need to consciously and subconsciously decide what to listen to.
2) Give the track some artwork.. It makes it stand out, doesn't have to be anything fancy, rip an image from the web, it will do. But make sure there is artwork
Promote the track.
3) Share your track to groups.
Find popular groups for your genre and share your track to 75 groups. Use the GROUP tab to get a run down of groups and data for that group (members / #tracks etc). Now every so often (every day, every few days), unshare and reshare your track. This will keep your track in a good position in the group, as every time you reshare your track goes back to the top of the group
4) Share your track to users
Scrape and filter a quality user list of users who have been online recently, and share your track direct to them. There are limits to sharing to users, whilst your track is in their stream, it counts as a "use". Once the share leaves the stream, it becomes available again. So do not waste shares, sharing to users who have not been online for years or worse are fake accounts.
5) Use the new soundcloud messaging (exclusive to SCM) to directly contact a HIGHLY targeted list of users about your latest track. DO NOT OVERDO IT, messaging is limited, so make sure your list of users is quality. Also vary the message text to avoid soundcloud checks. Simple spintax helps. But go easy! We are talking about a handful a day, not 100. So TARGET those users
6) Now GET INVOLVED with soundcloud, like / listen / comment / follow other users. Karma, the move love you give, the more you receive. Set this up daily. Again, don't go crazy it is QUALITY not quantity. Make sure users are active on soundcloud. No need to follow a user who hasn't been online for a year. Also, don't do what everyone does. "oh I am dubstep dj, I should follow skrillex". He is never going to follow you back. We are after the music fans, the artists, those who actively check out their soundcloud notifications when they see they have a new follower. We are after connections. We are starting conversations. You can find new gig opportunities in nearby cities (use the search with location filter), you can find collab work. The music industry is about who you know.
7) Be realistic. When liking a track, make sure you check to play the track first. No one likes a track without listening. When following an artist, check to play a random track first and like the track. Share that love baby
8) Slow and steady. Make use of repeat actions. Don't follow a 1000 users in a day. Then do nothing for a week. Follow a 100 repeat every 24 hours for example.
If you do the above, then you will get real plays, you will get real likes, you will get real comments and real followers. Guaranteed
The next promotional technique is a bit more advanced, it is to run an army of fake accounts, who gain their own followers, by liking / following / commenting on tracks. Once these accounts have a many followers, use them to REPOST your tracks, create playlists of your tracks. These reposts and playlists are then syndicated to all their followers. More of this later