Best way to social network?

What's the best way to A/B test competing site name/themes for a new social network site?

• Would you recommend creating two completely separate mirror sites?  And then when I've determined which works best, meld the two social networks into a single site/network under the chosen name/theme?  Or perhaps, if desired, allow the two sites to maintain their separate superficial identities, but allow each site's members to interact as members of a single umbrella entity?  Any comments or suggestions on the advisability and technical feasibility of going either of these routes?  Thx

• Answer:

  Depends broadly on your metric for success – acquisition (i.e. landing page conversion rates) or engagement (i.e. daily or weekly active users / total users, referrals, time on site, etc.). For acquisition, I'd focus on a superficial difference in landing page; for engagement you'd need to go deeper. But, I think branding differences are unlikely to have a primary effect on engagement (effects would be mediated through acquisition – i.e. branding influences who signs up, and user characteristics could affect engagement of users). For engagement, it's probably best to A-B test UX and specific features. I would probably start out pointing identical FB ads (varying only name / logo) at different landing pages and focusing first on conversion.