That was pretty simple... Getting popular on facebook or Google+ is just like managing a blog. You need to find your niche, post about that, and pretty soon, you will have people with similar interests follow you for what you have to offer...
Google is bounties smart content and therefore the authors WHO produce it in search results. In fact, if you're employed Google+, you'll become celebrated and build your on-line authority — and kick your competitors to the curb. simply by manufacturing extremely nice content.
What I believe is by putting "really great contents" you can became popular on Google+. But your contents should include new interviews, articles and innovative ideas.
Communities - get active and engage with communities. Participate in HOAs (Hangouts on Air). Look for influencers in your niche and interact with them. Spend 1 hour/day on GooglePlus. I wrote a case study on how being active on Google+ kind of boosted my personal branding page. Having 37,000+ views in one week on a public profile, all of a sudden certainly made me realize the potential. And I gave a lot of advice and principles I've applied. You can read it here: http://www.serplified.com/2014/04/28/growing-page-organically-aboutme-googleplus-case-study-social-seo/
Let everyone know what you're about, and make it easy for people to find you via the Google Profile search. Turn off the privacy settings for the parts you want to be public and upload a nice picture of yourself. Also, write a mini-bio. Think of your ideal audience and describe yourself to them—who you are, what you do, and what you're interested in. You can also buy followers from sites like SEOclerks.