Personally right now I think quality of content posted on the blockchain doesn't really matter that much when it comes to the price of Steem. Sure it's annoying and highly disappointing to see thrashy posts and some one pic photography posts sitting on "Hot" and "Trending" boosted by bid bots, but those very same people have invested big chunk of money on Steem years ago which overall increased the price of Steem to now barely a dollar (from a few cents years ago).

What Steem needs right now to make it more valuable is to increase its user retention. A lot of newbies left the platform after less than a week of being on it. Why? Because no matter how exceptional or decent their content is, no one will upvote or support a total random newbie on the blockchain. People who have large stakes on this platform and even Steemit Inc should first do something about this issue because we are clearly losing this battle. 

More people on the blockchain = More word about it = More investors for the blockchain 

Second thing is Marketing.  I have been on this platform for over 7months now and I have seen no marketing so far by the Steemit Inc team (correct me if I'm wrong on this one). How would Steem get more investors if no one will ever hear about it?