The disclosed computer-implemented method may include (1) acquiring, from a user of a social networking system, a hyperlink to a protected content item, hosted by a content provider system, that is protected by an authentication protocol, (2) sending a request for metadata associated with the protected content item to the content provider system, where the request includes authentication information associated with the authentication protocol, (3) receiving, in response to the content provider system approving the request, metadata associated with the protected content item from the content provider system, where the metadata includes information sufficient to generate a preview of the protected content item, and (4) generating a preview of the protected content item based on the metadata received from the content provider system. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.