Sure, followers arent important but they can really show you the rate of your account growth. That obviously doesnt apply to high SP holders like yourself but for minnows it shows a few things. 
1. How much do others actually notice your work
2. How well known you are
3. Do they appreciate what you do enough to click that follow button. 

My Sp cant attract anyone really and i dont post everyday so its not like im "in the face" of  everyone on discord. Followers do mean something... but not as much as one might think. 

What does matter are whale votes and your group of people, your community that comments on your posts. 
Maintaining that is tough. A whale must <b>really, really</b> like a minnow to tie his account to autovote, and your community must not only appreciate you for your work, but for who you are. 
Maintaining a presence in a group while having no SP is amazingly tough work that takes a tremendous amount of commitment.